help me decide

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
ok just another option.

i can actually either go with 4x no-till 20gal plastic pots or i can get a 110x110cm raised bed into the tent again no-till.

which one would you guys prefer if it was you?
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
20 gallons of soil in a sip. It’s the only way. Easy to make.
so you wouldnt go with a wooden raised bed covering the tent, is there a specific reason for that?

when going with sip you mean no drainage holes and maybe a piece of pvc pipe and a bottom drainage layer with pebbles and stuff right?

is 20 gallon with a bottom drainage layer enough to sustain a healthy no till in your opinion?
 

myke

Well-Known Member
Forgot,your vertically challenged. Sips just take the watering to a new level as in you dont worry about it.80-90% of peoples organic problems are watering.
1 tote inside another separated by risers the same height as the wick,5" hydro net pots work perfect as a wick.There about 4" tall so your res ends up the same.
oct 11 21 025.JPG
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
Forgot,your vertically challenged. Sips just take the watering to a new level as in you dont worry about it.80-90% of peoples organic problems are watering.
1 tote inside another separated by risers the same height as the wick,5" hydro net pots work perfect as a wick.There about 4" tall so your res ends up the same.
View attachment 5109966
i’m actually not vertically challenged per se, it’ll just add some more training to my grows to keep the cannalope as low as possible. it just stretches 3-4 times during flip. but its possible i guess.

so would you say 20gal would be enough to sustain a good no till?

i’m probably gonna lose 2-3 gals just with the bottom drainage layer so the medium volume will be even less. the pots i found are square and 4 fits very nicely into a 4x4 and they are not that tall either or i can order a custom made wooden bed which would about 140-150gal but it would probably spike my rh too which is already high with dehum running 24/7.

are drainage holes an absolute must if i go with the 20gals? i’m guessing if i can dial the waterin schedule in i can go with without holes at the bottom and maybe a pvc pipe extending from drainage layer to the top to monitor the water levels etc or would that be unnecessary?

thanks for your input
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
20 gal would probably need a rest between runs,thats what I do,re amended then let sit a round.I currently have approx 80-90 g of soil resting now and the same in use.
That's what I do too, but with 15's. Mine are just reg pots, not sips.

ok just another option.

i can actually either go with 4x no-till 20gal plastic pots or i can get a 110x110cm raised bed into the tent again no-till.

which one would you guys prefer if it was you?
Either way. The bed would probably be better, but then there's no moving it. I like to be able to move the pots around.
 

McShnutz

Well-Known Member
Forgot,your vertically challenged. Sips just take the watering to a new level as in you dont worry about it.80-90% of peoples organic problems are watering.
1 tote inside another separated by risers the same height as the wick,5" hydro net pots work perfect as a wick.There about 4" tall so your res ends up the same.
View attachment 5109966
I'm diggin how you trimmed the lip on the tote lids. Great idea. I bet it really helps to keep the top soil moist.
 

McShnutz

Well-Known Member
ok just another option.

i can actually either go with 4x no-till 20gal plastic pots or i can get a 110x110cm raised bed into the tent again no-till.

which one would you guys prefer if it was you?
Obviously I'm a big fan of beds, but once the bed is in, it's a pain to undo it. If your set on organic, SIP is likely going to give you the results your after.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
20 gal would probably need a rest between runs,thats what I do,re amended then let sit a round.I currently have approx 80-90 g of soil resting now and the same in use.
oh a resting period wouldn’t work for me. must i definitely rest it even with worms and clovers and amendments? i wouldn’t probably know for sure until i try i guess.
That's what I do too, but with 15's. Mine are just reg pots, not sips.


Either way. The bed would probably be better, but then there's no moving it. I like to be able to move the pots around.
i may not want to move the pots around much but topdress and go. maybe no-till is not what i’m after but a cross between no-till and los with big pots. basically living organic soil with cover crops. need to think about it a bit. so hard to decide :D

Obviously I'm a big fan of beds, but once the bed is in, it's a pain to undo it. If your set on organic, SIP is likely going to give you the results your after.
yeah sip would basically be me adding a pvc pipe to the 20 gallon pots and drilling a side hole and layering the bottom with a drainage material and mulching right? i just can’t decide here haha. i’m just gonna flip a coin atm :)
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
oh a resting period wouldn’t work for me. must i definitely rest it even with worms and clovers and amendments? i wouldn’t probably know for sure until i try i guess.


i may not want to move the pots around much but topdress and go. maybe no-till is not what i’m after but a cross between no-till and los with big pots. basically living organic soil with cover crops. need to think about it a bit. so hard to decide :D



yeah sip would basically be me adding a pvc pipe to the 20 gallon pots and drilling a side hole and layering the bottom with a drainage material and mulching right? i just can’t decide here haha. i’m just gonna flip a coin atm :)
You don't need a resting period if you just keep up with top dressing.

If you don't care about not being able to move it, I'd do the bed. The bigger soil volume the better for living no-till soil.

Another option is to start in pots, then you could always do the bed next time and see what you like better. Check out some of the no-till beds people have on here.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
You don't need a resting period if you just keep up with top dressing.

If you don't care about not being able to move it, I'd do the bed. The bigger soil volume the better for living no-till soil.

Another option is to start in pots, then you could always do the bed next time and see what you like better. Check out some of the no-till beds people have on here.
yeah i’m guessing a 150 gallon bed would be better than 20gal x 4 pots but that much moist medium would cause a spike in my rh i’m guessing. am i wrong?

i’m inclined to go with the pots and as you said maybe i can upgrade to a bed in the future but atm i don’t have 150 gal cooked soil anyway. but 80 gals i have it in my worm bin, dehydrated coco bricks, aeration materials and my reused soil in the fabric pots.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
yeah i’m guessing a 150 gallon bed would be better than 20gal x 4 pots but that much moist medium would cause a spike in my rh i’m guessing. am i wrong?

i’m inclined to go with the pots and as you said maybe i can upgrade to a bed in the future but atm i don’t have 150 gal cooked soil anyway. but 80 gals i have it in my worm bin, dehydrated coco bricks, aeration materials and my reused soil in the fabric pots.
I don't think a bed would create much more humidity. Maybe search "no-till bed" or something. There's a bunch of people on here that grow like that. They could probably give better advice about this.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
No problem. Since you have the 80 gal worth already and don't want to buy more, you could always use pots for now and get some practice. And do more research. I don't know. A bed would be cool though.
yeah like i haven’t bought any soil for the last 2 years or so i’m just cooking recycling and composting what i have so i got a pretty nice organic soil atm but man a bed just sounds very sexy haha
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
yeah like i haven’t bought any soil for the last 2 years or so i’m just cooking recycling and composting what i have so i got a pretty nice organic soil atm but man a bed just sounds very sexy haha
This is a decent thread talking about raised beds.

 

McShnutz

Well-Known Member
yeah i’m guessing a 150 gallon bed would be better than 20gal x 4 pots but that much moist medium would cause a spike in my rh i’m guessing. am i wrong?

i’m inclined to go with the pots and as you said maybe i can upgrade to a bed in the future but atm i don’t have 150 gal cooked soil anyway. but 80 gals i have it in my worm bin, dehydrated coco bricks, aeration materials and my reused soil in the fabric pots.
The RH increase is likely if you top water. For example with my bed. I have 17" of soil depth with a 2-3" cypress mulch layer. When ever I top water a tea or the like, ambient RH spikes. It goes down faster as the mulches surface dries. But I also use blumats with the blusoak, and It was suggested to me in my grow thread, to bury the blusoak under the mulch. Since I did just that, I haven't had any spikes in RH from the blumats. Only when I top water. I think that even if your just using drip emitters instead of the blusoak, you'd have the same result with consistent RH. It's when you wet an area from the top you have all that surface area that's going to release moisture, not what's under the mulch.

Sorry for the delay in response, I stepped away to change litter box's.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
This is a decent thread talking about raised beds.

thanks man i read it and still confused as ever hahaha

how much dry are you pulling of those 15s and under what wattage?
if you feel like sharing..
 
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