Micro Octopot Grow

lol. more like worn and bedraggled, slouching on my old pc chair (finally got some goddamned peace and quiet) reading a kindle. + vaporizer.

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Hello micro octopotters, first post here

This micro octopot diy grabbed my attention sooo much that I had to order all the pieces :stuck_out_tongue:

But im going even more micro with these pots instead (very limited vertical space for me :frowning: )

Hopefully they’ll perform well and because of the size of the pot, roots will take no time to get to the rez.
I know it kinda defeats the purpose of having a good root mass in soil with a larger pot, but anyways if it fails i guess i’ll have to try with a wider smart pot but cutting the top to reduce height as my custom grow cab is only 45’’ tall

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Just an observation

I think the issue with soil being too wet in the 3 gal fab bags from the mini octo - pup

Is due to the bag not being 12 to 13 inches tall at the minimum
I remember Chris from the Octopots company saying that the Octopots needed 13 inches of dirt to work properly
Well I think it’s worth a try

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Cool. We love seeing the experiments! Put up a grow diary when you start!

Just a thought, maybe for such super-tiny containers… maybe use a 2” net pot instead of the 3”? Might limit too much water from seeping up into the soil

@Papalag: My pots are even smaller than that :sweat_smile: i’ve ordered the 0.5 gal ones :speak_no_evil:

Thanks for the input guys, unfortunately i’ve already ordered 3’’ net pot but im sure there is a way to hack this out in order to reduce/regulate the water flow with this 0.5 gal smart pots

I’ll keep you updated guys as soon as the order arrives and get everything working!

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Not the best photography certainly but this was my first run with these. I used a 1 gallon bag cut down to the height of a solo cup so it was maybe .5 gallon perhaps. Everything grew easily with no issues.

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Hi Paps,
Honestly not being contentious here, but I can’t help but wonder if there really is a problem at all with using the 3 gallon bags on the mini octos?

I just finished a micro octo grow with five different strains using 3 gal fabric pots and didn’t experience any issues I could trace to pot size.

The bottom four inches of the bags were visibly moist and the top two inches were completely dry. The zone in the middle was a gradient between the two.

My 3 gallon pots are 9 inches tall and I didn’t fill soil to the very top. The root systems in the reservoir varied based on the strains; the giant Acapulco Gold rootball filled the rez, the Paralyzed Monster plant only built a softball sized root system. The others were in between. All the roots looked healthy.

So, what problems are others having with these pots?

Respect,
-Grouchy

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I did read some of the peeps using the octo- pups
Say the soil is too wet at the middle to top

And I was thinking of the chat with Chris from the Octopot comp in which he says

That’s the reason for the minimum of 13 inches of soil so the soil moisture stays at the correct levels

Now I am not using the small Octo-pups my self and when I read that some where having this issue
I figured the info would be helpful

Now I find some peeps also use the clay balls in the net pot
Which may have made the difference

Just trying to help

But then again I only use the big ones so I should keep my opinion to my self

I will give them a try sooner then later

@slick1 I think is on the right track with the 5 gal air pot I like the depth

Paps

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ABSOLUTELY makes the difference. Hydroton has a much lower wicking capacity than a netpot full of soil. Frankie “mom” is in a 3g fabric pot. I think she’s a good indicator that plants can do well in a 3g fabric on a mini… But keep in mind, she WILL drink 1g a day, so either auto topoff, or ya gotta be there regularly (the minis are only about a gallon). And surprisingly not a ton of roots in the res compared to similarly sized, other strains…

And I can say I did experiment with soil mix, coco mix with / without hydroton in the netpot, and hydroton was the defining factor. Soil mix in netpot = mud. coco mix in netpot = wet soil. Hydroton in netpot / soil or coco in fabric pot = distribution of water (top is dry, bottom is moist), though soil is a bit wetter than coco.

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Well after reading about the fabric pots retaining moisture I feel even better about using the airpot!

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something like this perhaps?

they are 13.6" tall with a base of 8 inches by 6.8 inches. 3 gallon volume.

or these:

15" tall circular with a base of 4.75".

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to get as close as possible to the octo format, I’ll bypass the plastic pots altogether. I found the pots below and ordered some.

So these should satisfy the octo 10-12" height recommendation and the scale more reasonable for a tight grow.

I’ll use them in my next run.

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Depending on hieght of fabric pot used relates to how high you can max fill the Rez maybe : ) ratio

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I believe it’s related to how wet at what depth

Chris from Octopots recommends no less then 12 inches of soil in the regular Octopots for this reason

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Say 12 inch pot you max fill at full flower to 3/4 full
Then at 8 inch pot , max hight in Rez is halve full
The diameter of net pot relates to how quick the fabric pot can replenish itself as root mass drinks ie the wider the fabric pot , the more root mass in pot , the wider net pot needs to be
Or plant shall run pot dry befor Rez empties kind off
Work out the ratios , then all will become clear : )
A chart needs to be made : )
The octo heads need to get the tape measure out and get the formula worked out

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That sounds right to me

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told me 10 to 12. no lower than 10.

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Yes for Rez at max 3/4 full or what ever max Rez is
Now scale it down to suit
Don’t forget to include air gap in Rez is included in pot hight

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well, if I adapt 2 netpots to act as the “wicking” by reaching all the way to the bottom of the mini-octo, this setup would have similar ratios to actual octos. 6gall sleeve/3 gall rez, vs 2gall pot in 1gall rez.

I intend to fill these 1 inch under the pot lip so I can have a layer of rice hulls on top.

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Compare 3 gallon to 6 gaallon to confirm ratio parameters

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