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Drip Irrigation in coco, run-off necessary?
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 2:16 am
by kunkgrow
Sup guys,
I'm setting up a new bed to try out a drip system in coco drain to waste.
when top feeding I've read that you should get 15 to 20% run off for best results.
How about dripping? I'm using some low volume emitters and on my testings I've found that with two emitters on each plant I get a drip of 30ml/min, my pots usually requires 2 liters to have runoff, this means that I should program my pump to come on for 1 hour to have run off.
I also read that drip systems are a nice way to do small multiple feedings throughout the day. However if I divide the 60min feed to 6x a day for example, I would get about 333ml per 10 min on , on this scenario I would never get run off.
To sum it up:
Drip Irrigation in coco, run-off necessary? or small multiple feedings are best ditching run off?
Re: Drip Irrigation in coco, run-off necessary?
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 2:52 am
by Ted
kunkgrow wrote: ↑Tue Sep 12, 2017 2:16 am
Sup guys,
I'm setting up a new bed to try out a drip system in coco drain to waste.
when top feeding I've read that you should get 15 to 20% run off for best results.
How about dripping? I'm using some low volume emitters and on my testings I've found that with two emitters on each plant I get a drip of 30ml/min, my pots usually requires 2 liters to have runoff, this means that I should program my pump to come on for 1 hour to have run off.
I also read that drip systems are a nice way to do small multiple feedings throughout the day. However if I divide the 60min feed to 6x a day for example, I would get about 333ml per 10 min on , on this scenario I would never get run off.
To sum it up:
Drip Irrigation in coco, run-off necessary? or small multiple feedings are best ditching run off?
You could do no runoff, but youd have to flush, or reset the medium with water regularly. Of the nutrients you put in there, a portion is absorbed by the plants, and the rest remains. The runoff is a way to leech out the excess nutrients.
My buddy grows in a closet, and he used to water his plants in the sink every time he watered, so he didnt ruin the floor. Eventually he went to a recirculating hydro solution to cut down on the work. I guess what I'm saying is, if your trying to do a no-runoff system, there are other ways to get where you need to go.
Re: Drip Irrigation in coco, run-off necessary?
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 4:52 am
by bvolt
Not sure if anyone watches Vader from Ocean Grown - I like watching him with his plants.
He does a flood and drain/ebb and flow thing that I thought seemed like a great way to ensure the plant gets just what it wants/needs by letting it absorb water and nutrients from the bottom.
I know this is nothing new. But I do like the look of Vader's plants.
Re: Drip Irrigation in coco, run-off necessary?
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:49 am
by majorana
As a fellow coco grower I'd like to suggest you look into watering with Blumat Tropf. They're sort of genius: they allow the plant to regulate its own watering schedule. And the plants love them. No need to have any run-off using them. I've had them scale up with a single plant from 0.2L/day all the way up to a 18L/day monster without me having to do anything, basically. Well, that's not entirely true: the main downside with Blumats is that approximately once a month for whatever reason I end up having a small flooding. (In the beginning I had two floodings in the first week, until I learned how to set it up, presumably I can do better now too.)
Re: Drip Irrigation in coco, run-off necessary?
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:15 pm
by Grower
I used a water pump with drippers.
Never aimed for runoff, just kept the solution low on nutes and flushed occasionally