HD Sippin with Laughing Buddha and ViparSpectra P2000

Well I was trying to get motivated to start a journal documenting my switch from hydro to SIPs, and the @ViparSpectra give away started so here we go. This is my first try at SIPs, and it’s been awhile since growing in soil. My set ups are Commander XL 17 gallon totes, I set one in the other with blocks spacing them apart to create the res. Two 4” netpot wicks in each, they hold about 4 gallons of water and 15 gallons soil. For the medium I mixed peat, coco and container mix about evenly, then added garden tone, lime, ewc and perlite.

I had been playing with timing my scrog and veg times, so this time I started the seedlings 2 weeks apart each. These are at two weeks, four weeks and 6 weeks. Lighting is ViparSpectra P2000, two P1000’s, and an HLG 600R on a light rail. Strain is Laughing Buddha.
6 weeks


4 weeks


2 weeks


These were several weeks ago, I’ll post more this afternoon.

BTW feel free to comment, ask questions and give advise.

Here’s an update with the plants about two weeks later, so in weeks 4, 6 and 8 of veg. I did a fair amount of lst and topped them as well. This is also about when I flipped to 12/12.

8 weeks veg


6 weeks veg


4 weeks veg


Now we’ll see how well they fill out the net.

They were looking a bit on the pale side so I amended a bit and top watered it in. Here they are about two weeks into flower.

Thank you for your share! What we can see is the girls freaking healthy!!

Here they are with a couple more weeks of flowering. Still looking good, I’m liking the sips. I did amend with some dry nutes and top watered with a bit of jacks bloom booster, but not a lot, two gallons with two tsp each split between the three plants.

Here they are again, not much new to report. Still stretching a bit but slowing down. Got my new Inkbird temp and humidity sensor with Wi-Fi, loving that, can check and monitor from anywhere now, thanks @Inkbird for the giveaway. I raised the lights another couple inches, plants are sippin’ about 3/4 gallon a day each. I will probably amend with some garden tone today and top water it in some since there’s a bit of lighter color in some leaves.

I checked the calendar to be sure, I flipped these to 12/12 Oct 18 so they are about 6 weeks, 4 weeks of actual flower time. About 3 months to go but still looking good. I started to see a bit of yellowing in some of the fan leaves but a top dress of garden tone top watered in with a lite dose of jacks bloom boost seemed to fix them right up. Their drinking about a gallon of water a day each now.

Looking good man really healthy plants

Thank you! I hope I can keep them looking this good the rest of the grow. Always a challenge when trying out new methods.

Hook Daddy said:

Thank you! I hope I can keep them looking this good the rest of the grow. Always a challenge when trying out new methods.

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I’m doing my first sip run now flipped mine same day as yours in hindsight should of used a trellis growth in sips is pretty rapid good luck on home straight …..

Leeski said:

I’m doing my first sip run now flipped mine same day as yours in hindsight should of used a trellis growth in sips is pretty rapid good luck on home straight …..

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Good luck to you as well. I have a scrog net but I think I’m going to have to support them as well, esp if they stretch any more. They seem to be slowing down stretching, but I have plans to trellis them sooner rather than later. I was surprised at the rapid growth in the sip, I think it is just as fast as coco/perlite, or at least close.

Hook Daddy said:

Good luck to you as well. I have a scrog net but I think I’m going to have to support them as well, esp if they stretch any more. They seem to be slowing down stretching, but I have plans to trellis them sooner rather than later. I was surprised at the rapid growth in the sip, I think it is just as fast as coco/perlite, or at least close.

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Have never grown in coco/perlite been in grassroots pots living soil for a while , have you grown these genetics before ? Asking as I’m growing genetics I have grown before but they have stretched way way more than usual…

Leeski said:

Have never grown in coco/perlite been in grassroots pots living soil for a while , have you grown these genetics before ? Asking as I’m growing genetics I have grown before but they have stretched way way more than usual…

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Yes these are clones from plants I did in hydro. I’m seeing very similar growth rates with the sip, maybe slightly slower but not much if any. Before this I ran bato buckets with coco/perlite about 50/50, and a recirculating res. It worked well but I had to use ro water due to our ph of the well water, was a pain. Now I just top off the sips once a day from the tap and they do their thing. I can go longer without watering but I like spending time with the plants anyway.

Cool, i was interested that you mentioned stretch in sips …

Here’s the new front cover for one of my future sip boxes. I’m redesigning them from what I find this grow, each will have wheels and individual scrog screens so they can move independently. Other ideas welcome.

Here’s a few more pics anther couple weeks along. Not much to add, the sips seem to be working great. I add water daily, and top dress and top water about once a week. I’ve been top dressing just throwing a few handfuls of garden tone on top then watering with a gallon of water with 3 tsp of jacks bloom boost and a bit of epsom, that’s it so far. I thinking they still have about 8 weeks to go but they may surprise me and finish a bit early, they have 6 weeks of flower time so far.

Another week has past. Their still looking good. A few fans had some browning and yellowing but there’s a lot of them so pluck and keep rolling. With the weather so cold keeping temps steady is the big goal this week. Still adding weekly top dressing and top watering with a bit of Jacks bloom boost. 10 weeks of 12/12 so far, I think maybe four or five weeks left. I’m thinking about a pound.

Well I haven’t been the best at updating, I chopped one the other day, and will chop the others soon. The one that was youngest when flipped is the one that finished first, which I found interesting. Overall they are very healthy, but I’m struggling a bit to keep the leaves from tacoing and yellowing some. Nice big colas and the smell is very piney and a bit pungent. Here’s the chopped one first, like a good sativa she foxtailed like crazy toward the end.





Here’s a couple of the other two.

Hook Daddy said:

Well I haven’t been the best at updating, I chopped one the other day, and will chop the others soon. The one that was youngest when flipped is the one that finished first, which I found interesting. Overall they are very healthy, but I’m struggling a bit to keep the leaves from tacoing and yellowing some. Nice big colas and the smell is very piney and a bit pungent. Here’s the chopped one first, like a good sativa she foxtailed like crazy toward the end.

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Here’s a couple of the other two.

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That's a nice cola right there!