Hmm interesting you say that here is a good read and results of leaching in both non organic and organic you might find this very interesting people tend to believe the organic growing is actually better. Save the earth when in fact it can actually cause more harm
so lets set the record straight once n for all lol
http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/18/333/2014/hess-18-333-2014.pdf
Also lets get this amount of soil to root mass figured out ..
I used to grow in 3 - 5 gallon pots sog style 5 week veg 70 + plants and harvest 7 - 8 pounds chemical feed
Watering was a night mare, room always a fucking mess, i thought there has got to be a more productive , cleaner way to go about it and achieve same yields etc..
so changed my style i went from typical pots ,, To totes 5 gallon and 34 gallon for final
instead of 70 plants i went 12 plants ,, only difference was training excessive training starting at a early stage
My results with out a reasonable doubt my yields trippled in them totes averaging 14 - 18 oz plants meaning root size is very important more roots more food uptake bigger plants , more yield end of story
you here people mention that your wasting soil i know when i took out them roots in my 34 gallon totes there was no soil as if plants ate it
sure your typical shake root system and some soil falls off but i assure you there was fuck all left of soil
Also i like to note pest control was better room was cleaner and most importantly plants grew fast and big ..
If you do not believe me try it for your self remember i went from 70 plus plants to 12 and achieved same yields same veg time same environment. only difference was instead of pots i went totes with out any drain holes
seriously go get a walmart special tote
buy a 5 - 10 - 15 gallon totes place a plant in it and see the difference in growth size n yield compared to your other 3 gallons plants
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Comparison of the groundwater pollution potential of greenhouses that grow year round vegetables under intensive regimes shows that commercial farms that rely on compost as the main fertilizer source, as commonly practiced in organic agriculture, result in substantial down-leaching of nitrate
compared with farms that rely on fertigation methods, as commonly practiced in conventional agriculture.
http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/18/333/2014/hess-18-333-2014.pdf