Hello guys, thanks for your interest in my system.
My mapito is Cutilene Mapito, It has ZERO foam in it, only some long cocos fibres, but very few.
I never use other types. Have tested a few and I only like this one. I actually avoid foam in mapito. Don’t want that.
If you cannot find or buy it. Use rockwool cubes, solitary. They work great. You don’t need the foam.
After cleaning the mapito from last run, where I removed roots as good as possible. (only the thick roots)
Yes, I flush/clean with plain Tap water = 7.4 – 7.5 Ph and EC is 0.6 – 0.7 (depending the temp)
It seems high right, but don’t worry. My tapwater is high quality, it is like Evian but from Tap.
After this flush with tapwater, I let drain the mapito few hours, sometimes even 24h.
In the mean time the cleaned and refilled rez gets up to temp (Tapwater here is now 8C – 46F)
When the rez is on temp and I want to start, I add the nutrients, enzymes and rootstim + ph is set to 5.6
(I have even done it without enzymes and rootstim, it works also)
At this moment I click on a smaller garden hose on the drainpump wich I use when I flushing the mapito.
Once again I flush the crates with mapito, but now with warmer water and the nutrients, rootstim, enzymes on ph 5.6
So in fact, I reset all the crates again to the Rez values now.
When this is done, I put the plants in it and I fire the LED at pretty low PFD, around 275.
From this moment on … no more watering from top. I watch the Volumetric Water Content reducing and I only flood again when this has dropped 25%.
NO dehydrator, I start with high humidity first days. 70- 80% is no problem.
Heat and high humidity is important in the first days.
The first week, nothing much happens visual. Everything happens inside the mapito = rooting.
The PH from the drainwater after first flood, comes back higher. 6 ph is not abnormal.
As soon the roots are starting to get grip and starting to eat nutrients, the PH stabilizes itself and comes back around 5.8 ph (from 5.6 ph rez, always 5.6 ph)
The ph keeps on draining a little higher until somewhere in week 2 flowering, it suddenly comes back equal or lil lower. Boom, that is the sign for me to stop veg nutes and swap to higher PK, flowering nuttrients. PH drop day, I call this. The plant controls its own uptake to eat more flowering nutes. P & K are better uptaked on lower phs, while N needs lil higher ph (than the 5.6 ph I give always)
Yes, I only once dump the rez, just after start. This is because there can be some lose debree or dust inside the water. This first flush rez I make, it never stays stabile.
The rest of the grow? Not one drop of water gets spilled. The rez get steered so I keep on getting 0.1 ec higher back in the drain water. That is my target.
I understand there are allot of questions and we I will try to answer them towards this run will evolve.
It is a big sandwich for me to just put everything straight away.
Some important data to come. PFD from the Apogee, VPD from the Atmos, Rez ec logging vs Pore water EC logging from the ES2 and Teros12.
Comments and questions are welcome, will answer them when I have the time to write a decent reply.
The journey will be fun!
I repeat it again, always say what you think. Positive or Negative, your opinion is very welcome.
The basics of this system is invented from Hennepdesk. He teached me this at young age. It was a spartan regime but the best education, on all levels. Youtube Hennepdesk to understand him …
We are now many years later and I kept modernizing it towards today’s standards.
Have you seen the prices in the dispensaries? Homegrowers are the future, we grow the same (or even better) fire. The smaller, the more easy the overview and control.
