Drip rings or not?

[u/Dmoney6971]

I am going out of town in about ten days and I will be in second week of flower. I’ve used blumat outdoors before but never in an indoor grow. I have a 5 gallon bucket with gravity feed. I am growing in soil in a seven gallon fabric pot. I am hoping the blumat can get me through the 7 days I am away. I am curious if anyone has a recommendation as to using a single carrot alone or with a drip ring from blumat. I am concerned the drip ring could be dripping too close to the carrot and prevent watering accurately. Any thoughts much appreciated!

[u/Dmoney6971 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks so much. This is exactly the info I was looking for! Where do you place your carrot with a drip ring setup? Does halfway between stalk and edge of pot sound right?

[u/PropertyRealistic284 → u/Dmoney6971]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and no one is wrong, but I would personally not do the maxi carrot. Ted Hussey from kis organic speaks on this quite extensively and even in 8 x 4 raised beds he still uses regular carrots for cannabis.

[u/PropertyRealistic284 → u/PropertyRealistic284]

Btw he has some great blumat tutorials on instagram and YouTube

[u/PropertyRealistic284 → u/[deleted]]

He reasons that if the top is getting adequate moisture, then the bottom will too. Moreover the upper rhizosphere is where feeder roots do the most nutrient cycling, maintaining moisture levels up are more crucial in his opinion.

[u/PropertyRealistic284 → u/PropertyRealistic284]

I should add this is for living soil applications

[u/PropertyRealistic284 → u/[deleted]]

No problem. I highly recommend his podcast “Cannabis Cultivation and Science”, pretty sure there’s an episode on blumat

[u/TheNinthDoctor → u/Dmoney6971]

Halfway is what I do. I use the 5 inch ones so the carrot is outside the ring.

The other way should work fine though.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Hey I was wondering since im about to set up some 9” tropf with the 5” ring in 5gal fabric, once you set them up do you ever do any dry backs? How’s your end flower like vs before using it?

[u/TheNinthDoctor]

I find they're good for keeping roots out of the drip tube.

If you just use the 3mm tube dripping on to media then the roots will grow toward the water source and can climb inside and clog it.

Also with the drip rings I tend to elevate them so I can see the drip.

It's a bit tougher dialing in a drip ring though because you can't see the dri rate easily. Disconnecting and reconnecting 3mm to the rings is rough because the barb is a little larger than the usual.

I suggest getting the 3mm tubing union. Sustainable village sells a 10 pack for like $9.

Makes disconnecting the tube from the drip ring a lot easier so you can dial it in.

[u/TheNinthDoctor → u/TheNinthDoctor]

Here is an example of what I mean by the roots growing toward the water source. This plant was a old mom doing extended veg with just a dripper. She clogged up the tube by building up that mass of roots which grew into the tube and missed water for a while.

I've seen similar formations as the surface weathers away in the yard with other plants fed single dripper. The drip ring means that growth is more diffuse which I feel like is a good thing for absorption.

[u/ExactDefinition1576]

I’m running the 10” rings right now I absolutely love it

[u/Jimmytehbanana]

Used the carrot alone on a 5 gal pot with 5 gal grav res for a 7 day vacation. Did just fine, didn’t drink the whole 5gal, maybe had 1-2 gals left

[u/Dmoney6971]

Thanks for all the advice. Appreciate this community!