What a fun day spent the day bouncing between tear off and covering playing 21 with the weather wrapped up just before it started raining so was worth while gamble. Could’ve sat home cursing when it didn’t rain not my fave way to do things slower and dirty also more potential to pull muscles but it does make progress.
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yesterday went well have few hours work left today missed the dump so have to start late today after dump opens. Peaked in on ladies yesterday most seemed happy though I am due for a couple new air stones and system flush this weekend. Which nicely coincides with a new hydro shops grand opening 
this weekend giving me an excuse to check it out temps and RH have remained in decent range since moving to new shed also pay day Sat so bills getting covered. Will do some update pictures tonight I always love this phase of flower you see changes daily from buds forming to them suddenly starting to stack up and fatten.
Radar isn’t looking too friendly so may find myself not working today? or starting far later just to wrap up mostly just clean up and off load but no desire to work in the rain
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@Donaldj dude that chick is so badass I’m in love she is awesome best I e seen in a long time tool that’s tuff been there done that man you get a good taste in music to
Fricken snow??? messing with my plans
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Well power went out for an hour forcing me to reset surge protectors and GFI which don’t like sudden power draws. The outage has triggered the light bulb in my head to go on as outages during winter could be devastating so debating building a heat recovery system
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coming along nicely for 4 weeks still another 2 weeks of feeding and around 3 weeks of fattening up
building up nicely at 3 weeks into flower
Mothers developing will be due for water in next few days I suspect but growing very healthy since being cloned
My strain B Blueberry finally reverted and deformed growth isn’t unusual for a cutting taken during mid flower just happy to see new growth
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I am totally loving my set up now I can see daily progress having 4 different spaces I always have progress somewhere My strain B and PK are speeding up so moved both under my 400w MH. Will be putting them in 5 gal pots this weekend in hopes of getting them mother worthy within next 6 weeks or so?
My ladies in flower have noticeable change in bud size daily my fave weeks of flower 4-6 fattening days 
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Is that a single plant under that SROG?
It’s 2 I had mothers that were getting too bushy so took cuttings from them to save genes and put them into flower after extensive thinning the cuttings from them are about ready to be topped again. So will be doing some training on them this evening so they are ready to clone in another 4 weeks when I harvest. I still have nice 12 sqft of canopy with them and they were trained and kept short entire grow due to height restrictions in previous space. So they actually went into scrog at about 12" tall next round under the screen will be hydro which I suspect will be far better results based on the ones in my second flower space which are a week behind and already as far along with simple large kolas.
@Willd I tend to only use soil for mothers so will be another 4-5 months or more before I flower another mother since they live in time release soil I need to have soil mostly depleted before flowering or they get too much N and wrong nutrient balance
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Very nice. thank you
just an interesting read as I am always researching figured I would share:
is deep water culture aka DWC. Everest quizzes water culture expert, Daniel Wilson from Current Culture H2O, and discovers some great tips on running these productive hydroponic systems.
Of all the hydroponic growing media you can use water is cheap and the easiest to obtain. Water can be filtered, typically with an RO machine, and sterilized with UV or Ozone to create a clean and consistent substrate tailored to your growing requirements. Many hydroponic growers already understand the virtues of using, and more importantly reusing, water in hydroponic systems. So, why not go the whole hog, throw away your rock wool/soil/coco/clay pebbles and use water culture?!
What is Water Culture?
Deep water culture (DWC) – At its essence, a DWC system is made up of a container, lid and net pot. The container holds the nutrient solution (typically 2.5–4 gallons (10–15 liters)) and the lid supports a single plant growing in a net pot. Roots grow out the net pot and into the nutrient solution held in the container below. In the container, an air stone bubbles away to agitate the solution and keep dissolved oxygen levels high—essential in any DWC system. Shallow water culture (SWC) is based on the same principle but, yes you’ve guessed it, uses a lower volume of water.
Single vs. Recirculating
Single stand-alone systems are fairly cheap to buy and even more popular for DIY enthusiasts. Modular DWC systems, in which many containers are connected to a central reservoir, create an active system where the nutrient solution is able to cycle from the reservoir around all the pots, arriving back at the reservoir. Each has inherent issues. Stand-alone systems can be inconvenient to work with, while recirculating systems can spread problematic root diseases very quickly. The key is to operate the chosen water culture system properly, and you’ll be sure to get explosive results. Once you play around with DWC, you’ll most likely wish your system was modular and recirculating.
Q: Ok, lets start with the basics; what types of nutrients and additives work in DWC?
A: In my experience, pure synthetics of the highest solubility tend to work best. Especially formulations with well-balanced mineral ratios as well as being balanced on a molecular level. This tends to translate to a more pH stable nutrient solution that stays viable for longer periods of time.
Q: Where do you stand when it comes to Beneficial Biology in DWC systems?
A: There’s a bit of a fork in the road philosophically when it comes to“bennies” or no “bennies”. In my experiences both tend to work but I lean towards more of a sterile aqueous root zone. It is possible to use a more carbon-based substrate for a plant’s root crown cultivation. It’s this beneficial habitat that could harbor and allow colonization of a plant’s mutualistic organisms. The solution itself has little potential for colonization of anything other than bacteria, which while useful, don’t offer the benefits of fungi’s, which share a more direct relationship with the roots themselves.
Q: Are there any specific pH and EC requirements you recommend?
A: Depending on the nutrient, working with a pH between 5.5–6.5 works fine. If you want to be more specific 6.0–6.3 for veg, and 5.7–5.9 for flower. It’s in these pH ranges that the minerals most needed for the respective plant cycles are most available. With regards to EC, I generally recommend 50–75% of a nutrient manufacturers directed dosage for best results. Remember that lower EC can result in a higher intake of water into a plant’s tissue, which in turn speeds plant metabolism and increases nutrient transport.
Q: How often should growers change-out the nutrient solution? Are there signs they should look out for?
A: Depending on the type of nutrients, a 14–21 day change out schedule is typical. When plants are growing vigorously they can turn the nutrients over several times in that time frame. This is essentially “changing the nutes” by displacement from the top-off reservoir. If the nutes begin to fluctuate in pH or become murky, or if plants begin reducing nutrient usage this is usually a good time to purge the reservoir and mix a fresh batch.
Q: What is the ideal water temperature for DWC systems?
A: We’ve observed that no matter the ambient air temperature, plant roots tend to do best at 62–68°F (17–20°C). Above 72°F (21°C) the solutions dissolved oxygen (DO) holding potential quickly diminishes and below 60°F (16°C) plants tend to slow their metabolism in response to what is perceived as changing seasons. This said, growers could aid in fruit/flower ripening by reducing water temps toward the end of the reproductive cycle. Being able to dial in each zone of the plant (Leaf/Root) specifically often leads to an amplification of plant productivity.
Q: Speaking about DO, what is the best practice for monitoring and maintaining DO levels?
A: Keep nutrients cool and ppm’s at a modest level to ensure good DO saturation. Surface aeration and the implementation of air pumps and diffusers is an easy way to keep the solution agitated and moving. Manual as well as digital meters can be useful for those more meticulous souls. If you go digital buy high end as the budget meters (which still run several hundred dollars) are typically unreliable instruments in a pretty plastic housing.
Q: Can you run through your recommendations for propagating plants destined for DWC?
A: Establishing cuttings with an aeroponic cloner using 1/8th strength nutrients is ideal, preferably under mixed spectrum T-5 lighting. Propagating bare root plants suits DWC best. This offers an easier transition to water culture given there is no wicking substrate (rock wool, Sure To Grow) to hold excess moisture too close to the root crown.
Q: Is there an ideal water level to be maintained in the reservoir?
A: Start with the bare root submersed to the base of the rooted stalk, being sure to not submerse the stem or stalk tissue so as to avoid water logging. If using a wicking substrate, ensure the cube is approx. 1“ above water line; this may necessitate hand watering for a few days before the roots hit the water.
Q: What are the potentialities for plant steering using water level / amount of root zone exposed to the air?
A: With water as their growing media, growers can tailor nutrient solution parameters more specifically. Provoking plant responses such as essential oil production, fruiting and flowering are better manipulated when the substrate can be dialed in. For example, higher exposure of the root zone to atmospheric oxygen can help trigger a plant to increase oil production as a means to conserve water, and can also apply mild root stresses that are often interpreted by the plant as reproductive cues. While higher water levels can cause plants to focus more energy on vegetative production, particularly fan leaves, which in turn speeds transpiration and photosynthetic potential.
Q: Are there any specific pests or pitfalls DWC growers should watch out for?
A: Root diseases no doubt, Pythium, Fusarium, etc. These types of problems are most evident in water culture given the roots high profile, but are also typically found in most hydro methods currently practiced. In our experiences we’ve observed that once the variable causing the problem is removed (warm water, too high an EC, sludging inputs, etc.), it’s completely likely the plants will recover. In other words, root disease is not a death sentence, but a symptom of a problem needing to be addressed.
Q: I have heard from a few DWC growers that veg times can be significantly reduced, is this true?
A: Growers will need to make that call, but when dialed-in there is no faster way to grow plants—hydroponically or otherwise. A well-hydrated plant typically grows more quickly which will inevitably create shorter veg times and still achieve a premeditated harvestable plant size.
Q: Is DWC suitable for longer-term plants, such as donor plants? Commercially DWC is only used for lettuce and short-cycle plants, not for annuals.
A: Water culture is still a relatively new hydroponics method. Though first introduced in the 1930s by professor Gericke at UC Berkley, using water as a primary growth medium is still seen as somewhat impractical by commercial farmers. Due to the need to keep water conditions cool, it’s caused the bottom line to operate large-scale water culture facilities to be cost prohibitive.
Though with the recent improvements in cooling technology and increased efficiencies, I think we are likely to see a move toward water culture as a viable alternative to the current carbon substrate-based approaches presently being used for the growth of annual vegetables.
Especially as farmers discover the reduced volume of fertilizer inputs and the conservation of precious water that are key to water culture’s allure. This is an exciting time for water culture as what has been considered a black art is now emerging as a legitimate means of cultivating a variety of crops.”
If you RO your water, sterilize it with either Hydrogen Peroxide, UV Filter or Ozone and use a high quality “chem salt” style of nutrient that has quality ph buffers added, you system with run well; and if you run something like SM-90 or SNS or even Azamax then Gnats & other nasties are a non issue. I hope this article clears up a few questions about DWC & helps you find out for yourself how easy this form of Hydroponics can be. Just remember this is not dirt, so quit trying to mimic dirt & realize the full benefits of this style of growing. So keep it clean, keep it sterile & watch in amazement.
I have been less than impressed with adding microbes and bacteria to my res was having faster root production during Veg without them but does seem to shine during flower when root mass is already more substantial? so may be my compromise?
Also picked up another side job tonight sister inlaw’s house will measure it up and give her a quote this weekend
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I found it interesting since I am debating going back to sterile res environment next res change atleast during veg
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that article was so positive about hydro…I can’t wait to change over from soil to DWC again, soon!
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I only had to go hydro once to see the potential less nutes less water reduced work load with greater growth rates and lower cost of growing what’s not to like…Come to the Dark side soil is like a locamotive slow steady hydro is like a maglev if everything is perfect it flies
First you have make the track then power it but once that’s done just a matter of a few tweaks to speed things up
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I like DWC. I am a noob only 3 crops so far. I built a system 2 ft x 4 ft that is all self contained. I have 3 of these systems. Lighting and ebb and flow systems on wheels. I can move these from in doors to out doors to get the best lighting, sun or my high uv arc light mixed with my leds.
Just got done with my organic solution that feeds and prevents pests.
No more pests and no more water change outs.
It is soooooo cool to see what you are doing with your shed. I find so few growers that will do what you are doing. I find very few that like DWC. I think it is the best so far.
I look forward to learning from the thread about DWC as I am new and need to learn more.
I can build systems and creat nutes but I am just learning how to grow MJ. So thanks in advance for all you share.
This is the top of the system to show the plants. I will try to get some pics of the complete system if you would like it.
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I couldn’t agree with you more @Donaldj, after one hydro grow I knew that it was the best avenue to grow for me personally. Soil took forever it seemed like!
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I wish I could let my ladies get sunlight but still in the less than legal grow club my shed is a way to reduce the impact if I were to get caught since laws are kinda grey in that if it isn’t in my house they can’t take my house or have me declare and diminish resale value of my home. Also it is well guarded and visible to me from my window without being close to any neighbours or streets has no windows an airlock duel room setup so I can keep my dogs in outer room and there’s no entry without their permission.
The shed is built like a house and insulated to retain heat in winter and stop it getting in during summer I now have space to entertain idea of NFT but DWC is less pumps less plumbing and therefore less potential failures
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I find in soil I am just wasting more nutes for less fruits I get some pretty good results in soil but 4 month grows verse 3 month grows more mess more pests. Less likely now I’m using LEC the UV isn’t friendly to bugs or moulds and honestly why feed plants to have it dry in soil when I can let plants eat and drink constantly
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Short day planned for work tomorrow setting up for a small job then may get a kick at my first side job of the season if weather is still Ok in the afternoon? Would only take me 2 days if I had good weather but also no huge rush so will do it over a couple of weekends rather than killing myself during my 2 days off. Also have to measure the sister in-law’s roof Saturday to get her a quote done up but between the 2 is my shed paid for making harvests more my own. My last harvest was a bust oil grade even after month curing too much N she didn’t flush since plants were hardly drinking in the cold so about what I figured fortunately still have Jack herer and a bit of PK in my stash to tide me over for next 6 weeks
will be doing res change on Veg unit to test my theory that sterile works better also need to transplant 2 new mothers may do that today?
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