Mephisto Genetics Simoigets SIP grow ..all time favorites of the mephisto variety

[Organic Sinse]

That‘s the way it should be done, IMHO.
And -once again- it isn’t a good idea to keep the box uncovered or use alternative covers (most likely the reason for smaller plants than usual). The plastic cover is needed to keep moisture at an uniform level from bottom to top of your soil, this makes sure that roots grow to their max and dressings break down as needed. You don‘t have to let the res. dry out if you want to top water. I use to top water my box (regular Earthbox) weekly, 1 liter of water, ec 0,3 with aloe vera, humic and fluvic acids and some beneficial bacteria and my girls love it. Just pour it in very slowly and don’t use more than 1/4 to a 1/3gal of water. I always grow 2 plants in one box and I pour it in right between them. There is no over watering taking place because the system regulates the level of moisture by itself! With other words: if you increase moisture through top watering the wicking process slows down until the „normal level of moisture“ is reached again.

cheers and happy growing

My reasoning for letting the res run low, but not out, is just in case of over flow the first time top watering is tried. I know they have an overflow, but that’s just how I roll. Top water, check the res an hour later, then top off the res level.
cheers
os

 

[Fermented_Fruitz]

Ya I let mine run out only cuz the knf stuff can’t sit idle in the reservoir so if I have water already in reservoir I can’t tell when the topwater stuff starts to seep into reservoir so I can stop watering! If just doing plain water thru the top to help pull the nutrients down then no need to let it go dry at all! I will say I been using panda film covers and work every bit as well as the ones that come with earthbox except I can totally remove mine to topdress! Also I have 2 plants in 1 box so elastic cover wasn’t an option regardless!

This is 53 days in on 2 autos 1 box on nothing but homemade knf nutrients

Also got too big so haven’t even used the cover I made in a hot minute and no problems with size! Prob best to have your method on using the boxes dialed in more before u start experimenting to see what works best for your situation!

FYI MY GROWMIES......

Trust when I say I am not no damn shill for the company BUT INSTEAD I AM A CHEAP ASS BASTARD so if anyone ever orders from earthbox to buy the boxes and I believe some accessories but not positive there but I have a custom coupon code for earthbox site since they rarely have them! It’s ORGMEPHHEAD for anyone needing anything! Hope it helps!

 

[WildBill]

My reasoning for letting the res run low, but not out, is just in case of over flow the first time top watering is tried. I know they have an overflow, but that’s just how I roll. Top water, check the res an hour later, then top off the res level.
cheers
os

I think letting the rez dry out or not is less important than light and even watering with a limited amount of fluid to no not have it flow into the rez. I just want to keep the rez as clean as possible to keep things more simple.

I like filling the rez each day at the same time for one reason. I know how much water is being uptake for each period. I can spot problems quicker with a change in uptake. It's also more difficult to see the condition of the water in the rez. That's why I'm not using that anymore.. The way I'm with my girls, It won't go dry for more than 12 hours and that's not gonna hurt anything.
Anyway, that's what makes sense in my mind. LOL!

 

[WildBill]

Ya I let mine run out only cuz the knf stuff can’t sit idle in the reservoir so if I have water already in reservoir I can’t tell when the topwater stuff starts to seep into reservoir so I can stop watering! If just doing plain water thru the top to help pull the nutrients down then no need to let it go dry at all! I will say I been using panda film covers and work every bit as well as the ones that come with earthbox except I can totally remove mine to topdress! Also I have 2 plants in 1 box so elastic cover wasn’t an option regardless!

This is 53 days in on 2 autos 1 box on nothing but homemade knf nutrients
View attachment 1314966View attachment 1314967View attachment 1314968
Also got too big so haven’t even used the cover I made in a hot minute and no problems with size! Prob best to have your method on using the boxes dialed in more before u start experimenting to see what works best for your situation!

FYI MY GROWMIES......

Trust when I say I am not no damn shill for the company BUT INSTEAD I AM A CHEAP ASS BASTARD so if anyone ever orders from earthbox to buy the boxes and I believe some accessories but not positive there but I have a custom coupon code for earthbox site since they rarely have them! It’s ORGMEPHHEAD for anyone needing anything! Hope it helps!

Where did you get this panda film?

 

[Fermented_Fruitz]

Where did you get this panda film?

Just ordered a 10’x10’ piece off amazon for like $14!

 

[WildBill]

Just ordered a 10’x10’ piece off amazon for like $14!

Just ordered10' x 25' and the PAR meter pop bought.
The next grow gets started this week after I make a day or so dry run on the new environment set up.
4 test girls in the 4x4, two eventually in the 2.3 x 2.3 tent fer seeds and two AVT outside or AVT and some other big girl.............maybe HBSS, but I need to check my seed list for other big girls.

 

[WildBill]

I think letting the rez dry out or not is less important than light and even watering with a limited amount of fluid to no not have it flow into the rez. I just want to keep the rez as clean as possible to keep things more simple.

I like filling the rez each day at the same time for one reason. I know how much water is being uptake for each period. I can spot problems quicker with a change in uptake. It's also more difficult to see the condition of the water in the rez. That's why I'm not using that anymore.. The way I'm with my girls, It won't go dry for more than 12 hours and that's not gonna hurt anything.
Anyway, that's what makes sense in my mind. LOL!

LOL........timing! First part of the vid is topical.

 

[simoiget]

I have been alternating topwatering this time around since been using my knf inputs cuz not good putting them down the reservoir cuz ph drops the longer the solution sits so just topwatering it in makes life easy! Full size earthbox holds 1cu ft of soil/ 3 gal of water and if I let reservoir go dry and then wait like 36hrs I can topwater in about a gallon before it starts running thru into the rez! Have u popped the cover and found a nice mycelium layer on top of your box cuz that’ll let u know if moisture level is good up there!
2 examples......
Living soil WITHOUT a cover on box
View attachment 1314336
Here’s what it’ll do under the cover when the moisture level is correct!
View attachment 1314337View attachment 1314338View attachment 1314339
Also did u leave room to be able to add compost and castings during grow! If u put down your dry amendments and then cover with a small layer of either then it’ll help pull those amendments down into soil without the need to topwater them in!

@Fermented_Fruitz/Mark Thanks for the input! So cool to see other growers results! Love it! I also love your DIY, homemade..aka "cheap bastard" style!!! I am using homemade covers as well...way better than the elastic ones..especially when it comes to top dressing

I was going to run without covers this round but ended up putting them back on because I wonder if they are essential to the functioning of the SiP system. It sure doesnt look like running without covers affected your results at all tho! Still getting monster plants!

Below is a couple pictures of the surface root growth I saw on my last grow..this was without top watering..and yes I always add compost/castings on top of my amendments

 

[simoiget]

That‘s the way it should be done, IMHO.
And -once again- it isn’t a good idea to keep the box uncovered or use alternative covers (most likely the reason for smaller plants than usual). The plastic cover is needed to keep moisture at an uniform level from bottom to top of your soil, this makes sure that roots grow to their max and dressings break down as needed. You don‘t have to let the res. dry out if you want to top water. I use to top water my box (regular Earthbox) weekly, 1 liter of water, ec 0,3 with aloe vera, humic and fluvic acids and some beneficial bacteria and my girls love it. Just pour it in very slowly and don’t use more than 1/4 to a 1/3gal of water. I always grow 2 plants in one box and I pour it in right between them. There is no over watering taking place because the system regulates the level of moisture by itself! With other words: if you increase moisture through top watering the wicking process slows down until the „normal level of moisture“ is reached again.

cheers and happy growing

This is the approach I am taking on this current grow...I think I agree with you on the covers...allthough this grow I am trying to keep them a little more breathable and loose as opposed to nearly airtight like my previous ones...I felt like the anaerobic conditions caused by the tight plastic mulch cover and constantly full res may have caused my soil to acidify a bit too much...but that is just a theory

 

[simoiget]

Update day 35.. tent shot below..happy plants

Sam og continues to be the star of the tent...flowers are starting to show interesting how this plant is almost 2 weeks slower to flower than the wee ones. That has been my experience with my other Sip grows as well.I always guessed it was related to the bigger plants that typically occur with SIPs..longer veg period equals bigger plants?

Very curious to see how the next 2 or so weeks go. In my previous SIP grows usually about day 50 or so is when I would start to see signs of what I think is calcium deficiency.plants were always super healthy and strong right up to that point.growing just like the sam og is right now.I am not doing much drastically different this grow but I am letting the res draw down between fills, top watering in my amendments, and I did not add dolomite to the soil this round.another minor change is adding gypsum to my soil and keeping the mulch covers a bit looser and more breathable..if that makes sense...oh and I'm using a product called microbial mass which is a new addition for me

Sam og

Gave the wee ones a top dress of the same amendments I gave sam but at half the strength as their small size doesn't suggest they need much of a nutrient boost to me.