Why ACT is mainly used only in the Cannabis world?

Those that have used the Blumats find that the wet / dry cycles are not beneficial, but actually constantly optimal moisture is better. There is research to support this as well. I also have Tensiometers in each pot to very accurately measure soil moisture. For a well-aerated soil, your kPa would hover around 10. Spurr has some great posts on this, related to his soil medium studies.

Rrog meters are cool but my explosion of growth like I've never seen makes me a believer. I have more time with my family now and I need that.

Having the growth you and the rest of us have seen from constant moisture just makes sense to me. Obviously dry soil does not support great microbial activity. So in a sense, why have some % of the root zone and associated microbes dormant while dry? That's part of my current thinking as to why constantly moist is somewhat more efficient than wet / dry cycles.

This isn't to say that I think everyone should use them, and I'm not in any way belittling those that don't use constant-moisture. I'm just passing along what others have found as well. There is an epic thread on IC about this exact topic.

John Nie Canna Guy said:

I water mine every 3 days. And I can go longer. I have gone 6 before, the perlite was totally dry and the pot was too, but the plant was still fine. I don't see why he waters every day honestly.

The one thing you have to do is take the pot off the perlite bed to add anything besides water and let it completely run through before you put it back on. Otherwise anaerobic bacteria grows in the perlite and it gets rank.

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Word! I looked into them and decided to pass for the time being, but I know in the event that I have to leave what I need to do haha so thanks!
Also, NoobwannaB is a girl I'm 99% sure haha! But I could be wrong! Don't matter anyway lol, not like either one of use will ever meet the Noob that's DEF. no noob lol. and yeah, algae grow right?!

I don't get the point of it either tho, to do something like that and have to water it everyday haha. But hey, Noobs doing "its" thing with it haha so more power to "it"

Rrog said:

I've used the Blumats for a few years now. Wouldn't go back, personally.

For aeration, I start with small biochar pieces, maybe 1/4" in diameter. Then up to pumice (it floats), at 3/8" to 3/4", then lava rock (doesn't float) at 3/4" to 1 1/4". I like this a lot, especially for long term no-till. The extreme surface area of these materials is great for microbes.

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I use perlite for aeration! What's the conspiracy behind it lol?! Or the consensus?

In case anyone is interested, these are the Tensiometers I use. http://www.irrometer.com/pdf/IRROMETERs/111 Model MLT Web 6.pdf They react very fast, so you could use one meter and measure each plant, but I just leave one in place in each pot for the duration of the grow just to measure things over time.

I would also say that these Blumats lend themselves well to fabric pots.

I used Blumats when I went on vacation for three weeks. I did lose two plants (out of 11), but only because my reservoir ran out of water a few days before I returned. Otherwise, they worked perfectly. When setting them up, be really watchful the first few days and give it at least a week before you go away so you can get it dialed in. They can create a small flood very quickly if you get the settings wrong. Mine filled a 2x2 6" high tray to overflowing in a day due to setting the flow to one plant too high. While on vacation, I setup a webcam to keep an eye on things because you can't 100% trust Blumats and a flood would likely get me busted (since I live in an apartment).

i've been looking into the brewing teas. In my opinion it's not much different at all than what all the farmers have done where I live for years. Every year the fill their (honey pots) with their composte of all farm goodies let it sit then spray their whole fields about a month before planting. They got away from buying chemical fertilizers for profit margins on their dairy farms. I know it's not exactly the same but same princibles. Tried and true for years. Their livelyhood depends on crop size and quality.

I am thinking about switching away from perlite in the pots too. Been leaning towards lava rock, but if I can find some non GMO rice hulls I would use those. I'm not in the Central Valley so I am not sure of how easy they would be to find.

It's not that much different at the end of the day, just as you say jimmer. Brooklyn- I agree with the risk. Last grow I had my Geopots in a sheet metal pan that I made, with a hardware cloth base up off the metal pan bottom by 1" to allow air to circulate under the Geopots.

I also have water sensors in the bottom of this tray, so if there's a runoff the sensors in the pan trigger a simple valve to shut. So no flooding. Cheap insurance

John Nie Canna Guy said:

I am thinking about switching away from perlite in the pots too. Been leaning towards lava rock, but if I can find some non GMO rice hulls I would use those. I'm not in the Central Valley so I am not sure of how easy they would be to find.

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Yeah that's why I avoided using them. All the brewstores just carry regular. I need too much to order online I would think.

John Nie Canna Guy said:

I am thinking about switching away from perlite in the pots too. Been leaning towards lava rock, but if I can find some non GMO rice hulls I would use those. I'm not in the Central Valley so I am not sure of how easy they would be to find.

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For recycling soil, I was looking for aeration amendments that would hold up over time. Even the biochar will break down and it's good to re-amend occasionally. The pumice and lava rock will stay in tact for long time.

Sincerely420 said:

I use perlite for aeration! What's the conspiracy behind it lol?! Or the consensus?

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their are better options than perlite. perlite pulverizes easil into a dust that suffocates worms, it floats to the top of the containers, it contributes nothing to cec and is extremely pricey.

kushking42 said:

their are better options than perlite. perlite pulverizes easil into a dust that suffocates worms, it floats to the top of the containers, it contributes nothing to cec and is extremely pricey.

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Thanks for responding haha. Might look into other things here soon.
BUT I've never had perlite float to the top of my containers, I pay like $8 a bag, and thought that I wouldn't want an aeration amendment with CEC?!
Inform me brother!

And are you talkin about in a worm bin or something? Bcuz I was talking about container gardening.

if youve never had perlite float to the top of your container then i dont know what to say, you must have the secret watering technique. cec is cation exchange capacity. the higher your soils cec the better, if aeration is 20% of your medium then your medium is 20% inert with perlite.

yeah i was talking about container gardening but a lot of people have worms in their containers/raised beds. 4 cubic foot bag of perlite is not 8 bucks so i dont know how small of a bag you are referring to but i priced lava rock @66 bucks per yard.

I didn't know the dust suffocates worms. I have been adding perlite to my worm bin so it doesn't get so waterlogged, and the perlite soaks up the worm juice.

God damnit, the "rev" is at it again.

kushking42 said:

if youve never had perlite float to the top of your container then i dont know what to say, you must have the secret watering technique. cec is cation exchange capacity. the higher your soils cec the better, if aeration is 20% of your medium then your medium is 20% inert with perlite.

yeah i was talking about container gardening but a lot of people have worms in their containers/raised beds. 4 cubic foot bag of perlite is not 8 bucks so i dont know how small of a bag you are referring to but i priced lava rock @66 bucks per yard.

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I'm clear on CEC bro and NEVER had it float on me before! EVER!
And I haven't been doing anything special, that's why I'm wonder what you mean by perlite floating up to the top.
I'm too confused lol..
Like how does it do it?!
And I don't have living worms in my containers as I flower in 3 gallon pots!

And I pay $8 for almost a cu ft(5gals)or perlite! $4.99 for the smaller bag! IMO that's dirt cheap.
But a penny save is a penny earned for sure.

"the higher your soils cec the better, if aeration is 20% of your medium then your medium is 20% inert with perlite."
-right on, so you're saying it'd be better to use an aeration amendment with CEC?

kushking42 said:

their are better options than perlite. perlite pulverizes easil into a dust that suffocates worms, it floats to the top of the containers, it contributes nothing to cec and is extremely pricey.

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And are you saying that the perlite pulverizes under the weight or the soil?

@ your price your paying $216 per yard for aeration. compared to $66 for lava.

its not all of the perlite floating to the top but there is more @ the top of the medium than what is homogeneous down below. this was really evident with my outdoor containers after the fall and winter rains. there was so much perlite @ the top of my containers! after re-amending, the perlite became homogeneous once again and it looked like their was signifigantly less perlite. my outdoor containers/beds, indoor beds, small pots all have perlite that has migrated to the top of the pot. ill take some pics if i remember

perlite just breaks down over time everytime you amend your soil your pulverizing your perlite.

yes, an aeration amendment that contributes to your soils cec is a good thing

@ the price, gotcha for sure.
On a larger scale and w/ outdoor that cost difference is big thing, but indoor, 4-6 plants perpetually, each yielding 3-4oz, finishing in 3 gallon smart pots or air pots...Thats the amount of aeration amendment I'm calling for ya know?!

And I have to agree that it's a move that I should make..gonna see if I can source a small amount locally...
The less inert the better makes since..
But I seriously still can't imagine the perlite floating to the top...I just can't picture it unless the soil is waterlogged, or flooded ya know? Just don't see it..

But I've recycled the soil from three plants that I harvested thorough out March, and its cooking now, but I need to cut it once before I use it...so yeah,if wanna point me in a direction to start this afternoon sir, that be MUCH appreciated!
Could you possibly compare and contrast the different things you've used, if you get a minute?!


And i think to myself, "as much as I do think about things, I don't".