First Time Outdoor DWC

Hi there! I'm new here.. I hope its okay to post this thread here?

I've been reading A LOT for the past few months about DWC setups.. I notice there are very few people doing it outdoor. So there isnt much info. Is there some major disadvantages to outdoor DWC systems? I figure no light can beat sunlight?

I'm using the Lucas formula with Flora Nova Grow at 8ml per gallon.. my clones are about 3 weeks old. I'm planning on NOT switching out my resivor unless its a must.. I'll keep adding water as needed, and for now my ppm's are at 1300 with a ph of 5.4 - 5.8 seems to jump around a bit. Eventually I'll switch to FN bloom. My water is very hard from the tap.. about 380 ppm.

I'm noticing a few issues.. I've mixed my water and nutes VERY well(12 gallon system and 6 netpots), yet I notice a bunch of sediment at the bottom of my res. I have 1 dual outlet pump(very powerful) with 2 airstones attached.. and a second, less powerful pump in with a stone in the middle of my res. I'm wondering if I need to mix up the solution more in my res? Should I add another powerful dual airpump up to help mix? Or maybe a small sub-pump at the bottom, with the outlet pointed to the top of my res, to help bring the nutes to the top and mix around a bit?

Also.. I live about an hour south of San Francisco, the weather is great, but a tad cold at night.. probably into the 50's. I see the leaves are turning a slight purple/red color.. should I worry about that?

I hope these questions make sense to you guys... and if anyone has experience with an outdoor DWC setup, please let me know if you have any helpful tips! Thanks so much

hell yeah man, do that shit!
I've been wanting to do a DWC outdoor grow if I can do it a self sustaining way.
The only problem doing it outdoors is a power source. If you got that, you're golden.
plus doing it outdoors that mofo is gonna thrive like no other!

Don't worry bout the purpling, it's natural with the cold weather.
and if you got it in a res, the water will hold temperature a lot longer than the air so you shouldn't have to worry bout the temps all that much.
Got any pics? keep it up.

oh yeah, I forget exactly what the sediment at the bottom is. Flo figured it out one day cause it happened to me on my last grow. lmao can't remember what the hell it was now!!
he'll chime in im sure.

Outdoor DWC is my favorite!!! Those temperatures are not that bad. Oxygen is very soluble at around 50 degrees F so your roots should be very happy. I actually prefer cooler temperatures towards the end of flowering....from my experience, that makes for some very nice purple hues. If you are using hydroton, there is always going to be reddish sediment at the bottom. other substrates may cause some sediment to drop to the bottom also. fyi...I have over 15 bubble buckets outdoors and they are loving it

Sounds good, thanks for the encouraging words!

Going to really try and keep that Flora Nova mixed up as best as I can..

I'll try and get some pics next chance I get!

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welcome to the forum and congrats on making the decision to try a dwc outdoors. Like others have said, if you get it right that sucker could be a BIG yielder and a very fast grower.
I wish I had the ability to do some outdoor stuff too with dwc, hell it makes sense for sure.

I think a few things you'll want to watch out for is insects, they can f up hydro quickly, mosquito larvee, mites, ants, spiders all kinds of crap like that not to mention bacteria or animals (deer mainly).

Also, this time of year you have a long natural growing season ahead, dwc tends to grow fast ya know, how you thought about how to make her flower when you're ready or were you planning on letting nature take its course? Not sure when natural flowering occurs in your part of the world so that's something to think about for sure. It'd be great if you can let her flower on mother natures time table but that isn't always practical. Also, when you do get buds you need to be careful about mold, I know it's often foggy and humid there near the coast unless you're further inland where's it's drier climate. Bud mold can take your whole crop just when its almost finished, we don't want that bro!
Good luck and please make a thread or a grow journal on your dwc outdoor attempt. I'd love to follow that grow!

I don't know how hot your summers are but you may need to find a way to cool your res as daytime temps start getting higher. Ice bottles work but make the water immeadiately around them really cold and can be bad for roots. Chillers are expensive but work really well. I've read about putting a fan in the res to cool by evaporation but it's only supposed to drop the temp by a max of 8°F. If you have them near a basement window making an rdwc system with a res inside would work great. You could even put ice bottles in it without risking shocking the roots.
Also make sure you minimize the amount of rainwater that can get in your res and fuck up your ppms. I made a cover with some plastic that goes around my plants and covers the net pots. It seems to be working.
I'm growing some veggies outside in dwc this year because we had to get the hardcore termite treatment last year and can't grow food in the soil for five years. We get temps and humidity in the 90s here in July and August so I've been thinking about how to really cool my res. I'm leaning towards just getting a chiller.

MrEDuck said:

I don't know how hot your summers are but you may need to find a way to cool your res as daytime temps start getting higher. Ice bottles work but make the water immeadiately around them really cold and can be bad for roots. Chillers are expensive but work really well. I've read about putting a fan in the res to cool by evaporation but it's only supposed to drop the temp by a max of 8°F. If you have them near a basement window making an rdwc system with a res inside would work great. You could even put ice bottles in it without risking shocking the roots.
Also make sure you minimize the amount of rainwater that can get in your res and fuck up your ppms. I made a cover with some plastic that goes around my plants and covers the net pots. It seems to be working.
I'm growing some veggies outside in dwc this year because we had to get the hardcore termite treatment last year and can't grow food in the soil for five years. We get temps and humidity in the 90s here in July and August so I've been thinking about how to really cool my res. I'm leaning towards just getting a chiller.

Click to expand...

any more info on this any picks anyone doing it>???

Res -> Pump -> Feed line coiled inside cooler w/Ice packs+water -> Plants

I want to see this.
I been thinking about it,over a year.
How to keep regulated with the rain & other outside elements.
That idea about keep the rez inside was a good one,I like that.
What's the problem it's all pretty much sealed.
GL

Buy a mini green house and burry your dwc buckets into the ground to keep them cool and you have some nice indoor looking bud