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pics Grower's pics from ABM.

Noshownate said:
i like the indoor setup, how do you have those cups setup are u using an air pump into each cup, bubbleponics?
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I wish I had air tubes in each one, but seriously considered it. No air pump oxygenation right now so they are probably not growing as fast as they could. I am not complaining yet though. I just let the wicks absorb all the nutrient solution, then fill them up again.
 
UnNatural said:
Thats genius! You use hydro nutes i presume??
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Yes I do.
I tried to use the dissolvable crystal kind but it doesn't give as good of results.

lee said:
You have some nice healthy plants! :D. That plant with the dark leaves looks nice. What is it?, looks familiar
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Thanks. I think you are talking about the pImente de neyde.

Silver_Surfer said:
My guess, the sticks/foam are a floating water level indicator. The wick is made from another material. :)
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Correct. thanks

Silver_Surfer said:
Is that Turface and oil dry?
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Turface, Playball, and Soilmaster. They must be screened before use. Plants don't like small soil particles. They don't hold as much water as the larger ones, and they clog up the soil. Airflow is very important.
Josh said:
Well I hope it is ok if I chime in. He is using a passive type of hydroponics. (I think it is still considered a form of hydroponics) He has two containers stacked on top of each other. The one on the bottom is the reservoir and is filled with water. The one above is filled with growing medium. Between the containers there is a space for air so the growing medium isn't sitting in water. There is a hole in the bottom of the top container. A wick runs from the top container down into the water reservoir. As the plants take in water and the growing medium/wick dries out, more water is drawn up the wick from the reservoir below. It is a smaller version of the earthbox.
http://www.earthbox.com/
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Sorry I have been gone for a couple days.
It's very ok if you chime in. You are very helpful.
Your description hit the head on the nail. :lol:
 
newhotstuff said:
So where are the wicks?
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AutoCups.jpg
 
newhotstuff said:
Aside from the floats how did do you make these? What are those things you've pointed to made of?
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You'll need to ask ABM about that, but any absorbant material that promotes capillary action can be used as a wick.
 
Silver_Surfer said:
You'll need to ask ABM about that, but any absorbant material that promotes capillary action can be used as a wick.
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If it seems I am being vague...
If I made it easy, anyone could do it. Also I am not going to push or advertise any particular company/product.
Thanks again for all the comments.
Iggster, SS, newhotstuff, UnNatural, and the rest.:)
 
ABurningMouth said:
If it seems I am being vague...
If I made it easy, anyone could do it. Also I am not going to push or advertise any particular company/product.
Thanks again for all the comments.
Iggster, SS, newhotstuff, UnNatural, and the rest.:)
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You're not being vague. A picture is worth 1000 words and I believe anyone could construct an "Auto Cup" if they wanted. Unless you had many of these packed closely together, you could skip the stick-straw-float assembly, if the cups were translucent.
 
Silver_Surfer said:
You're not being vague. A picture is worth 1000 words and I believe anyone could construct an "Auto Cup" if they wanted. Unless you had many of these packed closely together, you could skip the stick-straw-float assembly, if the cups were translucent.
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SS,
Thanks for the nice picture and responses:)
Plants in clear cups have to be packed to avoid a large algae problem. I then need to be able to tell which ones need water without moving half of them for a look-see. I use to have them in a perfect formation so I could just look under and down the rows.
I hide them in small pots or stealth them with mylar or magazine covers to block light too. Looks aren't that important to me at this stage of my experimentations.
The floating indicators were developed out to necessity to minimize hassles, neck strain, guessing, and mistakes.
A kid could make these things, but they should have adult supervision. I use sharp objects that could require an unexpected 911 call.
Sorry I don't ever respond to my own thread, but I'm never home. I'm an absentee grower. It's a good thing I don't have to water every day.;)
 
I really like this set up. Talk about an inexpensive way to try hydro! Took me a while to figure everything out, the sticks and floats really threw me at first, but I've got it now. Thanks for sharing this and thanks to all for the explanations.
 
Thanks Patrick
Lots of stuff can be used for wicks. But...
newprocontainers.com has them. I use both the wicking mat (the thicker white stuff)cut into strips and the thin wick felt because I like to experiment to see which is best.
pichur119.jpg
pichur120.jpg
pichur108.jpg
pichur109.jpg
 
I can't beleive I missed this thread somehow- never enough time in a day I guess... Anyway, killer lil set ups. Good info, been wanting to do some wick stuff.
 
UnNatural said:
Very cool stuff indeed. I bet a bunch of us are going to be experimenting with this soon! Fantastic job ABM.
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Thanks my unnatural friend. ;)
Well if you or anyone else needs more info or help, please come to me.
I know why it works, what won't work, and can probably help diagnose any probs.
boutros said:
I can't beleive I missed this thread somehow- never enough time in a day I guess... Anyway, killer lil set ups. Good info, been wanting to do some wick stuff.
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I can't read every post on this site. I mainly stick to the growing section. I'm scared to go to the Lounge (jk).
I've been doing the wick stuff for about 4-5 years now.
You don't have to worry about overwatering with this way because the wick pulls the water down to a lower water table
 
Thanx josh for detailed info, ABM like setup alot i think air pump would prob do wonders, but finally think i finally got it the floataion device indicates when the water is low and thats the only purpose of that i believe. and the wick is just bringing the nutrients to the plant when it is needed. i believe, going to try this setup want to be sure, BELIE dAT (MARTIN)
 
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