Kratky + LST Experiment

Dr.J20 said:

so Kratky can take it through bloom?

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Check out some videos I mentioned in my first post, they show results of big kratkys (indoor and outdoor) growing tons of terrific pods. They apply many of the same principles that result in fantastic results with cannabis, so why not? We'll see how it goes and I may go back to soil, who knows.

Almost 2 weeks since flip to 12/12

2 Weeks

3 weeks

2 White Cookies from CK

'Lemon Skunk' from 34 Street Seed Co - already looks really resinous

the stalk on White Cookies A



Only 6 - 7 weeks to go?

CATASTROPHE!!
Root rot got into all three. I dunno if I caught it in time, dumped the whole kratky setup and transplanted them into soil to see if I can salvage anything.
ARRRGHHH!

You might salvage them in soil, if you don't keep them too wet, and have a healthy soil full of enzymes/fungi/bacteria.

I didn't see any mention of you using anything to keep the root zone clean, but in a standing water system like Kratky, you'll definitely need some type of additive, especially if your water is room temp or higher.
The higher your temp, the less likely you'll want a live solution. Anaerobic bacteria gives the aerobic bacteria a helluva run for it's money, the higher the temps.
Peroxide, bleach, or pool shock would be your options at that point. They all require small doses, once or twice a week... And that's in hydro systems with oxygenation.

Good luck!

Thanks, yes this was my first time trying to do hydro, I have a lot to learn. It didn't help that I had a week from hell and didn't spend enough time caring for them. Maybe I'll try again one day.

Well, hey, don't beat yourself up too bad, or give up too easily. You picked a method of hydro that should be the least maintenance, in theory, but in my opinion, only works in certain circumstances. I was pulling for you, which is why the thread got my interest.

If I'm not mistaken, they usually have a soil zone up top, but also grow roots down into the water. This soil zone probably acts as a buffer to help against root rot.

Also, I think people use this method for growing herbs, greens, etc, on windowsills and such. They don't require nearly the light as our plants, so their environment and water aren't nearly as hot as our plants under our lights.
Another reason I was interested in this thread- I don't think I've seen any successfully finish.

It seems like a method of hydro thats just too good to be true, but you might be able to work, if everything is damn near perfect.

I think you would need to be on a cold concrete basement floors, so your water temp stays under 75.

You would probably want to cover the remaining 5 sides of your reservoir with Reflectix, to help keep more heat out of the rez.

A soil buffer zone might help, but if you're in a cool basement, you might get away with bare roots in standing water.
Use LED lights if possible, for less radiant heat in the room.

Add some sort of root zone cleaner, whether live or sterile. Live options include beneficial bacteria, fungi, and enzymes, but should only be used if your temps are low, like under 75f.
Sterile options include hydrogen peroxide, household bleach, or calcium hypochlorite powered pool shock. You can get away with higher temperatures using these, but if temps are high enough, bad stuff can always still take hold.

You could research Passive Plant Killers, or PPKs, if you want a passive hydro system, or so I hear. Haven't personally used them, but I know some people love them.

Any type of hydro where the roots are always submerged, are usually at higher risk for root issues. You could check out some of the simpler active hydro systems, like flood n drain, or even turn the buckets you were using into a recirculating dwc with waterfalls.
Either way, you'd need at least a water pump, and a cycle timer. A couple storage totes, and some tubing, if you're building something new.

Just a few things to think about, if you haven't already.

Awesome! Thank you so much for this good advice. I will try this project again some time.

cheers

Is that a vent hole so the air roots can get more circulation?

Did those plants pull through after the transplant?

Merkn4aSquirtn said:

Did those plants pull through after the transplant?

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Only one kind of made it, the lemon skunk. It looks *OK* but growth really slowed down; it hasn't really made any new pistils. The buds look good, but, looks like the ordeal really halted any new growth.

@nunyabidness420

The holes were meant to be for doing feeds once the plants were all tied down - I wouldn't be able to remove them again from the containers, and that's part of where I screwed up, setting it up that way. Also, a fungus gnat infestation reared it's ugly head too and I think that was the nail in the coffin for the roots, hence the root-rot.

Interestingly though, my white and purple bhut jolokias growing in the same method are fine, so it only seemed to affect the cannabis plants. I'll probably try this method again at some point, but for now I think I'll do mainly soil - it's far more forgiving.

blueberryrose said:

for the love of making seeds
(recent batch I made)
View attachment 4626624
but that's another story.

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Don't you just love seeing healthy looking seeds? When I look through my seed collection I always think the word "potential"!