Coco growers: How do you collect your runoff?

[Bringreen]

Throughout this grow, watering has been my weakness...
It’s probably caused by limited space (4x2 closet space) so I can’t help but wonder what methods other growers use to drain/water their systems. I’ve made some drainage buckets with grates in them for my fabric pots to sit in. Based on your setup, how do you collect your runoff?

[Tersky]

Personally, i dont. As long as i keep what i put in @ or around 6.0 i have not found the need. I use fabric pots tho and runoff is usually not very accurate. When i tried doing runoff i had a large bore syringe that i used to suck up runoff out of the tray the pots were sitting in. I have seen people use grates to keep the pots out of the drainage bin. whatever you can find that works really. I'm sure others have examples of how they do it.

[Spanky]

Hello,
During veg, I don’t remove the runoff water and I make sure I always put enough water in to get about 20 percent runoff. I found this is helpful to prevent salt build up, but I also alternate cal/Mag Phed water with cal/mag, nute phed water. I check every day but usually only need to water every third day. I have a fan on my plants which solved my flying bug problems. By the third day, the runoff water has evaporated and my humidity levels are good in the grow room. If my humidity gets too high during flower, I remove the runoff water. I also insert a pan of calcium citrate and pour off the water it absorbs each day.

Your set up will work if you are using fabric pots that you can pull out so you can dismantle your bucket/screen to get at the runoff. A small spigot on the side of your bucket could make that easier, but I’d just take the plant out each day if I were only growing one or two. I’m not sure if you want to have the fabric pots more or less encased in the bucket. It blocks airflow and could cause mildew, etc. Also, will the bucket be in the way if you want to use the sides of your pots to tie your plant down during low stress training? Where I am, winters get cold even in our insulated basement. I think my little heater would have to work harder at keeping tender roots warm if a plastic bucket is in the way. If these things are an issue, you could place that plastic screening over a dishpan and set your pot on top.

I bought some 2 or 3 dollar wire baskets that I set upside down in a regular dish pan. The baskets sit in the pan leaving an inch or more of space between the pan wall and the basket. These wire baskets (or plastic) are what people use to organize small items in their drawers or cupboards. I put my fabric pots on top of the inverted baskets. Water flows out of the pot freely from all sides and bottom, and there is plenty of airflow around the pots. This allows me to set the dishpan and plant on a small stool or table so I don’t have to bend to the floor to get at it. As the plant grows or stretches, I remove the table and get more head room for the plant. If I don’t want to take the plant out, I can easily reach into the dishpan to pump out excess water. There are many ways to do this...wet dry vac, Nebula’s little dedicated vac, turkey baster, etc. I happen to have a large needless syringe that holds over a cup of water so I just insert that to suck up the water.

I like my simple little set up because it is cheap, flexible (drain in place or remove the plant), and the pans and baskets can go thru the dishwasher when the grow is over. Check the dollar store, but please wear a mask!

Hope this helps! Good luck.😎

[Bringreen]

Between the buckets and the fabric pots there’s an air gap which should make mildew less of an issue (hopefully). Measuring runoff was actually a side benefit, as I’ve only done a runoff test once or twice when they’re stressed.

The bucket build was mainly to make watering more convenient. The previous setup I used was horrible. I’ll post before and after photos to show the primitive excuse for a drip tray that I tried to craft from panda film. It was placed under some wire shelves to catch runoff, but the thing was so flimsy it would just collapse when I tried to pick it up, so I had to resort to dragging the tray across the floor, down the hall, and out the door to remove my runoff.
(My humidity would skyrocket if I don’t)

Always 20/20 in hindsight I suppose...

Thanks for the info on large bore syringes and dehumidifying with calcium btw. Now I have more research to do.

Speaking of calcium, the photos make it look like a cal/mag/iron deficiency of some kind is present. Just another watering-related issue rearing it’s ugly head