ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
I thought this would be a good addition to this thread. Here is a "How-to" regarding a pumice micro-SIP style solo cup and one gallon pot technique that allows sub irrigation on a smaller scale to care for all those clones and small transplants!

Step 1: Of course, you want to start with nice healthy cuttings from whatever your method of cloning is!

DifferentCuttingStyles.jpg


Step 2: Fill your solo cup or any planter 1 gallon or smaller with about 1.00-1.25 inches of pumice or perlite (either is fine). Be sure to lightly tamp the stones into the bottom of the container so they are settled and wont shift around much. If you're using a solo cup make sure you cut some holes into the bottom to allow water to flow inward!

SoloPumiceSIP.jpg


Step 3: For a solo cup, add 1.50-2.00 inches of soil on top of the pumice (may need to add more for a 1 gal container, adjust accordingly to root ball size). Place the cutting in the container and dust your roots with your mycorrhizal product of choice.

MycoDust.jpg
MycoProduct.jpg


Step 4: Fill in the rest of your soil while keeping the clone in an upright position. Mulch with your favorite mulch. Place cuttings in a clean drip tray, and fill with water just below the level of the pumice. Wicking action will begin!

PumiceSIPTray.jpg


There you have it! No more individually watering clones, or plants up to one gallon! Just pile them in drip trays and fill the tray. This technique has been very successful for me and a hell of a time saver. I actually use this technique on a larger scale as well, with pots up to 7 gallons so far. Every once in a while I check to see if the upper horizon is moist below the mulch, and if it's a little dry for my liking, I just do a very light top watering as I see fit but usually it's not required.

Please feel free to ask any questions.
 
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Greenthumbs256

Well-Known Member
I thought this would be a good addition to this thread. Here is a "How-to" regarding a pumice micro-SIP style solo cup and one gallon pot technique that allows sub irrigation on a smaller scale to care for all those clones and small transplants!

Step 1: Of course, you want to start with nice healthy cuttings from whatever your method of cloning is!

View attachment 4294490


Step 2: Fill your solo cup or any planter 1 gallon or smaller with about 1.00-1.25 inches of pumice or perlite (either is fine). Be sure to lightly tamp the stones into the bottom of the container so they are settled and wont shift around much. If you're using a solo cup make sure you cut some holes into the bottom to allow water to flow inward!

View attachment 4294491


Step 3: For a solo cup, add 1.00-1.50 inches of soil on top of the pumice (may need to add more for a 1 gal container, adjust accordingly to root ball size). Place the cutting in the container and dust your roots with your mycorrhizal product of choice.

View attachment 4294492
View attachment 4294493


Step 4: Fill in the rest of your soil while keeping the clone in an upright position. Mulch with your favorite mulch. Place cuttings in a clean drip tray, and fill with water just below the level of the pumice. Wicking action will begin!

View attachment 4294494


There you have it! No more individually watering clones, or plants up to one gallon! Just pile them in drip trays and fill the tray. This technique has been very successful for me and a hell of a time saver. Please feel free to ask any questions.
I love it! thanks buddy!
 

Greenthumbs256

Well-Known Member
if anyone else has methods or designs of there own, feel free to load them up here! or questions or w.e. you got! I made this thread for that exact purpose! don't be shy! post it, if it's related to this is any way, that's why I made this thread, all the info as simplistic as possible, and any and all info about this!!!

edit; I know there is many variations of this, if you guy would rather just post a link to your version that's fine as well, and thank you guys for your contributions here!
 
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MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
and here's the video that started it all for me! I don't follow him 100% but pretty dam close! for one thing, I'm indoors, so I dam sure don't want thousands of frogs in my house lmfao!!!
He's growing outdoors in 8gal earthboxes. So, I imagine my idea of a 45gal indoor tote is over kill big time. Maybe for an outdoor grow, which I am looking into my 1st outdoor grow since I finally have my license. Okla is just so far behind the times, I never thought that it was going to legalize here!
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
He's growing outdoors in 8gal earthboxes. So, I imagine my idea of a 45gal indoor tote is over kill big time. Maybe for an outdoor grow, which I am looking into my 1st outdoor grow since I finally have my license. Okla is just so far behind the times, I never thought that it was going to legalize here!
depends on what you start with. if you're starting from seed right around the start of growing season then I'd say yeah probably overkill. But if you're starting with a well established plant that's ready to veg and pack on growth... 45 probably just about right dude!
 

Jesselikes2grow

Well-Known Member
I will be doing probiotics sips as well, have 2 diff styles I will be doing and posting updates here. One the same style as greens, and another fabric pot sip style setup. A few things to finish up before plantings, and a few ladies need to get out of the way for the big bitches coming. Lol. Green started this thread, let's grow it.
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
so I know Green is gone ... and well he; self admittedly, did not know a ton about the whys here. So for any of the real microbe folks out there here is my question. I looked into the growkashi stuff looks amazing expensive to buy ez pz to make. You use the EM1 stuff to inoculate some wheat bran and fuel it with molasses. You then let it ferment for a few weeks and tada! growkashi! You need to dry it out for long term storage. but then Green advised to use the same EM 1 in your rez. .... his goal is to have ferment heavy soil on top and bacterial on the bottom.... using the sme EM 1 microbes... dont you have the same bacteria functioning on top as well as on the bottom??? Should one of them be using a different bacteria product? Or is it the fermentation that transforms the EM 1 bacteria to a fungal growth as opposed to the EM i sitting in water which breeds a different type???
 

Jesselikes2grow

Well-Known Member
so I know Green is gone ... and well he; self admittedly, did not know a ton about the whys here. So for any of the real microbe folks out there here is my question. I looked into the growkashi stuff looks amazing expensive to buy ez pz to make. You use the EM1 stuff to inoculate some wheat bran and fuel it with molasses. You then let it ferment for a few weeks and tada! growkashi! You need to dry it out for long term storage. but then Green advised to use the same EM 1 in your rez. .... his goal is to have ferment heavy soil on top and bacterial on the bottom.... using the sme EM 1 microbes... dont you have the same bacteria functioning on top as well as on the bottom??? Should one of them be using a different bacteria product? Or is it the fermentation that transforms the EM 1 bacteria to a fungal growth as opposed to the EM i sitting in water which breeds a different type???
this won't be a short reply. Lol
I've been looking into this. I like to know the why it works, not just that it works. From the way I understand it, the em 1 gets the breakdown up top and in the grokashi, started throughout the soil bed through top water down. The fungal growth will take over as its cultures from the grokashi land on the ripe bed of partially decomposed materials and do what fungus does. Break stuff down. Will still happen w/out grokashi, just lots slower. Does it slowly and makes it available for the plant to take in as needed. The extra liming and compost helps keep the soil closer to neutral ph as the em 1 is very acidic. The water in res with em 1 keeps any baddies away due to the acidity and massive population of anaerobic bacteria. The acidity of the em1 is drawn into the soil pulling air with it so you get a good chelating effect from the acidity making certain nutrients more readily available. As it's drawn up the liming slowly neutralizes the ph making other nutrients more readily available in a different ph range. Basically letting the soil range from acid to neutral, top to bottom, making nutrients always available at their best ph range for the plants uptake. The em 1 being anaerobic and out competing the aerobic bacteria in growth leaves the oxygen, drawn in by water capillary action, fully available for the roots with no competition. The promoted fungi also do not rob the plant of oxygen. All done by beneficial bacteria and fungi, the miracles of nature. That's the way I understand it put into a layman's terms. Hope that made sense.
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
this won't be a short reply. Lol
I've been looking into this. I like to know the why it works, not just that it works. From the way I understand it, the em 1 gets the breakdown up top and in the grokashi, started throughout the soil bed through top water down. The fungal growth will take over as its cultures from the grokashi land on the ripe bed of partially decomposed materials and do what fungus does. Break stuff down. Will still happen w/out grokashi, just lots slower. Does it slowly and makes it available for the plant to take in as needed. The extra liming and compost helps keep the soil closer to neutral ph as the em 1 is very acidic. The water in res with em 1 keeps any baddies away due to the acidity and massive population of anaerobic bacteria. The acidity of the em1 is drawn into the soil pulling air with it so you get a good chelating effect from the acidity making certain nutrients more readily available. As it's drawn up the liming slowly neutralizes the ph making other nutrients more readily available in a different ph range. Basically letting the soil range from acid to neutral, top to bottom, making nutrients always available at their best ph range for the plants uptake. The em 1 being anaerobic and out competing the aerobic bacteria in growth leaves the oxygen, drawn in by water capillary action, fully available for the roots with no competition. The promoted fungi also do not rob the plant of oxygen. All done by beneficial bacteria and fungi, the miracles of nature. That's the way I understand it put into a layman's terms. Hope that made sense.
First off...thank you very much for your in depth reply! I love to hear folks that are into the soil food web and feeding the microbes instead of adhering to the "more money I spend on nutes the better my plants will be" mentality (each to his/ her own of course different strokes and all that)
and it makes total sense and I get the whole soil food web (I have been feeding my microbes and not my plants for about 5 years now ... still not sure what to do with old bottles of nutes but I am sure they are expired garbage by now lol) but I was more wondering about specifically if I need to have different micro heards in the soil vs in the rez. what do you think??? Maybe there is so much variation already in the EM 1 product that the different environments they are being introduced into is promoting different micro organisms to thrive and there fore creating the fungal dominant on top and the bacterial dominant in the rez. Just so you know I have been using SIPs and organics for a while now but have NOT been using the EM 1 or grokashi and that is the part I am looking to upgrade too! thanks again for your and any one elses input!
 

Jesselikes2grow

Well-Known Member
Here is 1 of the 2 sip designs I will be adding to this thread. Second sip similar to greens design but using 6" black corrugated drain pipe as the support system. The ones in these pics are a modified design from another grower, @hyroot, he has already proven this system. His threads are on this forum.
Build plan and parts:
Mine is a 12 gallon tote.20190312_200634.jpg Top cut out for inner base. Overflow hole, water level site tube in base of tote. 6" corrugated drain sections as the support system for inner base. 6" net pot epoxied to inner base bottom, garden burlap 3 layers thick to keep soil out of res but allow roots through.20190312_200657.jpg 1" pvc fill tube. 10 gal fabric pot with bottom cut out for 6" net pot. 20190312_200737.jpg Net pot wick filled with 50/50 coco/aeration mix. Aeration is perlite and pumice mix. Fab pot filled to 2 inches off top with my soil. Last 2 inches covered with pumice mulch to hold moisture and keep fungus gnats away.
Soil mix:
ROLS soil custom mix fairly similar to greens listed on page 1. Some amendments substituted for similar items due to availability and or cost. Approximately 120 gallons total mix made. Roughly 1-1-1 ratio with base/compost/aeration. 55 or so gallons of old soil with root balls from last grow, counting part of this amount as compost and also aeration. 35 to 40 gallons of new peat based mix, and 20 gallons compost EWC mix. Amendments and soil base parts all mixed. 2.5 cubic ft bag perlite added, and 5 gal bucket of pumice for aeration addition. My recipe was adjusted up with more P and down for less K inputs because the recycled soil added in already having sufficient K levels but Low P amounts. Biochar aldo added.
Growing schedule:
Let soil sit in tubs for 2 months. Clones started in solo cups and peat puck. At time of clone cutting 10 gal gets filled with dampened soil and covered with plastic. 1.5 to 2 weeks cuttings in solo cup growing roots, 1.5 to 2 weeks in 1 gallon up potting.20190312_181612.jpg 3 to 4 weeks after cutting it gets up potted into 10 gal fab pot sip for 2 to 3 more weeks of veg. Total veg time 5 to 7 weeks from clone cutting to flowering room for a perpetual grow. 8 to 12 weeks in flower room, strain dependant as well as personal preference based on trichomes.
Thesis:
The shorter veg time should allow me more med sized plants, I like a variety. Shorter veg won't need the added size of the 18 gal tote for food, smaller design, more room for more plants, again, I like a variety. Lol. Will update when ive got more.
 

Jesselikes2grow

Well-Known Member
First off...thank you very much for your in depth reply! I love to hear folks that are into the soil food web and feeding the microbes instead of adhering to the "more money I spend on nutes the better my plants will be" mentality (each to his/ her own of course different strokes and all that)
and it makes total sense and I get the whole soil food web (I have been feeding my microbes and not my plants for about 5 years now ... still not sure what to do with old bottles of nutes but I am sure they are expired garbage by now lol) but I was more wondering about specifically if I need to have different micro heards in the soil vs in the rez. what do you think??? Maybe there is so much variation already in the EM 1 product that the different environments they are being introduced into is promoting different micro organisms to thrive and there fore creating the fungal dominant on top and the bacterial dominant in the rez. Just so you know I have been using SIPs and organics for a while now but have NOT been using the EM 1 or grokashi and that is the part I am looking to upgrade too! thanks again for your and any one elses input!
You are correct in the bacterial dom bottom and the fungal dom top. Best of both worlds doing the heavy lifting for your plants. Best of ph ranges for nutrient uptake. Really going this route the bacteria and fungals will do their thing all by themselves. Em1 etc does its thing due to reasons listed above. Especially due to the anaerobic and overpopulation part. You could introduce more microbes but why? There's a shit ton in there from the em etc. Likely the em would just eat the other additional microbes for food. lol. Green said it ate his adhesive. Lol. Be a waste I'd think, plenty of micro herd already having been cultured in the em and the grokashi. They will balance themselves out between them good keeping away bad, each feeding off the other and living happily, nature doing it's thing, all cohesive.
If you've been running an air stone in the res prior with your sips I would remove it for the em 1 change, not needed. Also do not nutrient the res, can cause issues and is not needed, everything should be in the soil. The air stone will promote aerobic bacteria vs the em 1 anaerobic bacteria. They will compete with each other. That's a diff method using the air stone, use that method with nutes in the res. I could look up the thread where guy did a side by side and no diff except giant roots that shrunk the water res. No bud or plant difference. Em 1 can be replaced with LABS as well, think that was noted earlier in thread. I can find it for you if needed or the res Google. Lol. Hyroot has a good thread about it on here as well. Recipes on first page.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/organic-no-till-probiotic-knf-jadam-vermicomposting-soil-mixes-sips-etc-q-a.951076/
 
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