Grow: The Hempy Buckets Technique
April 20th, 2009 by Silvio
Today, I want to offer our readers the easiest and most cost-efficient way to grow marijuana indoors (that I know of.) It’s called Hempy Bucket and even for beginners it’s easy and cheap to do, yet very rewarding.
So on with the show, let’s get started!
You will need the following items: 
Cups: I use plastic soda bottles, party cups, or anything more or less the same size. The vessel must be light proof. Go for 0.2 liter cups to start with, and transplant later on to bigger buckets.
Buckets: Choosing the size of the buckets is dependent upon your strain. A Lowryder will not need a 10 liter bucket. 5 liter will do. Just check your local hardware store for paint buckets or something similar.
Perlite: Some growers say to use a vermiculite/perlite mixture. I use perlite only. Personally, I like it more; it can be washed afterwards and used again.
Rockwool Cubes: Use the small ones you see in the picture above. 3cm x 3cm.
Nutrition: The brand that gave me the best results, is Dutch Formula and Superthrive.
Equipment: Use a syringe, or another type of measuring device. You can find them in pharmacies. The nutrition will have be mixed into the water. You are dealing with 1ml measures here and it’s essential that you get this precisely measured. This will be the only food your plants will ever get. There is nothing nutritional in the perlite itself.
Now you need an apparatus to catch run-off water. This can be virtually anything, because there won’t be a lot of excess water to collect. This basin is just there to catch water draining out of your Hempy buckets. You can use just about anything, from party plates to huge crate bins. Be creative.
The most expensive item on the list will be without a doubt, the nutrition. The set is made of three bottles. You will need them all and they will cost you around $70 for the set. However, they will last you through multiple grows. (Note: You will be measuring in milliliters.)
With Hempy buckets, there’s actually nothing to build. All you have to do is, make a hole in the buckets, about the size of a penny, more or less two fingers above the bottom and that’s it.
Prepare your seeds. Over night, let the rockwool cubes rest in water to moisten before use. Let excess water run off, but do not, ever, squeeze them. If growing via Hempy method, make a tiny hole (2-3mm deep) in the cubes, and drop a seed in there. Rip a little piece of the rockwool from a corner, and use it to cover the hole with the seed in it.
Leave them in a dark, warm place for one or two days. After that, put them on a windowsill into direct sunlight. Make sure they get as much sun as possible, and spray them with water every now and then. After 3-8 days, you will have a sprouting seedling. At this point, do not give it any nutrition yet.
After a few days on your windowsill, the plants should show some growth. Don’t lose patience. It can take up to two weeks until you see a 3-5cm tall seedling with some green, round leaves. Keep a close eye on the rockwool cubes. As soon as you see roots making their way out of the cube, it’s time to move your babies into their first home.
Preparing the Hempys: Before you move your seedlings into the Hempys, wash the perlite you’re about to use. There will be fine particles in the perlite, which can form clumps so use a colander and rinse these particles off.
That’s it. You have a successfully rooted seedlings in a Hempy Bucket. Feed them water only, for the first week. After that, you can start with 1/4 strength of Dutch Formula and work your way up to full strength. You should arrive at full strength after maybe four weeks. When watering/feeding your plants, make sure you don’t water the rockwool — water around it. There’s really no way to over-water, because the perlite wont hold any water for a long time, it’ll all end up in the reservoir at the bottom of the cup/bucket.
Growth will be slow in the beginning. The roots have to get to the water first. Once they do, you will see an explosion in growth. I transplant my ladies always just before flowering into a bigger bucket. But that also depends a lot on what strain I grow. Right now, I am only growing Lowryder. Since these plants stay very small, I never had the need for a bigger pot. So, they stay from seed to harvest in a 1.5 liter mini bucket.
Okay, class is over. As usual, fire away with any questions or comments or even share your own personal experiences with the Hempy method. Until then, happy growing… and Happy 420!
