I wanted to credit the person that reminded me that I must be careful of the roots clogging the Ebb&Gro Fill/Drain hole. I looked and couldn’t find it.
IF I determine who it was that reminded me I will edit it in, or IF they speak up and remind me. I insist on giving credit where it is due.
I have been thinking about this eventuality ever since it was mentioned.
I have already arranged help when the roots have to be trimmed back.
Modern Grow Bags didn’t exist when I last grew. There were some outdoor type bags but nothing like what is in use today. And certainly not for use in Hydro systems.
I am contemplating buying grow bags to put my inner buckets in to control the roots negating the need to physically trim them by hand with an assistant.
IS that possible?
Will a 2 gallon Ebb&Gro bucket fit INSIDE a 2 gallon grow bag and then fit inside the outer bucket?
I don’t know about what will or won’t fit inside of what, but I do have a thought about what you’re trying to achieve…
The reason grow bags work to control root growth is because when the roots hit the open air on the outside of the bag, they die off at that point. If you have the bags sitting inside of a bucket that gets flooded (fed), your roots will continue to grow on the outside of the bag. They may not plug up your lines…but also - they might!
I’m really confused here. It would appear that you have the dimensions of the grow bag you’re looking at, and you have the bucket you want to put in it already in your possession. Is there a reason you can’t simply measure the inside of the bucket (or get the data from Argee, or whoever the mfr is)?
Do you have any recommendations that will work? That will prevent roots from clogging the Fill/Drain holes or terminate the roots once they get to that stage?
Is physically lifting the inner buckets out of the outer buckets and manually cutting the roots the only (best) way.
I thought of screening the Fill/Drain holes off but then I think that screening (pebbles/lava rock/stainless steel screen etc…) will get blocked.
Because it’s too late to put the bag in the inner bucket then fill that with pebbles, I am seeking an alternative. A too late alternative!
I want to put the inner bucket in the bag (even if I have to cut the handles off of them) then the inner bucket with the bag on it in the outer bucket.
I have a different setup for my ebb and flow. I use a single bucket and a net pot lid filled with hydroton, or sometimes just fill the whole bucket with hydroton. I’ve had to manage roots before, but I know this won’t become an issue until later in bloom. At that point, I will do root maintenance - and just go down each line, pull the “T” or elbow connector out of the bucket, cut the root, pushing the bucket side root back into the bucket and pulling the rest out. You’ll notice the roots will try to line the tubing and weave their way down line. It’s possible that they won’t actually clog anything up…but they might! Cut them down once and you might be good to go, but if you notice the buckets are slow to drain again, repeat this method.
For me personally, I’d rather maintain the root growth once or twice like I described above instead of restricting flow in or out of the buckets throughout the grow.
I suspected that was the method some people would use. I have not heard it described in-depth as you just did describe.
I presumed all along that that is what I would have to do, although I didn’t know precisely how that would be accomplished. I was trying to head it off.
I have decided I’d do a similar setup as yours, with the possible exception of starting them out in the 2 gallon outer buckets with the larger net pot like you use, then switch them into 3.5 gallon outer buckets to finish them off.
I wanted 5 gallon buckets to finish them in but I can only find a bucket with a recess in the very bottom to allow further draining of the buckets in the 3.5 gallon buckets leaving none in the outer buckets.
I understand the potential problems of leaving fluids in the bucket of the buckets that don’t drain fully, of what I’ve read.
Was it you that reminded me of the potential clogging I mentioned in the OP? I have a though it was, but I couldn’t find it when I reviewed the thread.
I don’t think it’s a secret that you’ve read through parts of my Greenleaf Nutrients Grow Show thread, so perhaps you forgot that I wrote this:
No, I don’t think so.
I raise my buckets about 5 or 6 inches off the ground. This allows the buckets to drain better and faster.
As for that cage that comes with that bucket, I’ve been using tomato cages with that same design for 15 years for my larger plants, such as these 2 (in my current grow):
Well there was one article I read that talked about using a coffee filter at the bottom to keep the media in the pot. Would also serve to keep your roots inside the pot.
lol…misremember - a term that makes me think of Roger Clemens whenever I hear/see it.
As for the cages, sometimes even the erector set style like the ones you have pictured, or the classic tomato cages style like I’ve been using are not enough to control your ladies when they get really big. As you can see in my pics, those ladies are growing way outside of the cages. For this reason, last year I built another solution out of 1/2 inch plastic tubing and 10 gauge electrical wiring. It’s also a build as you “grow” style, and in my case, I just lace up a new level of wiring as the plants grow taller, and by using “T” connectors on the base, I can swivel the poles outward to expand the diameter. Make sense?
Mobile? Definitely - and modular. I can pull them apart to get around big plants.
Here’s a pic showing the 2 styles I built. It was taken in 2019 when I had to quickly convert a spare bedroom into a grow room while I had contractors working in my basement.
BTW, I don’t normally use the plastic fencing, but I added it to make moving these plants easier to safely carry up 2 flights of stairs.
EDIT: You can’t see in that pic, but each of those vertical pipes has holes drilled every 6 inches. I lace that 10 gauge wire through the holes (horizontally) to provide the support for the branches. I usually lace up 3 or 4 levels to support the plants all the way up.
What is that one right in the bottom middle? It doesn’t look to have ‘legs’?
I have used fishing weights on fishing line strung through small hooks on the ceiling (not in a tent) to hold up heavy branches. You can counter the weights pretty precisely. Just as an easy to understand example - 1 oz weight on 1 oz branch…etc, and it balances out pretty well.
I’m preparing to do something similar to your fencing with chicken wire setup around my bulb, growing vertically (Credit: Prawn Connery). I went shopping for some the other day and was at the prices.
There are 2 styles I built so I could use them around larger ebb and flow buckets (I sometimes grow in 5 gallon buckets).
Yes, you can tie up each individual branch, but it takes a lot longer to tie everything up and to get it all down at trimming time. You will note if you pay much attention to what I do that I like to keep things simple, inexpensive and efficient.
No, I get it, @Purple-N-Hairy … I too prefer simple effective processes. With my back, the less amount of work nearer to the floor the better and I abhor unnecessary labor!
I was a sort of Lean Manufacturing ‘expert’. Continuous Improvement is the primary tenet of Lean. You try something - IF it works you keep it, IF it doesn’t work you try something else. Always efforting to improve processes and procedures while keeping costs down.
(Your Phone app to PC 
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! Nice setup!
at the prices.
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