SunShine#4 Users... Let's Chat

I am also a SunShine#4 user and I have grown with no drainage at all, I am curious if other people do the same thing with #4. Does it work fine because it's so airy? I would think you'd be shunned by other growers for not draining out most soil-like mediums...but for some reason SunShine seems to work fine without drainage. Can anyone else tell us about their experiences with the medium?

Everything I have learned is that drainage is essential for proper flushing, however I just read a huge long thread on this site of a guy who did 14K watts in grow beds, with SunShine#4 and never let a single drop of water out of the grow beds... had no problems. It's in grow room design, he claims to get 3lbs per 1000 watt lamp - nuts!

He said if he over-nutes, he will just give them ph'd water for one feeding, and then go back to normal. Let's exchange experiences SunShine users! I am planning my next grow and quite honestly it's just easier to not deal with run off water, emptying it out of the room etc... I am considering trying it out with no drain holes in my pots... I did it my first cycle through and it worked fine but I figured if I ran into nute problems it would be difficult to flush them out.

I would say that under some conditions, there really is no need to flush.
I have no experience with the mix you are using but the one I use (Agway brand composted cow manure plus humus with 40% perlite) also needs flushing rarely, if ever.
In this mix, I do the same thing you mentioned, which is feed feed feed water feed... etc. The humic acids chelate fertilizer components so that toxic salt buildup really isn't possible at the levels I feed at.
However I have to add that when you are keeping a mother in the same pot for a long period of time, even in the most perfect soil, it is good practice to flush her out, as prolonged periods in the same clump of dirt ARE likely to lead to problems.
But for potting clones into soil and then flowering them, or seedlings into bigger pots and do the same, if you know what you are doing and use good dirt and only water at the proper pH, you're GOLDEN.

You da woman! Hopefully we get Gagne today at the trade deadline... Boston will be so scary with yet another great relief pitcher.

Thanks for the info there sweet-thing!

Anytime.
Boston is imposing enough already... this season is SWEET. I am a happy masshole.

Hey Razzapiggy ,
Humboldt 215 does the same thing as tranoble w/ soilbeds but Im unsure of which soil humboldt uses . Light feedings / waterings and no mistakes , I've seen lotsa ppl. get away w/ out drainage . In the old days I used to use 6ft. kiddy pools w/o drainage and 1000's over each w/o issues .
Peace man
Crispi :jointsmile:

So you wouldn't flush at the end either? I kind of did the same thing my first time, just gave it ph'ed water at the end to at least flush the soil out. It's funny people go spend tons of cash on building tables and stuff when in all reality most of the time you can get away with just watering the plant enough so that it doesn't come out the bottom. That said, obviously flushing them out is preferable and makes for a smoother smoke.

P.S Eric Gagne to the Red Sox!!!!!!!!!! Best bull pen in Boston history

Hey Razza ,
I never act. flushed them . This was almost 20 yrs ago. though . Just 3-4 waterings at the end w/o nutes , which were fish emulsion -n- miracle grow back then and we still didn't have any evil nute taste . Humboldt 215 has a crazy crazy grow log on here somewhere w/ bunkers , backhoes , and 70,000w diesel gens. scan it through -n- see how he adresses the no drainage deal .
Crispi :jointsmile:

Yeah, I didn't flush em my first run through either... no chemical taste was noticed by a single friend of mine. I was toying with the idea of doing the no drainage thing again this time which would eliminate the need for a table and drip system (just water by hand) but I'm opting to buy the tables and set up the drip system.

I like the drip idea because I'll water em 4-5 times during their 12 hour light cycle, which I would imagine is going to yield me more because the plants like smaller increments of water more frequently than being dumped with water and then not paid attention to for a few days.

Also like the peace of mind knowing if I have nutrient lock out or any sort of problem they can be flushed quite easily. Last cycle I flushed them in the bathtub and let me tell you it was a fucking pain in the arse.