Читать книгу Marijuana Horticulture Fundamentals - K of Trichome Technologies - Страница 23
ОглавлениеThe cannabis plant is basically a weed and it will grow almost anywhere. The key trick is to maximize its full potential, to make its yield the greatest possible, with the most flavor and highest THC content.
There are many small- and medium-sized hydroponic, aeroponic, and Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) systems on the market today—some good and some bad. I maintain that simplicity is best for the novice, and recommend an organic soil or soilless mix method of cultivation until you familiarize yourself with the equipment and understand what you are doing. Then, after you completely understand the basic principles of plant cultivation, cloning, vegetative, flowering, and symbiotic rotation, you can progress to one of the units for sale, or even build your own.
Remember, when constructing the cultivation environment, you must consider how difficult it will be to eliminate in a hurry. Do not create a nightmare for yourself. Construct your systems and chambers as if you might have to tear them down and get rid of them as fast as possible. Unnecessary high-tech gadgets can be fun, but too many of them become a quagmire of chaos. Keep it simple: old school, low tech, with as few moving parts as possible, and nothing to break.
Construction Examples
Option 1
400-watt light for the vegetative chamber.
6 600-watt lights in the flowering chamber.
8 fluorescent lights for the cloning chamber.
Option 2
2 600-watt lights for a larger vegetative chamber.
6 fluorescent lights for the cloning chamber.
8 1,000-watt light in the flowering chamber.
Option 3
4 400-watt lights in the vegetative chamber.
6 fluorescent lights in the cloning chamber.
12 600-watt lights in the flowering chamber.
Option 4
6 fluorescent lights in the cloning chamber.
4 600-watt lights in the flowering chamber.
2 400-watt lights in the vegetative chamber.
Option 5
A 400-watt or 600-watt light in the vegetative chamber.
A 400-watt or 600-watt light in the flowering chamber.
2 fluorescent lights in the cloning chamber.
Be sure to design all setups with a cleanup area and ballast storage area.
A good cleanup room.
Photo: Freebie
Ultimately, you will require five rooms / chambers / areas:
Ballast area; must be outside the actual grow space, e.g., adjoining room, a shelf, etc.
Cleanup room with a sink, water source, and drainage; e.g., kitchen, bathroom, garage, etc.
Flowering area; can be as big as half a bedroom or as small as a closet.
Vegetative / mother area; typically half the size of your chosen flowering area.
Clone area; the top shelf in a closet is perfect, as minimal space is required.
Ceiling height is usually your limiting factor, so do your best to find or build a high-ceilinged space. If you were to try to grow in an area with a 4-foot ceiling, the lights would hang down 12 inches. The plant containers are 12 inches tall and the tables the plants are on are 12 inches tall (to accommodate wastewater drainage). You can see there would be little growing room left, and heat would quickly build up and cause problems. A 6- to 8-foot ceiling minimum is a must, but the higher the ceiling, the better.
If you are using an existing structure (i.e., a closet, bedroom, outbuilding, basement, or garage), the shape and size is dictated to you. You will have to work around the design situation you already have. If building a new structure for your growing environment, you will be free to design a perfect situation.
If building a new environment, the construction methods you will use are essentially the same ones used in building a house: basic 2 × 4-inch framed ceiling and walls, and so on, with minor differences.
After framing the walls in the dimensions you want, you are ready for the electrical installation (see electrical section). After all electrical wiring, fuse box subpanels, receptacles, and plugs are completely finished, the next step is to install building-code-compliant insulation. This will aid in keeping the environment cool in the daytime or summer and warm at night or in winter. Next, you will place Thermal Shield (available on the internet or at your local hydroponics supply store) over the insulation. To protect you from illegal searches with thermal imaging cameras / devices, wrap all ventilation ducts, too.
After the electrics are done, and once the ventilation (see section on ventilation) is tested and deemed safe and compliant, you will cover the interior walls. Instead of using standard gypsum-type sheetrock, you will want to use a material used in bathrooms called green rock or DensGlass, which is fiberglass faced drywall and very moisture resistant. Walls constructed with green rock and DensGlass withstand moisture—and, when covered and painted with a mold-inhibiting paint (such as Kills primer covered with white paint or sheets of white Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic [FRP]), are the best combination for preventing mold, mildew, and fungi. After the outer walls are completed, you are ready to choose what system to use.
Note: if using an area that does not permit the use of growing trays, a shelf structure is your next best option, custom-made to suit. Ideally, the shelves will be covered with ⅛-inch thick sheet plastic or waterproof material on top, slightly sloping forward to allow for drainage and eliminating the possibility of stagnating water. Drain this into a collection reservoir, to be dumped by hand or automated with water pumps; whichever you prefer. The shelf must be sturdy and strong, made of metal, plastic, or wood, and, if it’s the latter, covered with sealer and mold-inhibiting paint.
Whichever system you choose—purchased or constructed, drippers or sprayers, 5-gallon bucket, aeroponic, NFT recirculation, or aerated deep water recirculation in tubes—everything must be sterilized and disinfected.
No ceiling height limiter here.
Photo: Freebie
Grow Room Basics
Electrical wiring must be done right.
Good organization is key.
Proper storage for all nutrients.
Monitors for temperature, humidity, and PPM.
Photos: Freebie
Tools.
Closet for cloning supplies.
Supply closet.
Nutrients and hydroponic system supplies.
Storage for lights.
Before you introduce plants to a new environment, there are a few precautionary measures to take.
Pyrethrumbombs may be used in your empty chambers to eliminate unwanted pests.
Chlorine bleach, mixed at ten parts water to one part bleach, can be used to clean all surfaces inside the chamber and in hydroponic and aeroponic systems between harvests. Be sure to rinse off all trace amounts of bleach solution after cleaning.
Food grade 27% hydrogen peroxide may also be used to decontaminate growing chambers, mixed at ten parts water to one part hydrogen peroxide.
Note: when undertaking this final precaution, spray either the bleach / water or peroxide / water (Caution! Never mix both!) solution from a 5-gallon pressurized garden sprayer (peroxide does not smell and leaves no harmful residue). Spray walls, ceilings, floors, all cleanable areas and surfaces. Electrical components should be wiped down with a washcloth dampened with the solution. Always wear rubber gloves, a protective breathing apparatus / mask, and eye protection when spraying bleach, and be sure to keep the area very well ventilated. (Flora Kleen by General Hydroponics is a fantastic hydroponic disinfectant. It both sterilizes hydro systems and eliminates salt / mineral deposits.
ONA is a good chlorine bleach alternative. It is used for disinfection and general cleanliness, and does not harm plants or animals. It does not emit toxic fumes. It can be used for sterilizing entire systems and growrooms and eliminating fungi and bacteria even in mid-growing cycle (or, of course, when your grow area is empty). ONA also eliminates mineral deposits.
Simplistic setups work best, and this greenhouse—a representative setup—demonstrates just that. The medium here is ⅓ Fox Farms “Ocean Forest” soil, ⅓ vermiculite, and ⅓ perlite, mixed with water-retaining crystals. The containers are 2-gallon, and the plants in this picture, at three- to four feet tall in the flowering stage, need to be watered every other day. The nutrients used in this photo were General Hydroponics Flora Series as well as other amendments, as discussed later in the book.
In most environments plants cannot be placed outdoors in mid-Spring because temperatures are still too low for optimum growth. A greenhouse will keep the plants warm, day or night, even in cold or rainy conditions. Greenhouse-grown plants vigorously thrive. The clear plastic covering the greenhouse intensifies the sun and can elevate the temperature inside to roughly 85°F on a day when it is only 65°F outside—a temperature differential of 20°F.
When growing in a greenhouse you can produce three or even four crops per year, rather than one or two, as you can outdoors, uncovered. We place vegetated (approximately 24 inches tall) plants out into the greenhouse on April 20th and immediately induce flowering via light deprivation. (This deprivation is accomplished by using 6mm plastic that is black on one side and white on the other, with which we completely cover the greenhouse.) When the plants are fully mature and harvested, new, vegetated plants replace them immediately, and we repeat the cycle without losing a day of growth. And so on, repeating as we do in the symbiotic rotation process. In this way we get three crops by the first week of October.
When it starts to rain, we place industrial-use large dehumidifiers in the greenhouse to prevent powdery mildew and botrytis (gray bud mold); we also tightly close all of the doors in order to keep out the rain. On overcast or rainy days we augment with supplemental lighting. For example, in a 10 × 10-foot greenhouse we use two 600-watt metal halide and two 600-watt sodium halide lights, as one might indoors, which has the added benefit of raising the interior temperature to desirable levels on cold days. With the doors sealed, the greenhouse must still be allowed to ventilate to keep oxygen and CO2 levels in proper proportions.
Buds that are produced in a greenhouse are more like indoor buds than outdoors—they are denser, have more THC, etc.—because you have more control of the environment. There are lots of variables. For example, on warm days the doors at each end of the greenhouse are opened and both walls are rolled up and secured using bungee cords. Large oscillating fans are good to mount, to keep the air moving when the doors are closed and the sides rolled down. You must also install intake and exhaust fans.
Cover the greenhouse at night—you must have complete darkness inside to achieve optimum results. Try large sheets of 6mm Visqueen, white on one side and black on the other. The white side reflects heat off of the outside of the greenhouse and the black side absorbs heat on the inside. The cover is what allows you to induce flowering during months of extended sunlight.
These plants were two feet tall when placed into this 8×10 greenhouse in early August in Northern California. Then, due to fewer hours of available light, they immediately began flowering.
Photos: K
They reach full maturity in early/mid-October. This set-up was easy to produce and maintain.
The plants depicted above were two feet tall when placed outside into an 8×10 greenhouse in early August in Northern California (they began life indoors), whereupon, due to fewer hours of available light, they immediately began the flowering process. The plants reached full maturation in early/mid-October, and thus were in the greenhouse a total of eight-and-a-half weeks. This set-up was easy to produce and maintain. With added ventilation, heat, supplemental lighting, and a a good quality climate controller climate controller, this greenhouse produced the same quality of harvest throughout the winter months.
Greenhouse Grow Operations
Outdoor cannabis greenhouse with ceiling fans for air circulation.
A roving aisle allows easy access to every plant.
Photos: Better
Massive airflow is a must in a greenhouse.
Greenhouse extraction fan seen from exterior of garden.
Shade cloths are drawn to cover plants when the sun is at its most intense period of the day to eliminate unnecessary excessive leaf temperatures.
Elevated leaf temperatures cause unnecessary stress on the plants. Sun shades must be used in excessive light situations.
Photos: Better
Cola produced in a greenhouse garden.
Flowering cannabis in large cannabis greenhouse.
Flowering cannabis in large cannabis greenhouse.
Extraction fan to keep humidity and temperature levels appropriate in the greenhouse.
Photos: Better
The shade cloth visible in this photo can also be drawn in the evening to keep the plants warm at night and conserve energy on heating.
A worker tending to the plants in a greenhouse.
Small grow tents such as this, are perfect for hardening off clones.
Photos: K
1. Always fasten thick, weed-inhibiting cloth on the floor of the greenhouse; it is available at any nursery supply store. This discourages weed growth inside the greenhouse that may encourage insect infestation. If growing in containers simply place them on top of the cloth. If growing in the ground, simply cut access holes to the soil through the cloth where you intend on planting. Make sure you clear all weeds and rocks below the greenhouse prior to fastening the cloth.
2. The best position for a greenhouse is to have its longest side run north–south; this will help to avoid excess temperatures in summer.
3. Use anti-hotspot tape to stop heat from the metal frame causing weak spots in the clear Visqueen / plastic. The tape will extend the life of the clear cover by a year.
4. Seedlings and clones that have been started indoors, under artificial lights, require a period of “hardening off” before being planted outdoors. This involves gradually acclimatizing them to outdoor conditions over a period of two weeks. Start by placing them outside in a slightly shaded area during the day and bring them indoors at night. Gradually increase the time that they spend outdoors until they are outside all of the time. Without hardening off, the plants will burn, suffer stress, and growth will be temporarily slowed. With this in mind, it is best to start your plants indoors where the elements are less severe and they have a greater chance of survival.
Grow space prior to the installation of a garden.
This empty space was used to build an inexpensive, simple, yet very clean and productive (albeit hobbyist) growroom. The ceiling height (16 feet) is perfect for heat dissipation, which is required when using many HID lights. The rest of the space was used for materials for clean up, storage, trimming, etc.
These mother plants produced enough clones to keep the growroom behind them full of plants year-round. The mothers grow in a separate “vegetative room” under 18 hours of light to keep them from flowering.
Multiple cultivars in the flowering chamber.
Photos: K
Flowering Chamber
With the mother plants removed you can see the flowering chamber behind them. With simple 2 × 4 construction and white or black plastic Visqueen for wall covering, an efficient, clean greenhouse can be created. In this set-up you’ll see a screen door covered in black plastic as an entrance; it creates a roll-up wall that allows easy access during work hours as well as eliminating any unwanted heat or humidity build-up. The ballasts normally sit on top of the structure but in this photo they have been removed to facilitate the takedown of the grow space. The exhaust fan can be seen in the upper right-hand corner of the photo; it is at the top of the room in order to eliminate any unwanted heat and humidity that might build up.
Grow Chamber
Inside the grow chamber we find strong plants and buds ready for harvest. The system here is a soilless mix medium (vermiculite and perlite) in ¾-gallon containers. The plants sit on a slightly tilted shelf constructed of plywood sheets on top of common plastic milk crates. The plywood is covered with rubber pond liner at the edges to keep water from running off the shelf. At the low side of the shelf is a plastic rain gutter; the runoff water naturally migrates to the low side of the shelf and runs off into the rain gutter and into a collection reservoir where it is then disposed of with a water pump. The plants were hand-watered every 24 hours in the early stages of development and two times a day in the later stages of flowering.
All electrical wiring and components must always be kept off the floor and away from contact with water, for obvious reasons.
Inside the grow chamber.
Empty space after plants have been harvested.
Photos: K
Harvest Room and Deconstruction
Harvested and stripped plants are on the left of this picture, with buds hanging in the next room and room deconstruction begun. Another bountiful harvest has taken place and it is time to go build another somewhere else. This location was almost perfect but there is always somewhere better! Always look for that perfect spot.
Here are many healthy, seven-day old plants. This organic media system uses the same shelf system mentioned previously—the difference being the organic media. In this photo you can clearly see the design and set-up of the edges of the shelf. Also you can see that the vegetating plants have had stakes placed in their containers early in life to avoid later root damage. The containers are ¾-gallon and since these plants, at the time of photographing, will only be in the pots for nine more weeks (10 weeks total), there is no chance of the plants becoming root bound. Furthermore, because small containers are used, more plants can be grown, thus using the space to its full potential. In seven more days the lights will be turned back to 12-hours on and 12-hours off to begin the flowering cycle. The plants will mature between one-and-a-half and three feet tall.
Ten Weeks Later
Ten weeks after installation these plants were ready for harvest: fat, stinky, heavy, sticky, organic buds, and lots of them. There are 11 different cultivars in this room that were preselected so that they all matured at approximately the same rate. The same day the plants were harvested, there were more ready to replace them, as per the symbiotic rotation system. Empty rooms only cost you time and money.
Stakes are placed into the media before the plants grow large so as not to damage the root system.
Ten weeks later (same plants as above) the plants are well into flower.
Basic cannabis garden.
Photo: Freebie
The most common grow system is easy to set up, with no maximization of roots or lights. A sufficient system for a small budget and low yield goals.
A more ambitious grow system is nominally more expensive to set up, but offers better nutrition, CO2, light, and root O2, and ultimately, a better yield.
A larger investment for a complex grow system includes features that offer the best nutrition, CO2, light, and root O2, resulting in maximum harvests.
Simple, Hand-Fed, Soilless Water System
This is another example of a small, simple system. Rooted clones are placed into three-inch Grodan rockwool cubes and hand-watered every day. The rockwool cubes here are sitting on an egg crate light diffuser atop a common 12-gallon plastic bin, placed to catch runoff water. The bin is emptied after every watering. The plants were allowed to grow for seven days like this under constant fluorescent lighting. After seven days the plants were transferred from the closet to the main bedroom where they were placed in 2-gallon containers and topped off with a soil / perlite / vermiculite mix of media. The plants were then placed on an elevated grow table under a 1,000-watt Halide (HID) light on an 18 hours on / 6 hours off light cycle. The plants will grow like this for 14 days and then the lights will be changed to a 12 on / 12 off cycle. At this point the plants will only require hand watering every three days.
The air conditioner in this photo keeps the room at a perfect 75°F. In the upper right of this photo is a completely blacked-out window (to prevent light-leaks). The garbage can in the photo is used to mix water and nutrients; fresh air enters the room from the open bedroom door. An oscillating fan keeps the air in the room constantly circulating.
This is a simple, hand-fed rockwool system.
Photos: K
Note the air conditioner for temperature control and the garbage can is used to mix nutrients and water for hand watering.
Soon there will be buds. After 21 days of vegetative growth the plants required approximately 60 days of flowering growth; 81 days (roughly) total, from root to clone. This is an easy garden to construct and maintain, and best of all, it’s inexpensive. Before you buy complicated, expensive pre-built systems you might want to try something basic and straightforward such as this, so that you have a positive first-time growing experience.
This system is as simple as it gets, yet it produced an incredible crop! Plywood tables were constructed with 2 × 4 boards on the sides, to contain runoff water. Again, the table is slightly sloped at one end so that water drains off of it. Clear plastic is placed on top of the table so that water won’t absorb into the wood. The runoff water is simply collected at the end of the table in a reservoir and disposed of using a basic water pump. The runoff water is only used once, not recycled.
The 2 × 4s have holes drilled into the end, which will hold stakes that act as plant supports when the cannabis moves into the flowering stage; the boards are joined together so that they won’t fall over. The plants are in 3-inch Grodan rockwool cubes and the cubes are in 4-inch cups. The plants were hand-watered 3 times a day using General Hydroponics Flora Series nutrients (as well as additives and amendments). The plants were kept in the vegetative stage (18 on / 6 off) for 14 days, at which time the light schedule was changed to 12 on / 12 off for flowering.
Hand-water rockwool system.
Photos: K
Harvest Eight Weeks Later
The plants matured approximately eight weeks later and produced an excellent crop—the buds were rock hard, dense, sticky, and the size of a Coke can. The aroma and flavor was incredible. These photos were taken the day of harvest and, because the medium was flushed three days prior to harvest, some of the large fan leaves had begun to yellow and die (due to a lack of available nutrients).
Eight weeks later, the plants are ready for harvest from the hand-water rockwool system.
A few or many plants can be produced using this method. The choice is yours. The question is: how many plants can you hand water three times a day, every day? If this is too time-consuming for you, then another system is probably best suited for you. This system just shows how simple it can be.
Cube system gardens are another form of run-to-waste system.
Photos: K
Hand-water Rockwool Cube System—Run to Waste
This is another run-to-waste system. “Run-to-waste” means that the system does not recirculate or reuse nutrients or water. This system comprises four-inch rockwool cubes placed on a table on top of corrugated plastic sheets, to enable water drainage. The corrugated plastic directs runoff water to a water-collection reservoir at one end, the contents to be disposed of using a common water pump. As this is only a mother room the plants require hand watering just twice a day; the plants are not allowed to flower or grow because there are clones constantly being taken off them.
Soilless drip system utilizing ⅓ each of vermiculite, perlite, and potting soil.
Soilless Drip System—Run to Waste
This system uses a soilless medium (a 50/50 mix of vermiculite and perlite). The pots are ¾-gallon and the plants are watered and fed using a time-drip emitter system. The plants are automatically watered every day at the same time (first thing in the morning) and the water / nutrient comes from a reservoir under the table with help from a water pump, which pumps water to the drippers and waters the plants. Runoff water drains off the end of the table into a separate water reservoir and is disposed of using another pump.
This system is simple and dependable, as well as fairly inexpensive. You can make it as big or small as you need, and can place new plants on the table as you remove mature plants. It can produce an excellent crop with minimal expended labor or clean up.
Here is a basic drip system utilizing a ¼-inch drip line. Whenever possible eliminate any light source to the top of the rockwool cube to prevent algae growth on the top of the cube like in this photo.
Photos: K
This system uses a ¼-inch drip line and ¼-inch drip line elbow to water a three-inch rockwool cube. The ¼-inch drip line is attached to a ¾-inch feeder line that goes back to a water / nutrient reservoir that has a water pump in it that delivers water and nutrients to the dripper at predetermined times, several times a day. The reservoir is full of filtered, oxygenated, non-chlorinated, nutrient-rich water.
This is another good example of a deep water culture (DWC) / nutrient film technique (NFT) system. It is also fairly simple to construct, using only materials from your local hardware store. The system is based around six-inch polypropylene tubes enclosed on both sides and slightly tilted toward the center. On the low end of the sealed tube there is a one-inch drain that drains all of the water from the 10 tubes into a water reservoir. A common submersible water pump delivers water/nutrients via ¾-inch tubing that connects to a ¼-inch drip line, which constantly feeds water and nutrients to the base of the individual plants. The plants are cultivated in 3½-inch mesh baskets covered in clay pellets (Hydroton). Water and nutrients run through the baskets and clay pellets, past the plant roots, to the bottom of the tubes. In the bottom of the tube sits two to three inches of water that is constantly aerated using common aquarium air pumps and air stones. When the water builds up to the desired level (of two or three inches) it naturally overflows back into the reservoir to repeat the process (recirculation). The water flow must be constant and there must always be water present in the bottom of the tubes.
Deep water culture / nutrient film technique system.
Water temperature is crucial in a DWC/NFT system.
Photo: Freebie
Note that water temperature is crucial in this system. Too hot or too cold and your plants are fucked! Put more technically, this can result in growth stunting, root rot, etc. Heat your water by using titanium aquarium heaters; cool it by using a water chiller. The perfect temperature for this system’s water is 72°F at all times, day and night. In this system the water must continually recirculate, 24 hours a day, otherwise the roots dry out or the water gets too hot, causing plant stress.
This type of DWC / NFT system requires the constant watchful eye of someone able to spend a lot of time monitoring the system; mostly this involves checking to see if all equipment functions and plant parameters are acceptable. This is not a system for someone with little time to spend in his or her garden. Nutrients must be replaced every week to ensure there is no depletion of required nutrients or minerals. That said, it is a fairly simple system to operate—you just have to be vigilant in watching for problems—and to clean, maintain, and tear down for storage. There are many systems like this available on the market but I prefer to build my own.
CO2 injection tubing surrounds this system and oscillating fans are placed underneath so that air flow and CO2 levels remain perfect. Reflective Mylar panels also surround this system to reflect any stray light back into the growspace.
The silver aluminum tubing at the center of the system is attached to extraction fans that periodically extract any hot or stale air that may have accumulated in the grow tubes, thus ensuring higher oxygen levels for the root system. Drink cups are placed in empty holes to prevent unwanted algae growth inside the tubes; without light algae cannot grow. This system can be raised or lowered to almost any desired height, which can be an advantage to those with impaired mobility.
This system is primitive, yet very efficient and low maintenance. It is the same “shelf system” design that has been described previously, except for the drainage. The one-inch drain (for runoff water) is connected directly to a three-inch PVC drainpipe that leads directly to the municipal sewer system, which means no draining of water collection reservoirs. The runoff water simply goes away without you having to do anything, which decreases the amount of work you will have to do every time you flush or water. The PVC drainpipe can be seen at the end of the shelf system in this picture.
Run-to-waste systems are very low maintenance.
Pots lined up on a run-to-waste system.
Photos: Samson Daniels
This is another example of a drip system, except that it uses expanded clay pellets (Hydroton) as its exclusive medium. The rooted clones are placed in a two-gallon pot that is ⅔ full of clay pellets, at which point the pot is topped off with more clay pellets and drip feeders are placed at the base of each plant to deliver water six to eight times daily, depending on the growth cycle; plants on an 18 hours on / 6 hours off light cycle require more water than plants on 12 hours of light. A submersible water pump, placed in the reservoir beneath the table, delivers the water and nutrients to the plants; a multi-cycle timer turns it on and off at the desired times each day.
I recommend this system only if you have lots of spare time to decontaminate and clean all of the clay pellets between harvests. This system requires a constant water temperature of 72°F or else root problems could occur. A keen eye is required. If the power goes out or the water pump breaks you will have minimal time to repair them or else the plants will die from lack of water; expanded clay pellets hold little to no moisture—their chief purpose is to hold the plants upright and provide ample space for air, water, nutrients, and roots to interact. If simplicity is what you are looking for then this is not the system for you.
Drip system with hydroton. Keep water temperature at 72°F or else root problems could occur.
Photo: K
This is a classic example of an ebb and flow system. Rooted clones are placed into six-inch rockwool blocks and the blocks are placed into two-gallon pots; the rockwool blocks are then surrounded by expanded clay pellets to add support for the blocks. A water pump is under the table in a reservoir, as described previously; it delivers water and nutrients to the plants by flooding the whole black tray to a depth of 4–6 inches for a period of 5–10 minutes. An overflow drain prevents the water from ever exceeding desired levels. The water and nutrients then drain back in the reservoir for reuse. The cycle is repeated 4–6 times a day depending on plant growth stage. A multi-cycle timer controls the water pump; when the pump stops, the water immediately returns to the reservoir with the help of gravity. The nutrients and water need to be replaced at least every week in a system such as this in order to keep all the nutrients available to the plants.
These plants are thriving in the ebb and flow system. It is simple and clean.
As seen in this picture, multiple trays and tables can be set up side-by-side and use common reservoirs. Another possibility is for each to have its own reservoir.
Photos: K
A system such as this requires a medium amount of effort and attention, and is best for the intermediate grower. Pathogens and bacteria can rapidly infect systems such as this if proper air and water temperatures are exceeded.
Recirculating NFT bucket system utilizing five-gallon buckets.
Recirculating NFT Bucket System
This five-gallon bucket system works very well, is simple to build and maintain, and is fairly inexpensive. The beauty is that you can plug in and unplug buckets as you want or need them—as many or as few as you desire, quickly and cleanly, and with little effort. Most five-gallon bucket systems require a bucket that is completely filled with clay pellets. This to me is a waste of time and energy, because clay pellets have to be decontaminated and disinfected after each harvest. I would much rather clean and decontaminate a 3½-inch container full of clay pellets than a whole five-gallon bucket.
This system is considered a recirculating NFT drip / deep water culture system. The system works like this: rooted clones are placed into round 3½-inch mesh baskets and covered with clay pellets. The basket is then placed in a three-inch hole cut into the five-gallon bucket lid. A water / nutrient drip emitter is then placed securely on the bucket. The water that comes out of the drip emitter is constantly running through the clay pellets; it exits through the basket and cascades down the developing root system to the bottom of the bucket. At the bottom of the bucket is four inches of water that is constantly draining from the bucket via a half-inch drain at the side of the bucket. Because the buckets are higher than the reservoir (thanks to the milk crates), the water drains back to the reservoir where it is heated or cooled, depending on what is required to keep it at 72°F, filtered, oxygenated, and sent back to the base of the plants using a submersible water pump. The water must constantly circulate to keep the plant roots moist or else the plants will die. Because there is so little media, and the clay pellets do not retain much moisture, the water must constantly circulate.
Use oscillating fans to keep air constantly circulating throughout the room.
Photos: K
The four inches of water at the bottom of the bucket will quickly fill with healthy white roots relaxing in the oxygen- and nutrient-rich water and absorbing all they need to thrive. Plants are grown vegetatively until they reach one foot tall, at which point they are switched to 12 on / 12 off (the flowering stage). The plants in these photos have been in the flowering stage for approximately two weeks; they will mature and finish flowering between two and three feet tall, requiring no stakes or nets to keep them up because of the shorter plant stature.
All of the materials required to construct this system are available from your local hardware store. There is no need to buy an overpriced hydroponic system unless you really want to or don’t have the time or ability to build your own. This system is simple to construct and tear down, as well as to store while not in use. The negatives to using this system are that the water temperature needs to be precisely maintained, as mentioned previously, and that the water must be properly oxygenated to keep the roots from being deprived at the bottom of the large bucket. Furthermore, if the water fails to circulate, plant death will rapidly occur. Plants left without water in this system can die in as little as one or two hours in hot environments. Growers wishing to plug in a system and leave it unsupervised should not build this type, as it requires daily supervision—not constant work and attention, just somebody to check to see if everything is working properly, i.e., if the water pump is working correctly, whether there are any leaks or clogged drippers or drains, and so on.
After harvest, the clay pellets are placed in a plastic garbage can with bleach and water and allowed to sit for 24 hours, at which point they are rinsed and ready to use again. The mesh baskets are reused as well. The whole system should be wiped off with hydrogen peroxide, and ONA cleaner (a bleach substitute) or Flora Kleen should be run through the drip line system and the rest of the system, allowing the whole thing to disinfect. After everything is rinsed with clean water the new plants are installed—ultimately, a short, hassle-free bit of work when compared to other systems. Remember, you don’t have to have an expensive system to get incredible buds.
Good example of a home-built aeroponic system from 1991.
This is a very good example of a typical aeroponic system. Home built, not store bought; anyone can build a system like this, but it requires a skilled grower to make it produce properly and maximize plant growth and yield. Growth rates and yield can be dramatically increased using aeroponic systems, but all environmental parameters and growth controls must be perfect in order to benefit from such a system.
The premise of aeroponics is that air (oxygen) and nutrient-enriched water are misted onto thriving plant roots. The roots absorb any oxygen, water, and nutrients they need at that particular moment and the remaining nutrients recirculate back to a reservoir to be re-aerated, temperature adjusted, and sent back to the plant roots to begin the process again. The mist is sprayed onto the plants’ roots with two (in case one gets clogged) four-gallon per hour misters, which are placed directly across from the roots, mounted in the side of six-inch PVC tubing. The tubes are capped at one end and joined at the other, draining into the common reservoir.
This system is not for somebody who wants to plug it in and leave it for long periods of time. It requires constant attention to make sure that misters aren’t clogged, the pH and PPM are correct, water and air temperatures are adjusted, and CO2 levels and water oxygen levels are optimum. This system requires multiple inspections each and every day; no “holidays.” Excess water temperature or a broken water pump will result in total and devastating crop failure.
Closet system set up for clone production.
Photos: K
Within reason, any space can be used to produce clones, as long as you monitor and control environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and exposure to oxygen-rich air. In this case, a spare bedroom was used as well as the lower portion of the closet. The clones are under domes that retain moisture and humidity, and the temperature is kept up with a common household thermostatically-controlled air heater. If the humidity or temperature of the room exceeds desired levels, a humidistat-controlled filtered intake and exhaust fan will bring the levels back to acceptable ranges.
For small gardens, just the closet can be used to produce as many clones as you need, anytime you need them. A very small air heater, fluorescent lights, a humidity dome, and a few other items are all that you need. Three or four clones can easily be placed on the shelf on the top of the closet, in a small tray with a humidity dome, if you only need a few clones every once in a while.
Growtubes such as these can be used to construct many completely different hydroponic systems. Place misters in the side of them for aeroponics, or place drippers at each plant site for NFT tubes. You can also fill the growtubes with oxygenated, nutrient-treated water and use them as a deep water culture system. Finally, you can simply place rockwool in the mesh baskets and use the tubes as a periodic drip feed system.
Stack of growtubes to be cleaned.
Always have a clean and tidy electrical system.
Photos: Andre Grossman
A professional-quality electrical system is a must! Many growers are displaced or arrested every year because they overloaded electrical circuits or installed inferior wiring, timers, or other electrical components. The example you see here is small, simple, and professional. The ballasts, which are the white boxes at the bottom of the photo, plug into the power outlets that run to Intermatic timers (center of the photo) which are connected to a junction box that houses the main wiring and the wiring that goes to the lights themselves in a separate room. The reason for separating the ballasts and plants is to prevent any unwanted sources of heat that could elevate grow-room temperatures and cause plant growth stress or even death.
This method provides excellent airflow and is inexpensive to construct, but should have Plexiglas underneath to collect any resin glands that may fall.
After harvesting and manicuring the buds, you can gently place them on simple drying racks such as these. For small amounts or irregular harvests, elaborate drying racks do not make sense and are usually not required. That said, for small or intermittent harvests you can stack window or door screens on top of each other with milk crates (see photo above). The screens allow for complete airflow under and on top of the buds. All trimmed leaf, also known as shake, is also placed on a rack. A dehumidifier is placed in the room and set for 0% humidity; it will need to be drained every four to six hours. A heater should be set to 75°F and placed in the center of the room. Place an oscillating fan in the room to move the air around and facilitate even drying. Rotate the buds periodically (again, every four to six hours) to facilitate complete and even drying. When shake and buds are in the drying stage you must be aware of conditions in the drying room at all times. Slow-drying buds can mold and begin to decompose; over-dried buds burn too quickly and produce a harsh, tarry smoke with diminished odor and flavor. Buds and shake usually take four to six days to dry, depending on conditions. Proper drying is kind of an art—not too fast, not too slow—and even drying is a must.
Very simple yet very effective drying rack.
Cannabis drying on improvised racks.
