Miners Earthbox Vol. 1

[simoiget]

I would personally be fine with using the res, I tend to fill half way in the early stages just to increase the oxygen at the bottom of the media

once the roots are well established you should be good to go, and I don't mind letting the res empty before I refill

 

[WildBill]

Morning y’all! Miner checking in…

Today is day 14 and tons of growth in the 4x8. Veggies are doing very well and the cannabis has had some serious growth. Today I’ll adjust the lights/environment for the first time for the veg cycle. Plants will also get a feed sometime this week.

Forgotten Strawberry 1 + 2. Forgotten Strawberry #1 has its 4th node out and is showing the 5th not far behind. I’m assuming this will get topped in the next day or so.
View attachment 1532530

Forum Stomper 1 + 2. FS #2 has its 4th node out and showing the 5th not far behind. This will get topped wit
View attachment 1532534

Overall pleased with how self/sufficient the Earthbox is in retaining moisture; especially with the covers on. Growth is looking well and they’re showing signs they could use a full watering + feed. Planning on top dressing with roots organics terp tea grow

Fellow growers following along who have EB experience… Should I fill my rez now? The growth in the seedling stage took me by surprise and they seem well established.

hope y’all have a great weekend!

peace & love

If they were Jrs planted in the center, I'd add a half gallon to the rez.
Since they are Regulars, I'd wait a week. During that time, also water above the wicking areas on both ends. Depending on the girls, you should be able to add water to the rez. I start with a half gallon on both Jrs and Regulars. I like for the water to be used in 4-5 days.
My Jrs are on day 42 and they drink the full rez in less than 48hrs.

Check out my current grow in this section. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. I basically use my take on Jeremy of Build A Soil method of running Earthboxes.

 

[MrMiner978]

Day 21 - Miners Notes

I appreciate folks following along and checking in, answering questions, etc. much love! Today is day 21 and the start of week 3. Both plants received a top dress of Roots Organics TerpTea Microbe Charge day 15. I watered that in with Neptunes Harvest Fish & Seaweed. Forgotten Strawberries did not need the water and ended up water logged, but is recovering. As we enter Veg here’s the environmental updates:

- Growers Choice ROI420 - 75% @ 18”
- VPD ~1

Forum Stomper 1 + 2

Forum Stomper #2 from above

Forum Stomper res was filled yesterday and she is flourishing. Top dressed TerpTea Grow with a mound of local food grade compost. Feeder roots are already popping up like crazy under the cover. Started LST today to open her up and both were topped during week 2.

Forgotten Strawberry 1 + 2

these were definitely overwatered when I top dressed this past week. My soil already started on the wetter side - I buy soil from my local hardware store and the bags I bought were outside/water logged. I dried them out under the lights for a few days before plantings but seemed to impact the F Strawberries most. Both were topped this past week. No veg feed today. Res is still empty. The watering issue seems to be settling out so I’ll fill the res in a day or so - I’ll give lift checks to make sure I don’t jump the gun.

Fun week seeing the growth coming in. Learned a lesson about moisture retention in the EB regular, but overall pleased with how things are going so early on. Hope y’all have been well. As always gimme a shout!

peace

ps here’s the veggies

cukes will trellis around the exterior on cattle panel & tomatoes up strings to the ceiling.

 

[MrMiner978]

If they were Jrs planted in the center, I'd add a half gallon to the rez.
Since they are Regulars, I'd wait a week. During that time, also water above the wicking areas on both ends. Depending on the girls, you should be able to add water to the rez. I start with a half gallon on both Jrs and Regulars. I like for the water to be used in 4-5 days.
My Jrs are on day 42 and they drink the full rez in less than 48hrs.

Check out my current grow in this section. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. I basically use my take on Jeremy of Build A Soil method of running Earthboxes.

hey bill thanks for answering! I don’t get on here much during the week so I apologize but missed this until now. F Stomper res was filled - it felt too light. Hope it wasn’t too early, but with how quickly it’s growing I figured it was time.

Thanks again friend! Appreciate you helping the new guy out. Hope you’re having a great weekend

 

[MrMiner978]

If they were Jrs planted in the center, I'd add a half gallon to the rez.
Since they are Regulars, I'd wait a week. During that time, also water above the wicking areas on both ends. Depending on the girls, you should be able to add water to the rez. I start with a half gallon on both Jrs and Regulars. I like for the water to be used in 4-5 days.
My Jrs are on day 42 and they drink the full rez in less than 48hrs.

Check out my current grow in this section. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. I basically use my take on Jeremy of Build A Soil method of running Earthboxes.

bill -roots have grown well into the res (I can see roots at the bottom of the fill tube) should I refill immediately or am I still OK to leave dry for a day? For reference I filled the res completely and I found it empty today - 5 days since I filled.

advice would be appreciated! Cheers

 

[MrMiner978]

I would personally be fine with using the res, I tend to fill half way in the early stages just to increase the oxygen at the bottom of the media

once the roots are well established you should be good to go, and I don't mind letting the res empty before I refill

how long is your dry period typically? I noticed my res was dry today, filled completely 5 days ago. I can see roots in the res looking down the fill tube so I’m hesitant to keep it dry for long. Any thoughts?

 

[simoiget]

how long is your dry period typically? I noticed my res was dry today, filled completely 5 days ago. I can see roots in the res looking down the fill tube so I’m hesitant to keep it dry for long. Any thoughts?

I don't typically leave it dry for long, especially when roots have grown down into the res,

I just like it to drain completely before I refill, if that makes sense, I just find it easier to monitor water use by the plants, as well as avoid overfilling which is a pita for me in a crowded tent

I also periodically top water and top dress, I like the res to be empty for a time before I do this, that way the soil has some capacity to take the top water without over saturating

 

[WildBill]

bill -roots have grown well into the res (I can see roots at the bottom of the fill tube) should I refill immediately or am I still OK to leave dry for a day? For reference I filled the res completely and I found it empty today - 5 days since I filled.

advice would be appreciated! Cheers ✌

With roots in the rez, fill when it's fully dry. A few hours won't hurt.
I hot glue window screen on the separator to generally keep the roots in the wicking area.

I don't typically leave it dry for long, especially when roots have grown down into the res,

I just like it to drain completely before I refill, if that makes sense, I just find it easier to monitor water use by the plants, as well as avoid overfilling which is a pita for me in a crowded tent

I also periodically top water and top dress, I like the res to be empty for a time before I do this, that way the soil has some capacity to take the top water without over saturating

I do the same thing. I was making a slurry of my compost. It was efficient, but messy.
In this run, I only top dressed once and I expect that to be fine.
When I set it up, I make a pretty good size nute bank. I put down my powder nutes on top of the media first, EWC, then compost. I wet that down with my humic acid water and any other liquid nutes and EM1. When I'm happy with the moisture level in the nute bank. I sprinkle the boasi on that and install the cover.
Naturally, I leave the planting area without topdressings. I check the feeder roots intrusion into the bank to judge how much nutes are used. This Coast of Maine Lobster compost must be some really good stuff. It's taking the girls longer to go thru.