Geopot users

[itchybromusic]

Im looking at changing to sips and was contemplating a geopot/rhizo pot with soil mixture of rice hulls and organic xtra (trying to keep as organic as possible), sitting on hydroton in the res for passive feeding. Would like to be running a tea - seasol - water feeding rotation; Or should I just say fuck it and go coco sip?

well mate i'm going with the , as it's been described , Organic Hydroponic though the use of Probiotics 

in short it's a soilless medium = peat , perl , vermic dolomite & you top dress regularly with beneficial mycelium = gro kahi

compost / castings as the food , water & em-1 in the reservoir 

 

the PDF i linked above gives you a rundown on how this system works from start to finish 

there's few vids you can look at , hope this link works , it's Kevin Jodrey talking about earthboxes 

checkout what he has to say "Kevin Jodrey and The Soil King talk about the "Earthbox". https://www.facebook.com/search/str/wonderland+nursery/keywords_top probiotics in action 

Edited April 17, 2017 by itchybromusic

[itchybromusic]

I was going to run these a couple of years ago

 

https://blumatsystems.com/product/31/Blumat-Junior-XL-%E2%80%93-2-pieces-on-blisterpack

 

i might give them a try but not the kit i don't want floods so the basic ones will be easier to set up, this should solve the watering problem in fabric pots

i have a system , they can take a little to get set up right but once up they seem to do the job really fine 

i kind of like the free standing self sufficient system of the earthbox , blumats do work well in fabric pots

but you still need soil volume to make it efficient imho  

[Gazza2001au]

i have a system , they can take a little to get set up right but once up they seem to do the job really fine 

i kind of like the free standing self sufficient system of the earthbox , blumats do work well in fabric pots

but you still need soil volume to make it efficient imho  

 

How do u know when to refill the water in the Earthbox? i Youtube'd it but never seen them filling it up and maintaining water level

[itchybromusic]

How do u know when to refill the water in the Earthbox? i Youtube'd it but never seen them filling it up and maintaining water level

you don't keep it maintained to the point of a constant level 

 

res level needs to get down , but not empty , B4 you refill so

not critical like an indoor hydro system 

 

you can make a little water level float that sits in the fill tube 

& gives you a visual ref of when to fill the res but in general

it's not a hydro system as you would know or see here & on

most other forums

 

think of it more as organic soil growing than synthetic hydroponic growing

but plant has the vigor or close enough to the vigor of hydro growing

in saying that if you checked out that Jodrey vid he talks about the system

allows the plant to drive itself though biology & all we gotta do is get the F out the way  

[cardrona]

 

 

Just having a laugh

I hate this word but you really are POT heads

 

stick them in the ground ...if your situation allows.....you will never look back...and your plants will thankyou

or start them in there final pot ...either way they will perform better .

Edited April 17, 2017 by cardrona

[itchybromusic]

Just having a laugh

I hate this word but you really are POT heads

 

stick them in the ground ...if your situation allows.....you will never look back...and your plants will thankyou

or start them in there final pot ...either way they will perform better .

each to there own i guess 

no disrespect here mate but yeah been there done that 

[cardrona]

I would like one day to have a go indoors

just old school..like the outdoor taste

best of luck

[itchybromusic]

I would like one day to have a go indoors

just old school..like the outdoor taste

best of luck

indoor is cool but nuffin like the sun & a good soil biology , can't beat it imo

indoor & short flowering times are really only here because of prohibition otherwise it would be all outdoors 

[Swftroml]

hand watering with a no till system can def be hard , i have same issues but find it more

based in pot size , add to that the pot being fabric & dry outs can happen quickly

 

to prevent that you get in a lill early with some water & you over water , spend the

rest of the time , over , under , over , under , sound familiar , well does for me anyway

 

you don't have as much of that issue in plastic pots , but they have there own set of issues

i personally prefer the fabrics , i don't think you get as many probs with them if you get the

size right & transplant fairly regular

 

cost can def get up there , i was lucky a fellow oz st member found some eathboxes second hand

i was able to get 4 of them , i might owe 2 back to the finder at some point , Thanks Q

 

i guess you need to look long term when putting your hand in your pocket for something

can't really speak from experience yet but if this all go's as i hope it dose , i don't think i'll

be changing much after this & should workout allot cheaper to run , kashi you make yourself

em-1 you can extend 1lt to 20 odd liters , make compost & castings at home , a big bag of dolomite

molasses & rain or clean water , there be some ipm stuff in there as well but with plant health that

sips provide that shouldn't be to intensive

 

cheers mate good luck with the conversion

 

It all sounds way to familiar itchy. For me coming from hydro background i found It a difficult transition from hand watering potting mix or coco with synthetic nutrients to watering a living organic soil. Not to mention dwc and recirculated systems, way different than what I was used to. That's my excuse anyway...

 

Also was use to producing large hydro plants in smallish pots which did not transfer well at all I should have listen to the warnings on that. Still get caught out now and then by how quick they become root bound or more like how fast and pronounced the ill effects of it show with l.o.s .

 

I love the idea of fabric pots and use them where I can but they don't suit me once things start heating up abit. More power to those that can manage them. The science behind them is solid. Pair em with blumats and woohoo! once you get them dialled that is, total pita at times eh!

 

Your right the earthbox is a good investment fosure itchy and if they were readily available it would be a good thing (Sorry greensmart but you missed the mark).

I DIY out of necessity a lot of the time, be it funds or unavailability. It can be a pain and even a set back at times, gotta know to pick your battles with it.

 

All the best with the e.b's itchy I know you have done your research with a sustainable plan in place and your soil is awesome so I look forward to hearing how it goes down the line and if you find a good supplier.

 

 

Since we are pot loving pot heads here's one more for the love of pots.

Have you seen the ones that hills sells? I only came across them recently.

The design is different, similar to diy sip design I like to use.

Smaller size

https://www.breezedryer.com/gardening/hills-self-watering-garden-bed-120-yellow/

Larger size

https://www.breezedryer.com/gardening/hills-self-watering-garden-bed-240-grey/

 

The 120L sells on eBay for $70 delivered and one point seen the 240L as cheap as $100. Do need to factor in expense for filling res with sand, or perlite if you prefer.

Not the greatest design with the overflow been mid way up other than that should work as needed. Edit: picture had me deceived, overflow is positioned fine.

 

Long post soz everybody.

Edited April 17, 2017 by Swftroml

[itchybromusic]

i agree greensmat pots are a lill off but in saying that

the use of the GSP & issues i had , in the end were

more operator error than the pot it self , i don't think i 

got the wicking happening from the start = setup errors 

 

hadn't seen them B4 mate thanks 

 

not much of a DIY'er myself but have you seen the DIY kiddie pool sip 

 

cheers mate