Flamedodger Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 22 hours ago, leafsta said: @Slippy One Been having a look on the web and have come across the ecowitt WH51 wireless soil moisture sensor, which also works with wifi, have you ever looked in to adding something like this to monitor the blumats? I use these, but haven’t got around to setting up my watering system yet. They seem to work ok, but not sure on accuracy etc. Be aware that you need the weather station as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 @ratdogI get it, I've been banging on about this stuff and trolling the liquid feeders having issues with their runoff e.c. to the point of being annoying, so apologies to them. It's new, it's pricey for the 1lb packs, but the dosing is probably the same as decent liquid feeds, plus the kboost and calcium doses are tiny, I worked it out that my kboost will last 30 grows, so that's just over £1 worth for each 9 week grow, I don't need calcium but it's the same price. I'm generous with the absolute flower stuff, but it's still only £3-4 per grow. Simplicity and time saved is great for micro growers, liquid feeds hurt the pocket, not to mention 20-30% of it being flushed away each watering, wasting money and water. I'm not even adding the 1.6ml Mono mg I usually use and the plants are happy as a pig in shit. I'll keep documenting the experience in here only. It's good for other folks to see what results can be made with alternatives methods/products, I always hated the faff of liquid feeding, I reckon others secretly hate it too.. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratdog Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 8 hours ago, Slippy One said: micro growers perhaps, but you don't make this clear, you troll everyone if we are using 9-14 pots like i am atm then price goes through the roof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux_Interior Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 8 hours ago, Slippy One said: I always hated the faff of liquid feeding, I reckon others secretly hate it too.. Yep! Since I started using coco as a substrate and handwatering. I've been using A&B feeds. the next grow I am using a three part feed because it was gifted to me. Hellfire!, with Calmag and p/h adjustment and everything. Plus with separate feed schedules for vegging plants and seedlings & checking the cuttings are OK. Sometimes when I crop the main tent I enjoy the relative silence whilst its drying. I'm seriously considering dusting off an NFT tank and going back to the something... something... something... darkside completely. However, this slow release pellet marlarky has certainly got my interest. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 (edited) @ratdogagreed, but that many pots will still cost a fair wad in liquid feed, for me it’s the time saved that makes it worthwhile. I used to have all manner of pumps etc in my quest to make growing easier. Turns out auto feeding was more work than I could manage, keeping the res clean, warm, aerated and slime free was a constant faff. The blumat and fed coco was originally just an experiment after reading @Owderbthread, which worked better than any other method I’d used. Edited March 2 by Slippy One 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 @Lux_Interiorgive it a go before going hydroponic again, be good to see others experience with beanstalk. I’ve never tried NFT growing, which sounds pretty cool too, maybe do a side by side comparison? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamedodger Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 1 hour ago, Slippy One said: I’ve never tried NFT growing Too much faff when I tried it, but awesome when you get it right. I have a mate been growing in the same trays for 20+ years and he nails it every time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratdog Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 3 hours ago, Slippy One said: but that many pots will still cost a fair wad in liquid feed, for me it’s the time saved that makes it worthwhile. not as much, and as i have told you it is only good for small plants, once the food runs out you need to add liquid nutes, like i did it's great that you have something you like, but perhaps lay off the preaching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 20 minutes ago, ratdog said: it is only good for small plants, once the food runs out you need to add liquid nutes, like i did Simply not true. Now who’s trolling?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratdog Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 1 minute ago, Slippy One said: Simply not true. i have the evidence in one of my diaries, the original packs of beanstalk were handed out for free, i took two, did exactly what they said, but didn;t realise the plants had to be kept to a certian size, which is pretty hard any way. noth ran out of food and had to be fed extra nutes from week 5 onwards Quote Now who’s trolling?! like i said, you found what you like, now drop the born again crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 Well, it works for me, and I’m documenting it for anyone interested in lazy gardening. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Green Manalishi Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 You had my attention at lazy gardening, but…. On 29/02/2024 at 12:57, Slippy One said: carrots aren’t smart, so a bit of manual micro-adjustments will be needed as the plants needs change But that’s just way to many extra steps for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux_Interior Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 6 hours ago, Slippy One said: @Lux_Interiorgive it a go before going hydroponic again, be good to see others experience with beanstalk. I’ve never tried NFT growing, which sounds pretty cool too, maybe do a side by side comparison? I gave up NFT because of the time it demanded on my day, an excess of weed and a side by side run I did with a plant potted in cheap compost. I fed it with the old tank nutes and it did admirably compared to the NFT plants. A bit of down sizing I chose compost and smaller lamps. Happy chappy until the peat ban (which I personally agree with) peat free replacements at a (Do It Yourself) price point are currently lacking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanNugget Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 I’m looking at getting some blumats to cover me whilst on holiday. @Slippy One In 12L soil would you recommend a big and a small carrot? I’m using organic nutes at the moment, so will just give them plain water whilst I’m away. Also wondering whether I could use the blumats full time, work out roughly the volume of water the plants are consuming and give them a fairly concentrated liquid feed each day? Sort of halfway between the pellet feed and manual watering… Any thoughts? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 3 Author Share Posted March 3 Blumats have a learning curve for first timers, they’re not the smartest or most consistently precise system so keep this in mind. This method I’m documenting is fed coco coir in an 12L pot. Soil and organic nutrients may differ wildly, as soil doesn’t like to be damp 24/7. One deep and 4 normal carrots is how I’m using them, but I see they do extender drippers that run off a single carrot so might do that in the future. anyway, here’s an update on the sweet amnesia, around day 45 so according to G13 labs, 20 days to go. Filled the res last week so only 1 more res change before chop. Still bug free, still not perfect on the Blumats, still lazy and spend most evenings chilling not growing. reeks of lemon 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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