Mini-DWC in Coffee Container

Uh oh! Looks like Ginger might in fact be Gregor. I will know for sure in a few days. If so, I may put one of the Three Sisters in the coffee container. Either way, the plant is quite lush and it shows one may do a DWC in a smaller container than previously thought. I will do a final photo before putting Ginger down.
 
I put 'Ginger' down last night. I did take a final photo which I will post later.

I cannot transplant one of the sisters into the smaller container as the roots are tangled.

If there is interest I will continue, but the main thrust of this thread is over. I will however take three cuttings from each of the remaining plants and if one is female I will restart in the coffee container.

Anyway it does show that it is entirely possible to do a baby DWC with decent results.
 
Here is the final shot of transgendered 'Ginger':

Ginger final.jpg


Here are Las Tres Hermanas now in flower:

Three Sisters.jpg


You folks need to let me know if you want to continue seeing more as the main thrust of this thread is over. I still consider the grow a success and find no reason to believe it would not fully flower in such a small container.
 
The three sisters (to reiterate - gender is unknown) are settling in nicely. They will likely show sex within a week.

Sisters in FLower.jpg

Fun fact: In some experiments (no link) it has been shown that overcrowded plants (provided proper temp and humidity) easily outperform well spaced plants as to overall yield per watt. It could be competition or just that fact that more light is hitting leaves rather than floor/walls.

Yes, the roots are tangled in the 5 gallon bucket so what do I do if one or two are males? Killing the plants will cause the roots to rot and spoil the reservoir. The solution is simple. I will just cut them back enough (about 80-90%) to keep them alive, but not enough to produce pollen. This will have to be repeated several times.
 
Two of 'the three sisters' are definitely male and have been chopped. So much for the power of positive thinking. Contrary to what I projected earlier, I did cut all the roots to separate them which means the remaining plant will be in minor shock for a while so no updates for about a week.

Of course, now this is just a standard 5 gallon DWC.

Starting this without feminized seeds or known female clones was obviously a mistake. I am going to take some clones from the remaining 'hermana' and may try again. This time with known females and with two mini-DWCs in case of failure.

Stay tuned, but be patient.
 
Here is my semi-successful grow. Why semi? My PPM meter broke so there is considerable nute burn; that and she was neglected, being stuck under the canopy of my main 5 gallon DWC monster and not getting full light. All-in-all though, it shows the concept is very doable.

mini-DWC.jpg

What would I do differently? Would try a DWC sea of green using 4" PVC maybe 15" tall. In a SOG, I would not top. BTW, I used an open air tube without a diffuser/bubbling wand.

Someone else should give a try and let's compare notes.

I will add one more photo just before harvest.
 
Final note: Pulled 14 grams of potent herb off this setup. (sorry, no photo) Not too bad for the neglect and low light. It shows the concept is very doable. I consider it a success.
 
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