Experiment with a Hempy Bucket

[AVR1 156]

Rigged up a Hempy Bucket out of a dollar store $1.00 trash can and used 100% perlite. Threw in a abused Northern Lights BX1 with root rot, in an uncontrolled environment (outdoors in 90 + degree heat)here it is 3 days later. Hempy's may very well be in my future.

[Hempyfan 4,152]

Hempy buckets in perlite can be a beautiful thing. Ensure to PH correct, calmag is very important to add in this and stability aspects are what to look for and manage.

 

Start off 1/4 recommended dose of nutrients and read the plant well and it will guide you in your PPM/EC levels as you go. Be sure to get good enough run off/flow that you do not get too much nutrient build up in the hempy rez part.

 

Happy Growing!

[stonedagain714 137]

hempy bucket was first thing i tried,i used promix,in 5 gallon bucket.dont know how you built yours.mine i drilled 1 inch hole 2 inches from bottom.used duct tape to tape a peice of screen over hole(was cheap),do watch ph and i had to add lime and a little epsom salt.it worked great.years later still using promix(or sunshine 4) mixed with soil 18 gallon totes somewhat a variation of hempy bucket.

[jp139 20]

All I use are hempy's now (3 parts perlite and 1 part vermiculite) mix 3 - 3.5 gal buckets. I use the "useless" formula (modified a bit) with gh 3 part nutrients. like said above ph every feeding. I start seedlings with about 150ppm's and never ever seem to go above 800ppms for full blown flowering plants (no matter the strain). Maybe that's why they call it the "useless" formula. This year have added no cal/mag and no issues-plants green up through 7th week. No pumps, no air stones, no cleaning res, no root rot, can't over water - works for me. Good Luck.

[.: V :. 1,082]

is there a thread for an organic hempy chaps?

gonna give it a go.

could i put clayballs or somethin at the bottom, then fill up with soil mix?

maybe lighten the mix lower down the bucket?

hit me up peeps. V. ☺

[Sacred Plant Warrior 2,468]

Hempy buckets in perlite can be a beautiful thing. Ensure to PH correct, calmag is very important to add in this and stability aspects are what to look for and manage. Start off 1/4 recommended dose of nutrients and read the plant well and it will guide you in your PPM/EC levels as you go. Be sure to get good enough run off/flow that you do not get too much nutrient build up in the hempy rez part. Happy Growing!

 

Hempyfan ,

 

i am going to be using bio bizz coco = https://thegrowshow....mix-50l-bag.jpg

along with

 

grow stones = http://www.homedepot...7faf6d_1000.jpg

 

basic plan is to aerate the regular coco pots/bags with the grow stones.

 

yet, also us at least 2/3 hempy buckets with the following 3 options

 

1. pure coco with a layer of the grow stones on the bottom of the buckets

2. coco 70/30 perlite + layer of stones on bottom

3. coco + stones 70/30

 

what are your thoughts on the pros/cons of each method ?

what would you do, and why?

 

ran only two hempy's before using 4/5 gal buckets with a 2/3 to 1/3 perlite to vermiculite ratio

 

since i'm going to be doing coco for awhile anyway as my go to medium.i was motivated by a thread with coco used in a hempy bucket, and it sounded simple to do , and the results were good.

already medium have both, and leftover perlite too. thx. for your thoughts

 

to the op AVR1 once your dialed in using a hempy it will be smiles all around . i learned from my 1st. attempt to stick cuts that are rooted in sponge pots or anything that holds them together into small/tiny hempy pots of your intended medium.

when you transplant to the final size bucket they just adapt quickly with no issues because they are already used to the same conditions .

 

I WOULDN'T ADVISE going straight to final bucket from a rooted cut . so much wasted water to get run off, and the little plants don't dig it as much . that was my personal experience anyway , all soved via the way i told you above .

[Sacred Plant Warrior 2,468]

is there a thread for an organic hempy chaps? gonna give it a go. could i put clayballs or somethin at the bottom, then fill up with soil mix? maybe lighten the mix lower down the bucket? hit me up peeps. V. ☺

 

defeats the purpose, and ease of a hempy. you need the xtra drainage holes for soil or your roots will choke . if ur an organic soil grower so be it. if you want to use hempy your medium will change to suit the grow method. hempy was designed to be like hydro only simpler to get away from soil growing.

going in reverse puts you back where you started. shit send me some of what you puffin on, that shit must be the FIYAH ! lol

[Elro 123]

If you just stick to the original Hempi formula without messing with it you will grow some seriously awesome and happy happy plants.

And I do mean seriously awesome and happy!!!!!

[Sacred Plant Warrior 2,468]

If you just stick to the original Hempi formula without messing with it you will grow some seriously awesome and happy happy plants. And I do mean seriously awesome and happy!!!!!

 

your absolutely correct 100%, but i have done classic hempy already and may get back to it one day. i'm going to be a coco dude for awhile because i tried that on a tiny scale and it was awesome. up until then i had never seen roots so pretty/healthy except online pics. I want to take the opportunity to push the hempy goodness knowing it has worked already with coco coir. this way i also get to see exactly which one will use more water straight pot/bags or a hempy bucket close to the same size. I will factor in size difference though.

 

now frankly the classic hempy will be cheaper so far as medium cost initially for sure, and coco can be used at least twice with ease or even 3 times. twice is cool with me though. yet many times I have told folks the exact same thing about doing hempy the classic way that is fail safe basically. coco coir is the only alternative medium i would experiment with in a hempy. the grow stones just assure good drainage no matter what.

 

i have to go back to getting ahead on water so I don't need to make things seem that different and have started to use more electricity too. appearances can mean a ton.

 

thx. brother for your input i didn't want u to think i had not paid attention.

[webeblzr 2,207]

Someone mention *organic hydroponics* ??

http://precedings.nature.com/documents/2494/version/1/html

 

My new passion!! I now have bit of guide after reading this for 47 times over and over!!

 

SPW knows I make *dinosaur vomit* with all my kitchen scraps every week, blending them into a puree of sorts, then dumping the DV either onto my outdoor plants, or into one of 3 compost barrels. I stop in winter, as it all just freezes.

 

It does make a very quick compost, as I try to always keep what weeds we pull, stuffed into the barrels. DV does break all that matter down quicker then just time.

 

So by making DV more into a tea, adding my own homemade BioChar, and following (kinda of) the recipes in the link, I think I'm going to give this a go, with vegetables first, and maybe (if I can find the knobs and dials) get some of my equipment out of storage and give our fav's a shot next winter...if I can crack the code.

 

But since we sprout many types of seeds now, for salad toppings, and the sunflower sprouts I grow out, now I can turn them into green manure teas!!

Super excited about this, and the only medium I'll be using is perlite, but with a krusty freedom bucket twist, to match aeration with tea to perlite.

Hurtback many years ago tried to teach some of us, about a no change type of hydro, he called Bio ponics, he was on the right track, but it was not complete.

The above link is just mind bending for me!!

[Elro 123]

@webeblzr

Excellent!!!!!

Would be great to follow your progress if you should be so inclined to start a thread!!!!!!

I foresee a seriously happy grow coming up!!!!!!

[Sacred Plant Warrior 2,468]

Someone mention *organic hydroponics* ?? http://precedings.nature.com/documents/2494/version/1/html My new passion!! I now have bit of guide after reading this for 47 times over and over!! SPW knows I make *dinosaur vomit* with all my kitchen scraps every week, blending them into a puree of sorts, then dumping the DV either onto my outdoor plants, or into one of 3 compost barrels. I stop in winter, as it all just freezes. It does make a very quick compost, as I try to always keep what weeds we pull, stuffed into the barrels. DV does break all that matter down quicker then just time. So by making DV more into a tea, adding my own homemade BioChar, and following (kinda of) the recipes in the link, I think I'm going to give this a go, with vegetables first, and maybe (if I can find the knobs and dials) get some of my equipment out of storage and give our fav's a shot next winter...if I can crack the code. But since we sprout many types of seeds now, for salad toppings, and the sunflower sprouts I grow out, now I can turn them into green manure teas!! Super excited about this, and the only medium I'll be using is perlite, but with a krusty freedom bucket twist, to match aeration with tea to perlite. Hurtback many years ago tried to teach some of us, about a no change type of hydro, he called Bio ponics, he was on the right track, but it was not complete. The above link is just mind bending for me!!

 

I would think the ocoto pots would be prime candidates to do organic hydro. I wish they sold a smaller octo pot option, i don't really want to make shit lol. flipside is with coco or hempy buckets or a combination of both I don't need to try everything just to experiment to get good results. primary goal now is just to grow healthy plants the rest takes care of itself.

[webeblzr 2,207]

Hey Elro,

[i foresee a seriously happy grow coming up!!!!!! ]

Dang, I wish I did man!!

I see miles of horrible mess in front of me to gather a learning curve!!

I know this going to be a fist fight for while man. So I'll pick on square vegtables at first, lettuces, tomatoes, whatever seeds I have right now.

Hey SPW, I had to search to know what Octo Pots are, and for $700.00 I'll never know.

Honestly it's the old krusty bucket system, that will come back to life....photos in my galley.

Lava rock, coco chips, perlite (the biggest chunk size I can find) in the top bucket. Constant drip set up....maybe.

​I'm digging up some soil and compost today, to add to the myco/DV bucket that is a bubbling bucket, to start the tea making process.

I have nothing to follow, so it will get ugly, but I'm still very excited about this style,using food scraps and time to make plant food.

[Elro 123]

@webeblzr

LOL i never said you weren't going to have to work for that happy grow!!!!!!

Good luck!!!!!

[Hempyfan 4,152]

Hempyfan ,

 

i am going to be using bio bizz coco = https://thegrowshow....mix-50l-bag.jpg

along with

 

grow stones = http://www.homedepot...7faf6d_1000.jpg

 

basic plan is to aerate the regular coco pots/bags with the grow stones.

 

yet, also us at least 2/3 hempy buckets with the following 3 options

 

1. pure coco with a layer of the grow stones on the bottom of the buckets

2. coco 70/30 perlite + layer of stones on bottom

3. coco + stones 70/30

 

what are your thoughts on the pros/cons of each method ?

what would you do, and why?

 

ran only two hempy's before using 4/5 gal buckets with a 2/3 to 1/3 perlite to vermiculite ratio

 

since i'm going to be doing coco for awhile anyway as my go to medium.i was motivated by a thread with coco used in a hempy bucket, and it sounded simple to do , and the results were good.

already medium have both, and leftover perlite too. thx. for your thoughts

 

to the op AVR1 once your dialed in using a hempy it will be smiles all around . i learned from my 1st. attempt to stick cuts that are rooted in sponge pots or anything that holds them together into small/tiny hempy pots of your intended medium.

when you transplant to the final size bucket they just adapt quickly with no issues because they are already used to the same conditions .

 

I WOULDN'T ADVISE going straight to final bucket from a rooted cut . so much wasted water to get run off, and the little plants don't dig it as much . that was my personal experience anyway , all soved via the way i told you above .

 

Ok, I will write bullets under your options below.

but ensure the following:

1. PH 5.6 to 6.1 is ok 5.7 to 5.9 is better. (not unheard of grows to 6.3 but I have not seen it but follow the plant, each feeding the next day you see it but unless negative drive up slow) (lower in veg going higher in flower, try not for big swings in PH, it should be stable) As you watch your plant you will see if it is responding well to lower or higher ph as you go, just use the numbers I wrote as a gauge. Depending on your environment and genetics this can vary with merit from grower to grower.
   
2. EC - Work your plants from clone to .7 to 1.0 and slowly if at all advance from their watching your plants closely. Example of my measure (if water ec around .4 and .3 EC = .7) Increase and decrease as the plants respond. If your using RO water, add some tap to .3 ec and at .4ec nutrient (this is for ph balance and is common technique to PH stabilize water with buffers)
   
3. Add each feed 1/4 strength of calmag + (plus has iron). You do not add too much as the iron will not stay chelated and will become useless to your plants and cause problems in short period of time. So you keep adding more but small amounts and adjust up and down as plants go.
   
4. Flush at regular intervals depending on nutrients used and EC numbers on return, however you only need to flush the bottom res, so you when you make the hempy bucket you can put a small hose or piece of pvc pipe so you can poor directly into res. Yes you can feed like that too but in this case is best in my view to simply use to clear the bottom res of the hempy bucket.
   
5. (Hempy buckets are one if not the only grow system I recommend flushing regularly if not using dry salts. This is due to the high solubility of the high grade salts (food or pharma grade is what you want, NOT agriculture grade fertilizers ever!)
   
6. Record, check and over time analyze the records of your ph and ec in and outs. If you are doing clones from mothers this is imperative for dialing in for "your" plants and "your" environment but I highly recommend doing always until you speak plant and can read the environment like an old time sailor.
   

 

1. pure coco with a layer of the grow stones on the bottom of the buckets

• This will work is not ideal texture nor really air (not big deal for this as coco works well but if very fine coco over time and if people add azomite or rock dusts in this can limit drainage efficiency) and stability aspect.
  
• Negative, not as friendly for bio-organic growing as media in one texture and limits shelter and environments for fungi and microbes.
  
• Has been done very and is likely easily found documented in other forums if not this one but I do not recall off hand.
  
• Nutrients: Dry Salts or bottle nutrients. (Dry salts stated are highest quality in my view)
  
• Dry nutrient salts - such as (Jacks Hydroponics (you will need the bloom too) veg & bloom (need veg and bloom and shine by them), Yara, Haifa). Veg and Bloom products and Yara are very impressive to me. Take that for what you will.
  
• Bottle Nutrients - Botanicare, foxfarm, Humboldt, Canna, advanced nutrients, etc. Your typical grow shop nutrients. If you use a nutrient line as above, you should use the entire line unless you are able to accurately substitute as these nutrients are oftened formulated to work "correctly" together and when not they can cause issues. This is more common with highly chelated products. It is important to flush as they indicate or you will to various degrees begin to acidify and unbalance PH and lockout aspects and begin a wide spectrum of issues. (telling stories out of school perhaps)
  
• I have done this. I prefer it a different way but understand your environment, your genetics and your techniques all play a role and this is also a variance that makes this not so cut and dry wholly. Their are people who could for their experience and setup argue with merit points of disagreement about what is "ideal" in this one.
  
• Overall negatives, stability and fast possible not was evenly distributed watering/feeding.
  

2. coco 70/30 perlite + layer of stones on bottom

3. coco + stones 70/30

• I am going to combine these two into one.
  
• I do not see much over all difference that might not even equate to seeing a difference in side by side grows.
  
• I will say that I do not know those type of grow stones but I am going to give the view they function similar to perlite.
  
• For me I would prefer a blend of coco 70 and stones/perlite 30 with stones and perlite at bottom.
  
• This offers various sizes of stones and a more dynamic texture. This prevents the water from draining to fast. It hits those obstacles (stones) and releases more of the nutrients within the media column rather than faster flowing carrying to the bottom. (This helps in keeping salt concentrations from getting to high at the bottom of container but will happen anyways if not managed)
  

The nutrient information I wrote same but I post again below but is same as above for other hempy type.

• Dry nutrient salts - such as (Jacks Hydroponics (you will need the bloom too) veg & bloom (need veg and bloom and shine by them), Yara, Haifa). Veg and Bloom products and Yara are very impressive to me. Take that for what you will.
  
• Bottle Nutrients - Botanicare, foxfarm, Humboldt, Canna, advanced nutrients, etc. Your typical grow shop nutrients. If you use a nutrient line as above, you should use the entire line unless you are able to accurately substitute as these nutrients are oftened formulated to work "correctly" together and when not they can cause issues. This is more common with highly chelated products. It is important to flush as they indicate or you will to various degrees begin to acidify and unbalance PH and lockout aspects and begin a wide spectrum of issues. (telling stories out of school perhaps)
  

Question, you say you are going to aerate the growstones? Are you planing on running an airstone? If so I tend to advise against that due to the following.

• As water volume diminishes it can have a drying effect.
  
• If if has water it can raise the PH.
  
• If you search other forums you will find countless testings of air being added to not positive nor truly negative measurable ends. Wont truly hurt if good environment and good care but wont bring nothing but more clutter to the party but sometimes it is good to get the feel for yourself so no harm done if tried truly as long as environment, PH and EC are in line.
  

Hempyfan name comes from hempybuckets before I ever knew of here. It is pleasure to give input to your question and hope that helped.

[Sacred Plant Warrior 2,468]

@Hempyfan FINALLY GOT BACK TO THIS. dude thanks for all the effort u put in to help me. hell i already know ur the man and have seen you dole out loads of legit advice over the years. your very much like an unsung grow master hero on the boards you contribute too.

ok, these are the stones i use and they don't make them anymore. whatever stock is left is all someone had a nice sale but since i have never used them and my boin is tighter than a flea's wife's pussy after he got caught cheating i couldn't buy the sale stuff. however, i do know i can always get chunky/larger perlite based on how i use the stones .  these are what i have https://www.htgsupply.com/products/growstone-gs-2-mix-this-soil-aerator-15cuft/

i used only a small portion of one bag to use in bought pottin soil.  pretty sure i bought two bags, hmm. it was a couple years ago and been sitting waiting to be used.

i see how coco - stones and coco + perlite would be virtually identical. stones should be slightly more beneficial and last longer without breaking down so i can reuse it at least once imho. ur thoughts =?

you brought up an issue that i know i had problems with my last two runs. mixing different ferts from different lines. mind you the ferts i used were actually organic but i feel like my mixing affected the overall plant growth etc. even though last run things went well i know i can do better. i have  botanicare CNS=17 coco version.

now i have a question that few would qualify to answer. i have these pots and want to know can i use them for a hempy pot type of grow even though there is no one hole drain obviously. here are pics so u can see if it's possible. thx.

[Sacred Plant Warrior 2,468]

They do well and can easily grow a proper 

[Hempyfan 4,152]

Just got back online today.  Fun times...

For a hempy you want the holes a bit up on the sides of the pot so that it makes a reservoir. 

On the media, I used big perlite mostly.  Perlite/stones and coco are my favorite due to wicking.  birds nest type.  All the media should last for a very long time but a replenishment % is common.

 

What essentially is happening.

• You generally start with a clone, because we want to populate the media roots as fast as possible.
• Once the clone is established in the new pot I like to reduce water/nutrient input for a week.
• This increases the plant to aggressively go after that water source at the bottom of the container.
• We want to help the plant drink well about the time it hits that container.  About a week.  Now if you used a wicking ingredient in your media this helps.  An example of birds nest style coco, the stringy stuff and not ground so much.  I actually like both in media but for hempy buckets, I ensure I put in a healthy amount.
• Be careful to not hit with heavy nutrients after that first week, It will be an unpleasant shock to the plant and likely lead to a burn.
• The issue with hempy buckets is when you get to high a concentration of nutrients on the reservoir of the pot and that can cause significant issues over time.
• So go low and slow build-up and be sure to test your in and outs as this will help you keep in an acceptable range.
• Also, with hempy buckets because of nutrient concentration on the bottom of the reservoir with this style.  I do advocate flushing at flip, weeks 3 to 5, and towards the end.  This with this type of schedule, feed - water  -  feed - water - feed - water.  

Is what sets Hempy growth apart is when roots growth is optimized to begin energy into uptake rather than searching for water and nutrients.  This when tapered with the timing for its growth period seriously speeds up growth.  Not that it speeds up but that when all clicks into place it is ready and raring to go at the starting line compared to not quite prepared but at the starting line.

I evolved from hempy buckets to basically fabric containers on a flood and drain table.  I have done all types of media on it for the most part.  My name hempy comes from hempy buckets and in appreciation of the original Hempy!

[Sacred Plant Warrior 2,468]

@Hempyfan see the second picture from the top/ it shows the pit set up properly, that bottom part is the reservoir. that's what made me think it could be treated like a hempy  with coco/perlite/stones, standard perlite/vermiculite which i originally did. i found if you use the stand PER/VER mix the pants transition really easily if rooted in a cup with the same mix that is in the hempy bucket.   though frankly coco/perlite/vermic will allow roots to take off ready to go into a hempy.

i'm just going to get a ph test kit and use a more accurate color scale i found online a fellow grower shared. tired of all the meters coming up like worthless junk. obviously certain folks get meters that do work for them but go check reviews on that now and they are all crappy. unless the expensive probe style for res's are used. i can't find my ec/ppm/tds truncheon but spotted it online for just under 90$ and rather buy that than blue lab which is why i bought an original in the 1st. place at 50$ back then. then a digital model came out and i stuck to the standard that was easy and always worked. damn thing is hidden in my house somewhere smdh. grrr