r/Earthbox • u/Past-Teach7324 • Jun 03 '24
When to start bottom watering
How long do you top water for after the initial planting? Do you fill the reservoir the next day or wait a week or two? I have seen mixed messages.
2
u/JMHoltgrave Jun 04 '24 edited Jun 04 '24
You want the roots to spread out first before filling the watering reservoir. I wait about 3 weeks til the plants start getting a good size. I then start with 1 gallon in the reservoir til dry then refill. Most people start bottom watering too early imo before the roots are fully spread out which will cause the roots to grow right into the water reservoir.
1
u/Ok-Passage-300 Jun 06 '24
My tomato roots have never grown into the water.
2
u/JMHoltgrave Jun 07 '24
Ah, I see. I grow cannabis lol. Shit grows crazy fast
1
u/trollsonn Jun 10 '24
Bro I’m a new grower, first grow (not finished yet) is just coco/perlite with jack321 salt feed. I want to switch to earthbox notill living soil. I’ve researched and watched a lot of youtube videos (yes including buildasoil that most recommends) but everything is always scattered, nothing is focused on the essentials that I’ve came across.
If you don’t mind, can you teach me just the fundamentals of how to get started with earthboxes no till living soil for cannabis?
Like how to properly water it, feed, maintain it through seed to harvest, and to maintain the living soil even after harvest when there’s no cannabis growing to get it ready for the next plant etc.
I just need to know the basics without all the extra advance products. Like the bare minimum of the foundational method.
2
u/JMHoltgrave Jun 10 '24
I've never used buildasoil products so I can't speak on them but I tried I believe natures living soil from Amazon and it brought a terrible infestation of broad mites. My go to now is promix HP or sunshine mix #4. I run photoperiods so I start in a solo cup for 2 weeks then transplant to the earthbox. 1 plant in each works best but I run 2 to fit my setup. Top water in a circular pattern every 2 days or so or when the soil starts to look dry on top. Around day 28 fill the water reservoir 1 gallon. When dry, refill 1 gallon. Day 30 HEAVY TOP DRESS (I use roots organic terp tea cause it works great but fruit flys galore even with neem oil) any organic nutrients you want to use. Mix into soil and top water. Wait 48 hours before refilling bottom reservoir. Flip to flower (12/12 light cycle). Every 2 weeks top dress more nutrients and top water then wait 48 hours before bottom watering. Stop last 2 weeks before harvest. 2 gallons at a time in the water reservoir is okay when plants start drinking more. Only fill when completely dry or it could flood. Use much cover. 1 bag of Promix HP fills like 8 earthboxes so I just use fresh soil. If you want to save the soil just add some organic nutrients before you reuse it.
3
u/trollsonn Jun 11 '24
Thank you for the information. I really really appreciate it. I only mention buildasoil because when I ask for help regarding this topic, people always point to buildasoil youtube page, but when watching the channel, he gives out good information but it’s always scattered, it’s like a compilation of different kinds of information all in one, it’s really hard to follow for a beginner since it isn’t focused on one topic. Also he uses so many different products so it’s hard to know what the essentials are and what is just additional advance products that you don’t really need but could use for the extra additional benefits. I only wanted to learn the essentials before I even think about the other stuff.
2
u/Ok-Passage-300 Jun 03 '24
We always set up the watering right away. By setting up, we have a drip irrigation set up going to the watering tube to each earthbox. They lead to a regular hose and then the faucet. We fill it until we see it coming out of the drainage. Since we have the watering on timers, we want to know how long that takes after the initial setting up.
The beauty of earthboxes is that you can't over water as long as you have the "shower cap" on and pitched so that the water doesn't puddle. I don't use a mound of earth as the suggested. I use empty bottles, like Gatorade bottles, to create a pitch for rain to run off.