I’m using hydroton in my net pots for the first time in the current grow and so far I’m really pleased. After transplant the roots hit the rez in six days, a new record, and fishbone roots are pushing out on all sides.
I have come to believe that the octo system works best when the soil in the fabric bag has some bone dry area near the top. That’s probably why OctoChris offers those really tall bags in his Octopots™. I use three gallon bags and with soil in the net cup, the bag is visibly wet half way up. With the hydroton balls, only the bottom inch or two is really wet. We’ll see but I expect that to be an improvement.
Do any other Octo growers have any comments on this?
-Grouchy
PS, No pics of those hydroton roots because the Saintly Spouse and I are enjoying the Fall Colors, camping at Echo Lake in the Franconia Notch, New Hampshire at the moment. My plants are enjoying the quiet as they sip on their autofiller in my absence. Lol
(pic courtesy of Reddit)