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media Best media for self watering buckets?
- Thread starter theboogeyman
- Start date
S7, copy that. Disclaimer-my first year with the buckets. Succeeding, but still learning.
I do bottom feed, but, occasionally and lightly. Fish hydrolysate primarily. I'll keep an eye out for nasties.
A couple of things that would concern me about your method is the reduction of growing medium volume by the addition of inert perlite and reduced water reservoir. Not saying you are wrong, just thinking out loud.
I'm using 6.5 gal square buckets to give a plant even more soil to stretch out in. But, maybe more ferts for you makes up for that.
Now, about the water. I cannot always water daily. Hempy`s are out. My largest 2 plants drink on average just under a gallon a day. Sometimes the reservoir goes dry. I normally water every other. I have heat, but what I've really got is wind. Moisture sucking wind... I need that extra reservoir volume to be able to stretch out in between waterings.
I use horse manure cause it's free and plentiful. Bunny would be better. I may have a line on free alpaca poo. Maybe my holy grail.
I do bottom feed, but, occasionally and lightly. Fish hydrolysate primarily. I'll keep an eye out for nasties.
A couple of things that would concern me about your method is the reduction of growing medium volume by the addition of inert perlite and reduced water reservoir. Not saying you are wrong, just thinking out loud.
I'm using 6.5 gal square buckets to give a plant even more soil to stretch out in. But, maybe more ferts for you makes up for that.
Now, about the water. I cannot always water daily. Hempy`s are out. My largest 2 plants drink on average just under a gallon a day. Sometimes the reservoir goes dry. I normally water every other. I have heat, but what I've really got is wind. Moisture sucking wind... I need that extra reservoir volume to be able to stretch out in between waterings.
I use horse manure cause it's free and plentiful. Bunny would be better. I may have a line on free alpaca poo. Maybe my holy grail.
fishhead said:
Personally, I re-use media, for as long as I feel it's feasible. I typically build coco based mixes, because they don't compact like peat does, and they hold up longer. Peat has a tendency to turn to goo quickly, and because I live in an area that gets heavy, pounding rains, peat can compact severely. I've seen it reveal up to 20% of empty volume in a single season, due to compaction alone. Coco is perfect. I typically just keep growing with it straight through, for up 3 seasons, if I can keep the plants going. However, after 2 seasons, I typically add a bit of fresh material, and send some of the old to the raised beds.
fishhead said:
Some fertilizers, as mentioned, fall out of suspension. You don't want that happening in the bucket. I love my CNS17, and to a lesser degree, DynaGro - but those 2 exemplify the problem. You'll sometimes see a white, chalky build-up in the bottom.
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I'm a little surprised that you haven't had a problem with the fish juice, because organics are the worst at creating sludge culture. We love it in the media, but there almost an absolute no-no for any kind of hydro, for that reason. But, it may be that you have such rapid evaporation, that it wicks before it can be a problem. Just my opinion, but I'd still top feed nutes, and send straight water down.
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The volume reduction really isn't as big a deal as you might think it is. You're talking about 4" of headspace. Is that significant? I might argue that in that range, it's more efficient, in that you get virtually identical levels of growth in a given time, but with a reduction in media that will pay you back with an extra planting, for the same volume, based on the savings.
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Some have argued about the lack of "insulation" caused by single buckets. I dunno about that. I grow in Florida, and half of my containers are black. I've had problems with ALL containers getting too warm in the dead of summer, but I still manage good plants. Those HDPE buckets, on their own, seem to have excellent thermal insulating values. I actually went to the blue poly drums, because they are the best at keeping stuff cool. I have rain barrels that keep water cool to temps in the 70s, despite the fact that they're sitting in full sun all day. So don't underestimate the single bucket.
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Having a season of growing under my belt out here, I get the dry wind problem. The drier climate, with the constant evaporation, produces some explosive growth. But it does so, as you mentioned, at the expense of having to constantly water. My "active plumbing" was sort of borne out of this concept. I used to travel a lot, and couldn't water, and wasn't sure if it was raining at home - because it's predictable, yet not - so I tried to come up with a way to make watering fool proof. I didn't want a constantly saturated plant, in a climate with high humidity. So, I decided to put my bottom watering concept on a timer. Basically, I just top the reservoir off with fresh water every day, and it uses what it needs. No hassle. I ultimately eliminated liquid feed in the system, for that reason. I started amending with pure rabbit poo, and not feeding, otherwise - save for the occasional dosing of fish juice. From the top, of course.
Also, you can build whatever size reservoir you like. 6.5 gallon buckets would be perfect, because that's 5 gallons, plus change (for the reservoir).
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I should have noted that I used perlite as a base on some of the containers, in lieu of building a "wick". Just that much less complicated. But I have used other things. In the big containers, this is my reservoir:
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Point being - there are SO many ways to do the SIP. It's just a theme, not a concrete idea.
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I should have noted that I used perlite as a base on some of the containers, in lieu of building a "wick". Just that much less complicated. But I have used other things. In the big containers, this is my reservoir:
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Point being - there are SO many ways to do the SIP. It's just a theme, not a concrete idea.