Mothers: Coco vs. Soil (F.F.O.F. in this case)

[MrBananaSlug]

Pretty much interested in what the title says. I have some clones right now that are in need of transplant from the solo cups I have filled with coco. I'm contemplating putting them in either 5 Gallons of 100% Canna Coco or 100% Fox Farm Ocean Forest. I was also considering doing some kind of 80/20 mix of FFOF to coco. Was wondering if anyone has experience with comparing mothers in coco vs. mothers grown in ffof. Is 5 Gallons too much if I decide to put them in coco, I know that a lot of people say 5 gallons is overkill with coco, but I would think its just right for mothers. Also, is there a better base soil suited for mothers that I should be using as opposed to fox farm? Pretty much just looking for the simplest/most productive way to grow my mamas, so any help is appreciated. Peace and good growing.

 

[Seed Buyer]

I prefer any automated system for moms. Been running mom sin Pro-Mix for years but finally got my moms back into coco/perlite drip system. I never go bigger than 2 gal for my moms in coco. I would not go from a solo cup to a 5 gal regardless of medium. I would recommend solo cup to 1 gal, otherwise that small solo cup root system is going to be sitting in 5 gals of wet medium for a while. I have been getting good results w/ the new "Mother plant" nutes as well.

 

[MrBananaSlug]

Yeah I actually forgot to mention I was going to transition from the cups into 2 gallon grow bags and then eventually 5 gallon grow bags. Posting a thread right after smoking a blunt of some chem dawg and blue dream is a little more difficult than I expected

 

[cocoking]

What new Mother nutes are you referin too?

 

[Seed Buyer]

Hydrodynamics new product, there is a thread in the hydro section. Sorry for the hijack MrBanana.

 

[MrBananaSlug]

No worries Seedbuyer as long as you're spreading information it doesn't bother me . Still would like to get some responses on how people feel in terms of mothers in coco as opposed to mothers in soil. peace

 

[greenatik]

honestly it depends on your goals. if you plan on taking lots of cuts and don't mind watering or have something automated, go with coco. your going to get more growth = more cuts. with that being said, my new mothers will be put into soil because they are growing TOO fast for my tastes. I don't have anything automated and its a bitch seeing them beg for water every day

 

[Mister Postman]

I personally like the ease of pro-mix, or a soil mix for moms. Since I dont use an automated watering system it's nice to have the ability to go a few days between waterings. I keep my mothers in 2.5 gal containers, and just trim both the tops and roots when they become rootbound, and fill the bottom half of the pot with fresh soil..

I have used coco in the past with some success too, though after long periods in the same pot of coco it to breaks down, and when that happens I would start to get weird deficiencies for some reason. Was never able to figure it out, though I'm sure it has something to do with the weird cation exchanges properties coco is known for..

 

[hilbie]

ive yet to see the beautiful green color on plants that i get with soil in coco grown plants on the ic or my own, id recomend a mix of the two maybe 60-40 or 50-50.

 

[MrBananaSlug]

What's an ideal ph range to maintain for FFOF? I'm going to be combining my Canna Coco with FFOF at a 50/50 rate so I'm trying to calculate what the ideal pH range would be to maintain my mother feed at. Thanks for the responses all.

 

[MrBananaSlug]

..and by that logic would I be able to just average out the ideal ph of each one (given that they are 100% mixed properly together) for the feed?

 

[Hazy Lady]

Dont do it BananaSlug

Dont do it BananaSlug

What's an ideal ph range to maintain for FFOF? I'm going to be combining my Canna Coco with FFOF at a 50/50 rate so I'm trying to calculate what the ideal pH range would be to maintain my mother feed at. Thanks for the responses all.

Hello Mr BananaSlug You will never find an ideal PH mixing these two mediums, you may well think it is as simple as taking coco at 5.8 to 6.0 and soil 6.8 to 7.0 and decide somewhere in the middle is ideal, it isn't as easy as this.
Your soil and your coco will be out, way out of the ideal range, your plants will soon suffer as every element is locked out.
A member here last night was showing plants with a range of ill's, they also tried mixing coco with soil, please have a look at the thread , all your questions are answered there. Good Luck

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=144004

 

[MrBananaSlug]

Thanks. I was wondering if something like that might occur. Hence my posting for the wonderful minds of ICMag to chime in

 

[hilbie]

i just ran 25percent dirt with 75 coco with a tablespoon of lime added and used tap water with floranova bloom an thats its, had no problems, plants looked fine. i do hear the ph differances and its def truth that your not going to be able to dial them in a hydro way but when u add soil it aint hydro no more, im not getting on the organic kick because having no f king clue whats going on (organic)is head ache in your medium enough not to mention the added work, but really if its a mix its a soil grow, and after the coco has gotten its share of potasium n cal mag(easy to do) in about a week of growing its just a soil run with better drainage and less cal mag problems, an coco unlike perlite can be discarded easily.

concerning Haze ladies link. >I even saw a beautiful plant in coco on here grown with miracle grow n tap water, its kind of hit or miss i think when u grow in coco, maybe this growers tap waters toxic and his r.o has nothing to offer the plant, n like he said he didnt add calmag so that didnt help it. i think its funny u guys with your ph drops n meters n run offs struggle sometimes, its funny forgive me, u really scare organic nuts into thinking its much harder then it is, i mean theres parts of the country were i wouldnt drink the water or feed it to my food or erbs or animals but for the most part if u feel good on it(usually after a filtering to remove cholrine) your plants will, an when growing in coco u must have a food with added cal mag or forget it-plus fox farms ocean forest has wack npk numbers and isnt organic, it just isnt. this is pre treated chem/organic dirt. so yah mix some dirt in but maybe fox farms is just to hot-

and if someone thinks im far off point, follow the link, nobody knows whats going on,,'' add that, epson salt, no ph to high, no ph to low, no add mag,cal, no add cal mag, add seaweed, no add kelp''. keep in mind this dirt by most who use is cut with light warrior by fifty percent as it burns plants, with coco compared to peat moss maybe its gotta be even more dilluted even though coco is more inert, u got me-