A Real K.I.S.S. Growing Method - Soilponics

WattSaver said:

With your water I'm sure you won't need any cal/mag. And you're correct there is no air added to the rez. You don't need to plug in any accessories using a hempy.

If the Canna nutes are too old, then go splurge and buy a $12 two pound jar of OC+ and get more relaxation time.

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I wonder if a ACCT will be enough to feed a hempy..... Most likely not! Looks like I need to make an extra clone and see what happens.

I've got a journal going now for my current grow, If you want to see Osmocote in action.
A Hempy Adventure in Soilponics

Do you know of a product that would be suitable to amend a 3:1 coco/perlite hempy that would take care of potential calcium issues?

I mean aside from adding clamag to the feeds, I'm trying to make it as 'set and forget' as possible.

Budder Fingers said:

Do you know of a product that would be suitable to amend a 3:1 coco/perlite hempy that would take care of potential calcium issues?

I mean aside from adding clamag to the feeds, I'm trying to make it as 'set and forget' as possible.

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I've never found a controlled or time released cal product, that could be used in a hempy environment. OC+ has calcium in its list of supplemental nutes. But it's not enough to get through a coco hempy.

I've heard there is bagged coco that is treated / buffered / conditioned in such a way as to not need adding cal/mag. But I've never looked into it or tried it.

OK thanks. I realized I used the new version of OC+ that has no cal, the one with the pink lid.

So I'm just dosing cal-mag @ 5ml per gallon and I also 'charged' my coco with it initially.

I'm waiting for a test kit to arrive to find out the TA of my tap water but so far everything is looking super healthy!

Talk about simple

I used OC+ for a couple of Hempy grows. Pretty good stuff. For Veg it's freaking niceeee. For flower though, it's just too much N for my liking. There will not be any fade, and while the plants grow beautiful green foliage, that's not what we aim for come the end of flower. I used it in soil hempy hybrids and regular 75/25 perlite/Verm. Hempy's are a great way to get HUGE yields in small containers, and perfect for 2 liter SOGs. I have since gone organic though, but Hempys are great. Checkout DocBud on 420, he had a HUGE thread about OC+ and his results were congruent with my own experiences.

Actually Wattsaver was my inspiration for Hempy and that Doc Bud thread has been my main source of info.
Much recommended.

I wonder if dolomite lime would help with the cal/mg since it takes quite awhile to break down and has the added side affect of acting as a PH buffer. Or it may buffer it too high, not sure since I only use it in soil grows.

vitamin_green_inc said:

I used OC+ for a couple of Hempy grows. Pretty good stuff. For Veg it's freaking niceeee. For flower though, it's just too much N for my liking. There will not be any fade, and while the plants grow beautiful green foliage, that's not what we aim for come the end of flower. I used it in soil hempy hybrids and regular 75/25 perlite/Verm. Hempy's are a great way to get HUGE yields in small containers, and perfect for 2 liter SOGs. I have since gone organic though, but Hempys are great. Checkout DocBud on 420, he had a HUGE thread about OC+ and his results were congruent with my own experiences.

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I do know what you mean about the constant green when using OC+ only. But is there really any thing wrong with having green healthy plants at the time of harvest? I've never had a nute flavored harvest.

Then again I do like getting a little fade at the end of the grow, that's why I've incorporated using the Osmocote 14-14-14 along with the OC+. Check out my journal I just finish a blended grow..

I followed the OC+ thread from near it's beginning, and I had never used OC+ until I saw DocBud's results. Prior to that I had used several other Control and Time released ferts. It was great to finally find a thread that talked about the way I was growing.

There was also a great hempy thread @ 420 where there were many active members using several different types of CRF's but the thread was lost several yrs ago during a site upgrade.

hbbum said:

I wonder if dolomite lime would help with the cal/mg since it takes quite awhile to break down and has the added side affect of acting as a PH buffer. Or it may buffer it too high, not sure since I only use it in soil grows.

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I know dolomite works well when blended in soil, but soil doesn't have the the mag requirements that coco does. And I fear that in a passive hydro system that it may release way too much all at once. I've never tried it so I can't say that for sure.

Ah well I guess adding cal-mag isnt such a hassle... takes about 5 seconds It's a small price to pay for the results from this this method.

OC+ and Hempy is the easiest/cheapest method I've ever attempted and so far so (really) good

3 weeks old C99 coco/perlite hempy, OC+, cal-mag and Ph down

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When you go to flower, put the OC+ in a mesh bag or nylon sock or something similar. It will let you pull it two weeks before harvest without having leftovers still feeding

Hey man, I'm all about low maintenance and cost savings. LOVE this thread!

eatspam said:

Hey man, I'm all about low maintenance and cost savings. LOVE this thread!

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Hey eatspam, you found one of my old threads. And if you're looking for a simple growing system this is it. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help.

Yea wattsaver I've really enjoyed this thread I'm glad Eatspam found it ......keep up the good work mate......now I'm off to view your blog...

New guy here. I've been gathering what I need for this K.I.S.S. method but my local store only had the chunky perlite in 4 cu ft bags. Will hydroton work just as well?

Derick Crane said:

New guy here. I've been gathering what I need for this K.I.S.S. method but my local store only had the chunky perlite in 4 cu ft bags. Will hydroton work just as well?

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I have not tried hydroton in a rez. But I think chunky perlite is perfect. This is what I use. I like the open area between the chunks for a larger water volume in the rez of the bucket. In all reality its probably not more than 10%. I do know that perlite has a better wicking quality than hydroton (transferring moisture from the rez up into the medium above.)

I have a couple of twists on this. Would it be worthwhile to put a fitting in the drain hole and attach a hose running down to a bucket. Let the bucket collect the run off and maybe use it to water around trees and plants in the landscaping.

Also, I was thinking of putting a PVC standpipe in the bucket as well. A couple of inches taller than the bucket and drill a few holes in the sides near the bottom of it. You could then send straight water to the rez if you get nute burn or to flush the plant at the end of the grow.

I us Hydroton in Hempy buckets and I drill a series of small holes around the container not just one large hole.
About 2 years doing Hempy Hydroton and it has worked for me.
Bless,
DZ

When I want to change the resivoir water I just use a 2 gal wet dry vac, I can suck at least 3/4 gal from a 5 gal bucket.
Then I just flush w water till PPM are under 250, 3-4 gal per bucket.

I always drill my holes so that 1 gallon of water can sit in the hydroton 1/8 inch above the inner reservoir.

Photo is week 4 after clones were viable, flipped to 12/12 last week.

I use a large concrete mixing tray in black plastic for my runoff, $25 at Home Depot.

Bless,
DZ