Passive Hydro/Wicking

[Gray Beard]

Does anyone have any experience, knowledge or methods for this type of hydro (or is it a waste of time)?

 

[The Joker]

I used passive hydro growing Northern Lights successfully from 1994-97. I got the idea from Ed Rosenthals old book. Got everything I needed from a local plant store.

The soil mix was vermiculite/perlite/ soil. The wicks were 1/2 nylon rope , four to a bucket. I just poured the nutrient solution I made from scratch ( Thanks ED!!!) into the trays and the wicks sucked it up ... easy peasy. I grew in 5 gallon buckets. The trick is to tie the nylon wick to a stick at the top of the bucket. Then fill the buckets and cut the wicks.

The only thing easier would be a hempy bucket.

Good Luck. Now I grow with PBP in soil or GH in hydroton. No more miracle grow for me. ( But it worked fine).

 

[Gray Beard]

Did you have any problem with to much moisture in the soil?

 

[The Joker]

None at all, the soil mix was 1-1-1 , the perlite drains and leaves air pockets, the vermiculite helps absorb the moisture from the wicks. Once the plants are in flower they start sucking up a lot of water. Toward the end I would fill up the trays every day. In the beginning , maybe once a week.

Oh... the buckets were on bricks in the trays, so the bottoms weren't soaking in water. The wicks came out of holes in the buckets and down into the tray of nutrient solution.

It was more effective than top feeding and less mess.

I grow in waterfarms, ebb and flow tray and hempy buckets now. But for an easy to use system that you can make from readily available materials, it can't be beat.

 

[Gray Beard]

So you found it to be a more effective based on yield or just easier? If moisture became a problem could a person let the tray dry for a day or two?

 

[Rolln J]

I did the same exact deal, must have read the same old Ed Rosenthal book. I grew white widow and grapes this way in the early 90's, works very well. I would feed mine 2x and then fresh water every third time. Give them a good top flush every 2 weeks. I used GH 3 part, but you could probably use lucas method as well.

 

[thc4sim]

Im going to give these a go on my next run:


ill see if they are any good, 12 sannie's jack and 4 sfv OG bx1 going in..

so ill be able to go away for up to 2 weeks at a time, looks worth a try..
with all my usual canna nutes and coco, i just might add some perlite to the mix..

 

[Gray Beard]

Thanks for the link. It does look like it is worth a try.

 

[The Joker]

So you found it to be a more effective based on yield or just easier? If moisture became a problem could a person let the tray dry for a day or two?

I never had a moisture problem... The wicks absorb moisture and the vermiculite absorbs it off the wicks. The soil is moist, not wet. As the root system gets bigger, the plants suck up more moisture.

What also happens is you have roots THROUGH OUT the pot... not just the middle, sides and bottom.

Find what works for you and run with it.

As far as that system linked, you could build it with parts from homedepot.

Square or round buckets, tubing and a float valve to make a controller. With a resevoir and a float valve hooked up to the tray. You could water once a week.

My kind of system.