Hydroponic Outdoor Home Grow in the City, Towergarden. Soil side by side test.
People don't seem to be trying small scale hydro outdoor all that much, and I see why, it's hard. So much can go wrong due to the elements. This is my 3rd home grow attempt: first time I managed to harvest 2 out of 10 plants due to root rot. Second time I lost all 9, I believe from water reservoir overheating on a particularly hot day. This time, I thought I'd keep a record of my journey, as well as give me some accountability. So Ive created a test, Im doing soil this time as well as a couple in the Towergarden. Side by side, Im hoping to see if the yield potential / THC Content / Taste is worth the effort and giving it all Ive got. Also, perhaps some of you out there can help with ideas, if you have any knowledge on a setup like this, I'd love to hear it.
I live in a major city and have a small bungalow style house so indoor is not an option. I do have plenty of room outside however, and I was gifted a Towergarden, a compact vertical hydroponic system with a 20Gallon reservoir. Veggies seemed not worth the effort so I decided to try weed instead.
Id say Im moderate in my growing knowledge, through these last few attempts I've learned A LOT. But Im no pro. I failed, a lot, but that's the only way to learn. Some things Ive learned so far, through trial and error:
BE PROACTIVE. Stay on top of the system, EVERYDAY. Spray, all the time. There are periods where things are going great and it doesn't seem like there's much to do and you get lazy, only to suddenly be swimming up sh*t creek.
Pest and disease are relentless. Ive had a ton and they're always on the offensive: spider mites, thrips, WPM, caterpillars. You need to proactively spray, a lot. Im looking to get BUTTERFLIES this year. I live in a highly vegetative area.
WATER MAINTENANCE IS A CONSTANT JOB. It's a small tank, so things can go wrong quick. Fill up everyday and flush the system every few weeks. Feed gently, I do around half to 2/3 the suggested low general feeding amount on the bottle. An added root inoculant is almost a must. Im using HydroGuard.
CLOSE THE SYSTEM TIGHT. I used to leave the unused grow ports open. This was a bad idea. It allowed plenty of pathogens from the atmosphere to enter the water supply and thrive, wrecking havoc on the roots.
My process:
This season Im growing feminized seeds I bought online, non-autoflower, White Widow, AK47, & BubbleGum. Start from seeds in RootRiot pods under a small grow light on 24hr schedule for about a month, with very light feeding after about 3 nodes. I like RootRiot because they aren't soluble once transplanted into the hydro system. Once they reach 4-5 nodes I transplant to Towergarden outside with no artificial light. Once they reach 5-7 nodes I FIM/TOP. Then it's keeping up with your chores from there.
TowerGarden is 20Gallons, has a small pond pump, shower cap style drainage, a fish tank double aerator with 4" stones (to help keep water temperature stable, helps plants absorb nutrients, as well as heavily oxygenate any roots that submerge into the reservoir), a timer with feeding schedule set to 15on/15off during the days, then 15on/30-45off during the evening, until it gets hotter.
Im currently using Fox Farms Grow Big and adding 1tsp/gallon every other time I fill up. Also add suggested HydroGuard, 2ml/gallon, every other time.
Added a few photos, from this grow so far, as well as a photo from the first grow where I thought I was king of the hill for a sec, until root rot had it all come crashing down (note, the only reason 2 were saved is because strangely the root rot wasn't as harsh on the lowest two plants, with their roots submerged in the actual reservoir. I already dealt with a runaway thrip problem this season, you can see the fried older growth. I finally switched to an organicide that listed thrips specifically and it seems to have subsided.
Keep you posted.
I live in a major city and have a small bungalow style house so indoor is not an option. I do have plenty of room outside however, and I was gifted a Towergarden, a compact vertical hydroponic system with a 20Gallon reservoir. Veggies seemed not worth the effort so I decided to try weed instead.
Id say Im moderate in my growing knowledge, through these last few attempts I've learned A LOT. But Im no pro. I failed, a lot, but that's the only way to learn. Some things Ive learned so far, through trial and error:
BE PROACTIVE. Stay on top of the system, EVERYDAY. Spray, all the time. There are periods where things are going great and it doesn't seem like there's much to do and you get lazy, only to suddenly be swimming up sh*t creek.
Pest and disease are relentless. Ive had a ton and they're always on the offensive: spider mites, thrips, WPM, caterpillars. You need to proactively spray, a lot. Im looking to get BUTTERFLIES this year. I live in a highly vegetative area.
WATER MAINTENANCE IS A CONSTANT JOB. It's a small tank, so things can go wrong quick. Fill up everyday and flush the system every few weeks. Feed gently, I do around half to 2/3 the suggested low general feeding amount on the bottle. An added root inoculant is almost a must. Im using HydroGuard.
CLOSE THE SYSTEM TIGHT. I used to leave the unused grow ports open. This was a bad idea. It allowed plenty of pathogens from the atmosphere to enter the water supply and thrive, wrecking havoc on the roots.
My process:
This season Im growing feminized seeds I bought online, non-autoflower, White Widow, AK47, & BubbleGum. Start from seeds in RootRiot pods under a small grow light on 24hr schedule for about a month, with very light feeding after about 3 nodes. I like RootRiot because they aren't soluble once transplanted into the hydro system. Once they reach 4-5 nodes I transplant to Towergarden outside with no artificial light. Once they reach 5-7 nodes I FIM/TOP. Then it's keeping up with your chores from there.
TowerGarden is 20Gallons, has a small pond pump, shower cap style drainage, a fish tank double aerator with 4" stones (to help keep water temperature stable, helps plants absorb nutrients, as well as heavily oxygenate any roots that submerge into the reservoir), a timer with feeding schedule set to 15on/15off during the days, then 15on/30-45off during the evening, until it gets hotter.
Im currently using Fox Farms Grow Big and adding 1tsp/gallon every other time I fill up. Also add suggested HydroGuard, 2ml/gallon, every other time.
Added a few photos, from this grow so far, as well as a photo from the first grow where I thought I was king of the hill for a sec, until root rot had it all come crashing down (note, the only reason 2 were saved is because strangely the root rot wasn't as harsh on the lowest two plants, with their roots submerged in the actual reservoir. I already dealt with a runaway thrip problem this season, you can see the fried older growth. I finally switched to an organicide that listed thrips specifically and it seems to have subsided.
Keep you posted.
Comment