Living soil dry back dilemma...

Hollatchaboy said:
Look into sips. Soil is constantly moist. Microbes and plant, never happier.
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I like to use them for my outdoor tomatoes. The fruits crack because of fluctuating hydration cycles. Since starting them in sips years ago I don't have anymore split open ripe cherry tomatoes.
I grew some casablanca lillies in a sip and I shit you not, the opened flowers were as wide as my head. The unopened buds were as big as a banana. Organic soil with FF grow big 1x per week and a 3" cocao bean shell much layer. I have pictures around somewhere.
 
McShnutz said:
I like to use them for my outdoor tomatoes. The fruits crack because of fluctuating hydration cycles. Since starting them in sips years ago I don't have anymore split open ripe cherry tomatoes.
I grew some casablanca lillies in a sip and I shit you not, the opened flowers were as wide as my head. The unopened buds were as big as a banana. Organic soil with FF grow big 1x per week and a 3" cocao bean shell much layer. I have pictures around somewhere.
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I use em to grow weed. Lol

Screenshot_20211130-185936_Gallery.jpg
 
mudballs said:
I care more about water potential, i try to avoid drybacks. I just like science stuff and according to what i could find, one dryback would be beneficial. But thats it.
Once you go from this.
View attachment 5089201

To this
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You dont do it again. You dont want to damage what you just beefed up. I guess for no-till you're gonna have to do it every once in a while.
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that was my take as well; it seemed as though one dry back every one in a while (year?) might not be such a bad idea in no-till
I'm not totally sold on no-till yet, I really like a fresh mix aerated up and into a pot, trying to keep my pots no-till is giving me anxiety lol
 
lakesidegrower said:
Theres another good example of a constantly moist soil environment with excellent results

I think really what it is I need to feel comfortable with is that I set my moisture levels with my Blumats to hit that Zone 3 'Goldilox' saturation
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When I first plunged into the blumats I didn't have the tensiometer. I had a digital moisture probe from rapid test. Homedepot sells them for about 20 bucks. Reading were in scale from 1-9. I took a little while but I found that 6 was ideal. Also reading my plant's response to different moisture levels helped. Once I got the tensiometer I was just about dialed in and the new meter confirmed it. I was a tad to wet but all that equated to was 2 notches on the blumat.
 
Hollatchaboy said:
Just remember, if you top dress, use mulch. It'll help retain moisture and break down your amendments.
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I should post some pics , lights on in a few - I'm pretty happy with my top mulch layer, I recently top dressed with some kelp, bokashi bran, rock dust and castings mixed with a fish compost - that has leaf litter from the plants and hay on top - stays nice and moist, super bio-active with the whole damn soil food web family, worms hare just loving it

I should also say that I built these pots in horizons; bottom is crushed rock, then some finer rock and sand, then my base mix, casting/mulch layer, top mulch or cover crop - I could have done a better job with defining more horizons etc but really what I wanted to ensure was good drainage at the bottom
 
lakesidegrower said:
I remember reading that thread! Is Northwood still around?
Great article - well I have no reason to disagree with any of the arguments there
'roots do not search for water, but for conditions that are ideal for root hairs'
I also liked this... 'Growers should not just water plants. Growers should operate root systems.'

What's your method for getting the blumats dialled in? I'm constantly second guessing myself, and worry about dry spots. I have three carrots in each 20gal, wonder if I should be adding some drippers.

I also just watered in a JMS yesterday - each pot took 4L of solution with no run off no problem, - I felt like that was plenty and thought adding more water was likely too much. The pots weren't dry beforehand, but I had dialled back the blumats a few quarter turns over a couple of days before the drench. I've marked the water line in my res, am curious when they start the drink - each pot holds 2 - 6wk vegged plants
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Ya that thread and that article have alot of valuable info.
Norwood is still around, last I saw he is growing a bunch of hot peppers in his 4x4 no till bed instead of cannabis this last round. Don't see him around much anymore though.

As far as dialing in blumats, I use smaller pots anywhere from 1-5 gallon pots so I just follow the instructions and make small adjustments if I don't like the moisture level of each pot. But generally they are good for the most part after setting up.
When I top water something in I don't even touch the blumats, just water it in, if I see anything run off I stop. But I usually just give small top waters when I do so I see zero runoff. I only top water a couple time thru the life of the plant.
Could you use the blusoak line with 1 blumat? Instead of a whole bunch in 1 pot. I've heard the drippers can clog easily.
I've only ever used 1 carrot per pot.
 
McShnutz said:
When I first plunged into the blumats I didn't have the tensiometer. I had a digital moisture probe from rapid test. Homedepot sells them for about 20 bucks. Reading were in scale from 1-9. I took a little while but I found that 6 was ideal. Also reading my plant's response to different moisture levels helped. Once I got the tensiometer I was just about dialed in and the new meter confirmed it. I was a tad to wet but all that equated to was 2 notches on the blumat.
Click to expand...
Im kinda grouchy because I know I now will need to get a tensiometer so I get some satisfaction here, I have been saving for a new light dammit lol
I just considered those basic moisture meters as garbage, its one thing I never picked up - is it even worth spending the $20?
 
JustBlazin said:
Ya that thread and that article have alot of valuable info.
Norwood is still around, last I saw he is growing a bunch of hot peppers in his 4x4 no till bed instead of cannabis this last round. Don't see him around much anymore though.

As far as dialing in blumats, I use smaller pots anywhere from 1-5 gallon pots so I just follow the instructions and make small adjustments if I don't like the moisture level of each pot. But generally they are good for the most part after setting up.
When I top water something in I don't even touch the blumats, just water it in, if I see anything run off I stop. But I usually just give small top waters when I do so I see zero runoff. I only top water a couple time thru the life of the plant.
Could you use the blusoak line with 1 blumat? Instead of a whole bunch in 1 pot. I've heard the drippers can clog easily.
I've only ever used 1 carrot per pot.
Click to expand...
I have carrots for small pots. 2 Maxi's in my 4x8 fabric bed and they're controlling the double-end blusoak manifold. Works great!!
 
lakesidegrower said:
Im kinda grouchy because I know I now will need to get a tensiometer so I get some satisfaction here, I have been saving for a new light dammit lol
I just considered those basic moisture meters as garbage, its one thing I never picked up - is it even worth spending the $20?
Click to expand...
I already had it long before the blumats sonic was just another tool in my arsenal proved useful. The key to blumats is small changes. Never more than 2 clicks (notches) up or down.
I went with the tensiometer because it operates on osmotic pressure, same as the carrots/maxi's. The same principal applies to small incremental adjustments as does the true reading from the tensiometer. Adjustments made today won't be reflected until tomorrow.
 
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