Hydro Kit & Organic Medium

[SuperKellus]

I was wondering can you grow Hydroponically in soil and if so do most Hydro rules apply? I just bought what I thought was a Hydro set up (Wilma 16), but my preference to grow organically means I want to use soil, so am I growing Hydroponically? Seems to me the only difference is the dippers or the flood-drippers which you water the plants with, as this will be my first grow Im learning alot still and cant wait to get going but sometimes feel like my heads going to explode when I try to work out EC levels and if they are even relevent to me and my set-up as Im using soil, all the EC comments seem to be related to growing with an artificial medium Clay Pellets/CoCo/Aeroponically etc. Ph is all good Ive got that no problem seems to be keep my Tank @ about 6 and soil @ about 6.5 and controlling this is obviously important but easy to understand. EC is whole other Beast that does my head in sometimes. I will always be growing in soil and any comments would be appreciated as Im not even fully set up yet I want to fully research seeing as Ive invest a buck or 2 and want to get things right 1) How important is EC to a organic grower and 2) Does Using soil mean I change my resTank as an when it needs topping up when empty or change it every week as Ive seen some ppl like to do religously. Thanks S.K:rasta:

[CanGroIt]

Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds to me like you want to use soil along with your Wilma 16 site drip system???

The Wilma 16 system is a hydroponic system created to be used with soilless mediums such as peat moss, hydroton, coco and so on.... Technically you can use it to water/feed your plants with soil but not to the point of runoff..... The runoff soil particles will likely collect and clog wherever they can.... I think you are better off learning hydro since you already bought the system.... The choice is yours.... BTW, their are plenty of organic hydro nutes that you can use too, if you decide to stick with it....

Hope this helps....

CGI::::::

[SuperKellus]

Yeah nice one this is the system I was talking about, this is what confused me in the first place as the wilma is a Hydro Piece of Kit but you can use it organically too, the guy who I spoke to the other day uses the same set-up with soil and with the right mix it runs fine no problem and as the instrutions on the booklet explain that to use with soil simply use the dippers (small drops) instead of the Flood drippers (large drops) so Ive no reason to doubt the man, although Ive heard of the problems you're talking about I think with the right maintence and products it works very well as an organic way of growing. What gets me is the res Tank and the E.C levels do you think you'd apply the same levels of nutrient in your res as you would with both Soil/Pellets/CoCo or even bother to moniter them at all. As I dont want my business known I dont want to go asking these kind of questions to people I dont want to know, any advice would be appreciated.

[CanGroIt]

Of course you want to monitor nutrient levels, even if growing in soil. Just start off light, then gradually give more with each week that passes.....I would also throw a couple airstones into your res. Bubble it up for a couple minutes before your drippers start....

CGI::::::

[SuperKellus]

Cool so ill moniter them and I will check my tank Ph and EC daily, Ill start off as you say really light because apparently the soil im using should have enough food for the youngsters to begin with but in the later stages of growth Ill begin adding my nutrients, maybe Im getting alttle too obsessed about these EC levels, I just want to get it right and understand the EC in my tank. Ill have to get myself a couple of those airstones, Thanks again, S.K

[SuperKellus]

This is the best description I found:Wilma Hydro Organic Systems - Growing Systems (http://www.growell.co.uk/growing-systems/wilma-hydro-organic-systems.html#tabs)
Wilma Hydro Organic Systems
Be the first to review this product

SKU# G235

"Thanks to an ingenious re-circulating drip-based design thatâ??s capable of accommodating any type of growing medium, you can expect to achieve fantastic results courtesy of a Wilma System whether using pebbles, rockwool, soil or coco! Each system comes supplied with all the different drip stakes you need, so if after a few crops you fancy changing the growing media â?? you quite simply can! Moveable pots and handy pot location pins on the top tray make the Wilma System incredibly flexible and enable you to quickly and easily reposition plants for uniform crop growth. What's more, you've now got the option of growing larger plants in 3 new BIG Wilma Systems that accommodate 18 Litre pots. These are available in 4, 8 and 9 plant versions."
Well its a shame they dont include a decent instruction booklet on even the basics of working the system with different Mediums because surely they cant expect everyone to know everything.

[CanGroIt]

I don't want to make you feel bad but if you had asked, before buying this system, and added how you were going to use it, I would have showed you how to build and plumb a drip system for less than 50 bucks.... Cause basically, that is what you are going to use it for.... Not saying that the system isn't good or won't work but just thinking you could have built the system and bought yourself a nice sack for the same price you bought that one for....

As far as EC levels go, don't let them get to you.... Keep ph and nutrient strength in check, and you will do alright.... There is plenty of time to find out how EC should fluctuate throughout the grow....

CGI::::::

[SuperKellus]

Thats the thing, I wish I knew half the things I know now that I did when I bought all my kit, fact is I thought I knew enough. Through a couple of places I got everything I needed but I have seen some real cool ways since of making stuff that I have for alot cheaper. Im seriously tempted to break out the propergator now and get some "Big Bang 2" germinated. Pateince I keep telling myself I keep learning stuff that is going to improve my grow because of it, plus my girlfriend gets more & more pissed the bedroom has turned into one big Hydro/Organic storeroom.

[SuperKellus]

Ok Ive decided to put up my GrowRoom spec's and maybe this will help on getting some more accurate answers (still nice one to CGI:::)its just I probably did nt explain exactly what Im needing to find out but your comment about chilling out abit on the nutrient level but still moniter them has calmed my thoughts alittle.
Wilma 16 & Wilma 4 Recirculating Drip System using Arrow Dripper Heads (use with soil) my option
Lighting: 125 Watt CFL (for propergation) 400 Watt M.H & 600 Watt M.H Switching to 400 Watt M.H & 600 Watt H.P.S for Flowering
Medium & Organic additions:CANNA Terra Professional Plus medium 80%, Pearlite 20% adding Bat Guano for Flowering
Tank Nutrients: Plant Magic Hard water 2 part base Nutrients**Still uncertain on which additives to buy because im not convinsed I need them with this set up other than a Bloom booster of some sort, again not sure which to buy yet, input on any of this would helpful.
Ventilation & Temp Control: 8" RVK A1 Duct fan, 4" RVK A1 Duct Fan, SMS Twin Fan Controller (controls intake and exhaust in harmony), Rhino 8"Carbon Filter 600mmx200mm, Fresh Filter 4" 300mmx100mm, 5m 8" Accoustic Ducting, 10m 4" Accoustic Ducting, 4" Y Duct splitter, 8" Silencer 800mmx200mm, 12" Pedalstal Oscillating Fan, 12" Oscillating Floor Fan, Digital Temp/Hygrometer, temp takes reading from res and ambient, All housed in a Secrect Jardin 240cmx240cmx200cm, split into one large Vegging & Flower section & one smaller Mother/Clone section using only CFL's.

I have most things in my head straight, but the issues of when and how often to change reservior and how often to feed my plants on this dripper system, as with Hydro where you can in practice leave the Flood Drippers going non stop if you like, feeding plants in soil has to be a different watering schedule, I know of a few obvious ways of checking but if like me you want to maybe leave things alone for a while at a time if not convienient to check daily, things like this will be essential to know. I have heard times varying from 1x 15 minute daily feed to 4x 20 minute feeds per day so if anyone could give me some slighty more accurate watering shedules for Veg/Flowering on a Soil/Dripper recirculating system I'd love to hear from you. Thanks in advance.

Wilma 4 will be used for "Mothers", Wilma 16 for Veg/Flowering
Both have their own reserviors respectivly Wilma 16-250 Litre, Wilma 4-50 Litres using just Base Nutrients and assuming that the P.H is stable and plants happy, do I let the reservoir run till real low to top it up, or change as part of a weekly/fortnightly routine? E.Z S.K

[CanGroIt]

You don't need a seperate area for mothers or clones. You can use your veg area but that's up to you.

As for how much and how often to water, you probably want to do a test run with plain water and catch water from one of the drippers so you know how much water is dispensed and at what rate. Once you figure out the rate of flow, you can then determine how much time you want to set the water timer for. You definitely don't want your soil to stay constantly wet either. You should also fill a pot with soil and measure how much water you can add to the soil before runoff. This will also help you know how much to water....

Hope this helps.....

CGI::::::

[SuperKellus]

All good stuff mate thanks makes complete sense, Ill run both of these water test's nice one, Ive since been thinking on the filter problems associated with using soil & a dripper recirculating system, do you think that placing some sort of fine filter at the point the run off enters back into the tank? Ive also seen some filters which actually connect to the irrigation system but since they look far too small to be of any use & dont have a clue how they work exactly I think Ill give them a miss. As for the two sections is having a Clone/Mother section, and place strongest clones to Veg & Flower section not more useful than having an exclusive flowering section & an separate Veg/Mother/Clone room. Which ever is best I will go with. Its mainly because I want to just use CFL's in one room and save my 400w + 600W for strong Veg & Flowering Cycles.

[tomalh]

This is the best description I found:Wilma Hydro Organic Systems - Growing Systems (http://www.growell.co.uk/growing-systems/wilma-hydro-organic-systems.html#tabs)
Wilma Hydro Organic Systems
Be the first to review this product

SKU# G235

"Thanks to an ingenious re-circulating drip-based design thatâ??s capable of accommodating any type of growing medium, you can expect to achieve fantastic results courtesy of a Wilma System whether using pebbles, rockwool, soil or coco! Each system comes supplied with all the different drip stakes you need, so if after a few crops you fancy changing the growing media â?? you quite simply can! Moveable pots and handy pot location pins on the top tray make the Wilma System incredibly flexible and enable you to quickly and easily reposition plants for uniform crop growth. What's more, you've now got the option of growing larger plants in 3 new BIG Wilma Systems that accommodate 18 Litre pots. These are available in 4, 8 and 9 plant versions."
Well its a shame they dont include a decent instruction booklet on even the basics of working the system with different Mediums because surely they cant expect everyone to know everything.

http://nutriculture.com/active/wilma-systems