General hydroponics.
Flora series -
Maxi grow by general hydroponics ( and / or bloom)
Or master blend.
0
Reply
Jim Broxson
ty
Taylor Kent Buchanan
what are you wanting to grow?
Jim Broxson
tomatoes mainly, looking at the Dutch bucket system
Taylor Kent Buchanan
that is what I do. I use master blend. With a 50 gallon reservoir buried in the ground, and a 55 gallon drum for top off. On a float valve. I use perlite as my medium
Taylor Kent Buchanan
I mix my mb into concentrated form, then use 2-2-1 cups of the three separate parts for 50 gallons.
Jim Broxson
how many buckets do you have on 1 system
Taylor Kent Buchanan
8 five gallon buckets right now, could be easily expanded to double that though
Jim Broxson
Awesome, where do you live
Taylor Kent Buchanan
Mississippi
Jim Broxson
I’m in Arkansas, how long you been doing this
Taylor Kent Buchanan
2 years
Jim Broxson
Cool
Taylor Kent Buchanan
It’s hard on us brother. That southern heat causes you to provide at least a little evening shade. This keeps the system from getting too hot before the tomatoes become a forest and shade the buckets.
Taylor Kent Buchanan
Dutch buckets work unlike deep water/ undercurrent/ etc, because you aren’t constantly pumping water over the roots, instead, you’re leaving a little water on the bottom of the buckets for the tap root(s) to gain water and nutrients. Then, the air roots form up top to take advantage of the oxygen benefits it receives from the water ebbing and flowing.
Also having a finer medium there acts as more of a potting mix/ buffer to hold some nutrients, this keeps the water cycle schedule low and allows the reservoir to have time to heat sink the runoff water so that it stays cool.
Taylor Kent Buchanan
I also intentionally placed my water and air line in the shade. Then buried them out to the reservoir. as the float valve let’s a slow trickle in as the plants drink, this lets the earth cool the water as it slowly enters the tank
Jim Broxson
what is the cycle frequency and for how long?
Taylor Kent Buchanan
starts twice a day 15 min each.
Ends up 5x per day
Jim Broxson
where do you get your perlite from?
Taylor Kent Buchanan
Walmart .com this time. Only because they had a great deal!
Jean Strange
straight up. 3 part flora series, easy for a beginner and good stuff.