Indoor Irrigation Options for Cannabis Production

Indoor Irrigation Options for Cannabis Production

Indoor Irrigation Options for Cannabis Production

Professor DeBacco

Determining if Plants Need Water By…
Lift the containers to gauge the “water weight”
Simply lifting is better than using meters.
Meters can be used as a back-up but getting a literally feel for your self is the “best” method.

When To Fertilize?
Fertilized water should be added each time you water your plants.
Goal is to have a low dose fertilizer and feed each and every day to allow plants to maintain a consistent growth.

Irrigation Defined as…
Irrigation is the process of applying controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals.
How the water is delivered is up to the grower.
Ideally, the plants performance will not differ among different irrigation systems if performed correctly.
However, each method as its own set of advantages and disadvantages which is why growers need to select the “best fit” for their operation.

Hydroponic Growing
Advantages
Can allow for maximum yields
Disadvantages
Smaller margin of error compared to buffered substates

Hand Watering
Advantages
Allows for plant specific care
Disadvantages
Time consuming
Plants can be missed

Flood and Drain (Ebb and Flow)
Advantages
Even watering
Allows for aeration of root zone
Disadvantages
Initial cost and set-up of equipment

Indoor Drip Irrigation
Advantages
Easy to automate
Plant specific watering
Disadvantages
Initial cost and set-up of equipment
Checking to ensure all tubing/fitters are working properly

Aeroponics
Advantages
Efficient at delivering nutrients to roots
Allows for easy visual inspection of root structure
Disadvantages
Requires electricity

Can become less effective when dense roots are formed

Link to Lecture Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vGMvbnomXpRppUKPRRAfEzsOfl88jiY-/view?usp=sharing

*Due to the description character limit the full work cited for “Indoor Irrigation Options for Cannabis Production” can be viewed at… https://drive.google.com/file/d/10dtgeGxZCDeaDRoNpRqDJkv9k-NvYtEX/view?usp=sharing

6 Comments

  1. @dannykatz8858 on March 4, 2024 at 7:14 am

    Lets get an irrigation special how to measure different levels of soil moisture, different types of measurement devices, and Blumat soil pressure driven drip irrigators… dunno if thats too specialized, but the cannabis industry definitely needs more ways to create consistent irrigation SOP’s



  2. @olgaolga3292 on March 4, 2024 at 7:17 am

    Dear Professor.
    l would like to install a dripping irrigation system. But I worry about the over watering.



  3. @dr.trichome6419 on March 4, 2024 at 7:28 am

    🤙



  4. @pjarma8536 on March 4, 2024 at 7:34 am

    How often should they be watered for say a 3 gallon pot single plant?
    I hear “don’t let the roots be wet for long periods as wet rot can form”
    “Don’t let your pot sit in water”
    “Let the pot dry out to improve root growth”
    It’s very confusing.



  5. @ericb6784 on March 4, 2024 at 7:36 am

    Im sure this is great information, but if you are not tweeting to Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden about keeping their Promise to deregulate cannabis it is all for naught.



  6. @burnerjack01 on March 4, 2024 at 7:46 am

    What about ultrasonic foggers in an aeroponic site? Would the fog produced be more invasive into the root mass?