Dr. Bruce Bugbee method: NASA technique on Mars etc.

nanners1

Well-Known Member
thanks, nanners1! i've been using textile pots for a while, but i'm getting tired of them because i have some issues when transplanting, with the roots being "attached" to the pot... but this could perhaps be solved by avoiding transplants.

i have a question regarding bugbee's method (that's a new one xD): he says that you should always "over"water until you get a 10% runnoff, aprox. this is true also when the plant is really young, like really small for the size of it's container? wouldn't the medium take forever to dry? i'm thinking about fungus and all that jazz..
Oh boy, that was my main question too when i began. I solved it by germinating into solo cups, and then 1 gallon, and then 3 gallons to maintain runoff. I transplant a little sooner to avoid dealing with too much roots, but you can prune them yourself (loosen up where the roots are attached) and add mycorhize to the transplant area.

when I asked about a young plant in a 3 gallon, for example - i was advised not to, but if I HAD to, i was advised to just water a small inner circle around the plant until runoff, and not to water the whole pot. but I dont know if this works.

apparently keeping moisture levels and knowing when to water at the right times when you start in your final pot is something reserved to more experienced growers.
 
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Oh boy, that was my main question too when i began. I solved it by germinating into solo cups, and then 1 gallon, and then 3 gallons to maintain runoff. I transplant a little sooner to avoid dealing with too much roots, but you can prune them yourself (loosen up where the roots are attached) and add mycorhize to the transplant area.

when I asked about a young plant in a 3 gallon, for example - i was advised not to, but if I HAD to, i was adviced to just water a small inner circle around the plant until runoff, and not to water the whole pot. but I dont know if this works.

apparently keeping moisture levels and knowing when to water at the right times when you start in your final pot is something reserved to more experienced growers.
Yes! I started vegetative cycles in both ways: in 200cc glasses and in 10 liter (2.6 gallon) pots, with the mere intention of experimenting. I never had problems in this regard, because when I start in "large" pots I use little water when watering, and I increase the amount as the plant grows; but I don't know if this would also be the case with the Bugbee method, which is so specific to the way of watering and nourishing...
 
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nanners1

Well-Known Member
Yes! I started vegetative cycles in both ways: in 200cc glasses and in 10 liter (2.6 gallon) pots, with the mere intention of experimenting. I never had problems in this regard, because when I start in "large" pots I use little water when watering, and I increase the amount as the plant grows; but I don't know if this would also be the case with the Bugbee method, which is so specific to the way of watering and nourishing...
yup, because with his method since its a lot of constant feeding, if you dont do runoff, there will be buildup. He mentions there is a workaround, but he never explains it.
 

havox07

Member
Well I bought some 20-10-20 locally, pretty cheap for 11kg, something like $35. Doing the math in hydro buddy though shows I probably should add some gypsum (around .2g per liter, and some epsom salts to supplement the ca and mg) I am by no means an expert but is the K levels also not a little low? Most traiditional mixes like Jacks are around 200+ vs the 100ish of this mixture.
 

Vizzaro

Active Member
@BonnMac @Vizzaro @Overgrowtho , did you guys prepare your peat moss? Ive been reading I have to pre-wet and dry and wet again for 3 weeks before using.
All I did was are the gypsum (Pallet) and Dolomite Lime (Powder) to the 50/50 mix of Peat Moss and Vermiculite. Mixed in all in a tub then added some water to keep it moist and left it outside. I only open the tub to use the media other than that it's kept closed.
 
thanks so much for your detailed report! it's really interesting. and you did great, congrats. your succes encourages me

saludos desde argentina <3
Thanks bro good luck! I used magnesium sulfate once or twice and top dress with worm castings and bone meal.
very interesting to see the soilless mix you guys have there! by the way, are you sure your hygrometer is calibrated or functional? 99% humidity sounds very, very off.
I think it was correct, i was having power outage around midday for hours, it was like a sauna with water dripping down walls. The plants stop drinking at week 9. The soil was wet for 5 days or more, I got bud rot, powdery mildew, mushrooms but the plants recovered. I removed the rotten buds and sprayed lemon juice.

Im on day 74 of my second grow doing just 2 autos, but the plants looks much bigger. I thought i would be growing dwarf plants. I bought the cheapest auto seeds, have no experience but it's growing like crazy. The first pic is 33 days after sprouting, second pic is 74 days after sprouting. I mixed some perlite to test. I think the big plant has calcium deficiency, im gonna mix more bone meal next time.
IMG_20210617_045.jpg IMG_20210725_031320.jpg IMG_20210725_031.jpg
 
Thanks bro good luck! I used magnesium sulfate once or twice and top dress with worm castings and bone meal.

I think it was correct, i was having power outage around midday for hours, it was like a sauna with water dripping down walls. The plants stop drinking at week 9. The soil was wet for 5 days or more, I got bud rot, powdery mildew, mushrooms but the plants recovered. I removed the rotten buds and sprayed lemon juice.

Im on day 74 of my second grow doing just 2 autos, but the plants looks much bigger. I thought i would be growing dwarf plants. I bought the cheapest auto seeds, have no experience but it's growing like crazy. The first pic is 33 days after sprouting, second pic is 74 days after sprouting. I mixed some perlite to test. I think the big plant has calcium deficiency, im gonna mix more bone meal next time.
View attachment 4952064 View attachment 4952065 View attachment 4952067
I did my first grow with unknown regular seeds, in summer, indoors. I ended with 1.70 meters long plants in little 4lt pots. My friends couldn't believe it. Sadly it became a problem... Weed grows like crazy when it's warm and humid; but disseases appear easily :(
 

Vizzaro

Active Member
Definitely not cheap, hopefully, somebody can post some of the more important bits as it appears most of it should be released now or quite soon.
Yes I agree, it's not cheap at all. But I figured if someone has the money and is interested. I certainly have been thinking about it. Until I can afford it I'll just do my best to get better at growing this way.
 

GanjaJack

Well-Known Member
I've been growing for a long time and I find some of his information to be flatly wrong.

Some of it is good.

He has a video out about "the secret to larger yields" and he goes into nutrients and lighting, without speaking towards genetics and it saddened me, because genetics are the #1 factor in yield when everything else is optimal.
 

BonnMac

Active Member
Yes I agree, it's not cheap at all. But I figured if someone has the money and is interested. I certainly have been thinking about it. Until I can afford it I'll just do my best to get better at growing this way.
Strongly considering purchasing the "Optimizing The Root Zone" class. Curious to see if the university is doing anything different with their research since he released his popular video.
 

nanners1

Well-Known Member
Interestingly enough somebody posted on overgrow stating that in the lecture videos they utilize 75/25 peat to vermiculite, stil 20-10-20 but they supplement silica, Phosphorus, and copper
in the new pay-to-watch courses from the University? or which ones? I cant keep up with this. Im going to have a deep emotional breakdown. lol
 

havox07

Member
in the new pay-to-watch courses from the University? or which ones? I cant keep up with this. Im going to have a deep emotional breakdown. lol
Pretty sure its in the paid university course here is a link to the thread. I mean there is no one right answer or single way to grow, this method may increase yields by some percentage but you can grow in dirt and still make decent bud. The fertilizer method I was excited about as it would provide a very cheap and easy method but the requirement to add extra supplements makes it a bit of a wash.
 

TheWholeTruth

Well-Known Member
The mars method from the doc, is it specifically designed for the gravity on mars. How different is the gravity on mars from earth as im assuming it would make a difference?
 

nanners1

Well-Known Member
The mars method from the doc, is it specifically designed for the gravity on mars. How different is the gravity on mars from earth as im assuming it would make a difference?
no... the mars thing is just a resume included in the title and its a bit misleading, as it reads like marijuana was grown on mars - which as far as i know, has not happened (although should be a priority lol). The method in the video is for growing on earth

but for kicks, Mars has about 60% less gravitational acceleration than earth. but then again, not relevant for our discussion :)
 

Overgrowtho

Well-Known Member
Pretty sure its in the paid university course here is a link to the thread. I mean there is no one right answer or single way to grow, this method may increase yields by some percentage but you can grow in dirt and still make decent bud. The fertilizer method I was excited about as it would provide a very cheap and easy method but the requirement to add extra supplements makes it a bit of a wash.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I've chimed in on that thread over there, to try and dig out more info. I'm not yet convinced to sign up for the course but I would love to know what the hell he has changed (and why) after just 1 year. Not to mention 1.8 million views from his famous Youtube video/method published 1 year ago that I've implemented.


in the new pay-to-watch courses from the University? or which ones? I cant keep up with this. Im going to have a deep emotional breakdown. lol
My thoughts exactly lol! WTF is going on here lol
 

Overgrowtho

Well-Known Member
Side note: We dont have acces to Jacks and my buddy has some Flora Flex nutes laying around. I've started him on the 50/50 Bugbee method with silica and gypsum (formula from a year ago).

Flora Flex does advise to use hard water or add calmag but I wonder if the 50/50 amended medium already has enough cal and mag? Our water around here is like 65 PPM.
 
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