Coco pot size:Less is more?

[stefanosstef]

IME, you dont even need to be feeding such a young seedling.

All except hesi coco are meant for seedlings too.I put less than half of the minimum suggested (2ml/l)
The suggested dose for hesi coco is 3ml/l vegging and 5ml/l flowering.So i use 1/12 of the suggested dose.I can't change the formula until my new ph kit arrives

The bigger the pot the more bud you get. It's most apparent in coco because the growth is so major.

You can transplant a clone in to a 15 gallon pot and in about 20-30 days veg have a plant ready to produce pounds. It's easier to have big plants than a million small ones.

Here is a 5 gallon pot. With about 3 weeks veg from clone. I topped it once. I will be chopping in a day or two. I REALLY wish I had put in a 15 gallon pot like I normally do. I would of got waaaay more.
View Image

Oh my...nice plant Steve!

I see what you're saying but I'm asking to know if a less is more rule applies in coco.Is your grow in coco?How ofter do you feed?

So what are you suggesting?I have the 11Litre pots I normally use for autos.My goal is a hydro grow of multiple feedings.My doubt is if they will get rootbound.We're talking about a life of 40 days after the transplanting.

 

[Gelado`]

Stef, I grow 60/40 coco/peat, with several handfuls of perlite and organic amendments. I'm 100% organic now. The peat holds water for several days, so it makes my life a little easier.

 

[Snow Crash]

My experience has been that it is better to build a large root mass inside of a smaller container with coco than one would use for soil. For me it's about giving the root system enough veg time to fill the media with roots. Indoors I'll run, at most, 2 gallons of coco for what I consider to be "medium" sized indoor plants, and then have several plants to fill my growth chamber. I also don't like the idea of using a big container that is 1/2 perlite and would rather use 1 gallon of pure coco than a 60/40 mix in 2 gallons.

Put me outdoors with a full growing season and, yeah, I'm rocking the biggest containers I can give them. But, for myself, indoors is more about control and using smaller containers offers more control over the grow space. Using fabric (or root-pruning) planters I think is crucial in developing lateral root growth and really maximizing the effect of pure coco at a smaller volume.

 

[stefanosstef]

Stef, I grow 60/40 coco/peat, with several handfuls of perlite and organic amendments. I'm 100% organic now. The peat holds water for several days, so it makes my life a little easier.

I went from biobizz only to hesi coco, so I'm antiorganic
I want to maximize my yield so it can last me 1-2 years.I'm really interested in experimenting with a "very" hydro coco grow.

My experience has been that it is better to build a large root mass inside of a smaller container with coco than one would use for soil. For me it's about giving the root system enough veg time to fill the media with roots. Indoors I'll run, at most, 2 gallons of coco for what I consider to be "medium" sized indoor plants, and then have several plants to fill my growth chamber. I also don't like the idea of using a big container that is 1/2 perlite and would rather use 1 gallon of pure coco than a 60/40 mix in 2 gallons.

Put me outdoors with a full growing season and, yeah, I'm rocking the biggest containers I can give them. But, for myself, indoors is more about control and using smaller containers offers more control over the grow space. Using fabric (or root-pruning) planters I think is crucial in developing lateral root growth and really maximizing the effect of pure coco at a smaller volume.

Usefull info.I can also get smart pots but I think it would be more messy when I water.I could be wrong.
Also air pots are cheaper than smart pots here.

So what do you suggest for a 40cm plant?3L or 6L?

 

[Snow Crash]

Usefull info.I can also get smart pots but I think it would be more messy when I water.I could be wrong.
Also air pots are cheaper than smart pots here.

So what do you suggest for a 40cm plant?3L or 6L?

Smart pots are a little expensive, but they can be washed and reused several times, and even at ~$2.50 ea for the 1 gallon variety I use, the 10-20 of them I own didn't break my budget, especially given the value of the final product. Aurora Root Pots are about 1/2 the cost if you're looking for a larger scale situation, but they aren't quite the same quality, so just be aware that you will get what you pay for.

Fabric planters have no large holes for the media to escape from. I'm kind of surprised you think they would be messy when they are definitely the least messy option available. Air Pots are a nightmare to keep all your soil/coco inside of.

For a 40cm (<16 inches) plant I would go with the 3L containers. This should help control the plant size a little better for a less experienced grower. The 6L containers are good if you choose to only fill them with 4L, leaving the top 4 to 5 cm of the container empty. I have done something like this in the past with 3 gallon (12 liter) fabric planters, rolling down the sides so that I had a 2 gallon (8 liter) container with a nice wide base.

 

[BigSteve]

I grew that in coco. I watered 3X a day most of it's life. Sometimes more sometimes less. Depended on the heat and the amount of sun and light I gave them. I just chopped the plant earlier today. I'm thinking it 's probably 12-16 ounces.

 

[Gelado`]

I went from biobizz only to hesi coco, so I'm antiorganic
I want to maximize my yield so it can last me 1-2 years.I'm really interested in experimenting with a "very" hydro coco grow.




Usefull info.I can also get smart pots but I think it would be more messy when I water.I could be wrong.
Also air pots are cheaper than smart pots here.

So what do you suggest for a 40cm plant?3L or 6L?

I use real organic amendments...works great with coco! I don't think my yield will suffer at all for going organic...I will have a bountiful harvest in about six weeks. If anything my girls are getting bigger than I expected!

Smartpots hold in your media like Snow Crash said (great book BTW). With Airpots you're going to have little jets of water and nutes pissing out the holes when you water, at least some of the time!

 

[stefanosstef]

Someone who isn't me bought 6 6litre air pots.The real space inside, he calculated it, is 5.6 Litres if you don't count the inside curvings.So < 5.6L.His real coco/perlite volume is a little less than 5 litres.

S.W.I.M. stopped the alg-a-mic and bio heaven and upped the dose of hesi coco.Currently 1ml/L.He also added canna-mono calcium and magnesium 0.25ml/L of each.
Anyone with experience with canna mono?Should he add them everytime?He've read they are strong.
S.W.I.M. is using deionized water so they are necessary (first time he, hopefully, doesn't get calmag def ruining his growth).

He also bought ec meter, calibration liquid, ph drops total 90$ with the air pots.
Today is day 20, he took a picture and will do it every Monday.In the backround there will always be a coca cola can.When it's over he will start a journal and upload them.

Thanks for the help members.Let the girls grow.

 

[Elmer Bud]

G`day Stef

Canna Mono ?
Do you mean Canna Coco ? If so, it is adjusted so as to not need extra Cal Mag .

This thread by Lucas has a wealth of knowledge re Nutes and their make ups .

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=21119

Thanks for sharin

EB .

 

[Gelado`]

You probably have enough calcium in your tap water, so I would use the mag more often than the Ca, and you don't need to use them every time unless you see a deficiency.

 

[stefanosstef]

G`day Stef

Canna Mono ?
Do you mean Canna Coco ? If so, it is adjusted so as to not need extra Cal Mag .

This thread by Lucas has a wealth of knowledge re Nutes and their make ups .

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=21119

Thanks for sharin

EB .

I'm in a hurry right now and the link is big
I meant canna mono http://www.canna-uk.com/mononutrients

I never use tap water because it's very hard an ph is close to 8.I always get calmag defs which stops growth and I end up with 30cm autos which yield 13-15g.And of course the relative spots in fan leaves.

You probably have enough calcium in your tap water, so I would use the mag more often than the Ca, and you don't need to use them every time unless you see a deficiency.

I'm using deionized water so it's empty of calmag.


I didn't water them yesterday because I wanted to transplant them.I didn't like the idea not to water today either but I should have waited.The soil wasn't dry enough and I managed the worst transplant I ever did.The soil broke in my hands all the way down but not so much at the bottom.It didnt fall apart as it broke inside the hole in the air pots.I managed to press it around, no air pockets.
I transplanted 3 of them (2 Vertigos, 1 Amnesia Haze) that way and left the rest 3 to do them tomorrow with more dry soil.

I watered them with deionized water (maybe 20% runoff) with a little hesi coco.I hope the shock is minimum

 

[stefanosstef]

I can't edit to post SWIM's version but never mind haha

 

[stefanosstef]

Also, Gelado, I've grown Paradise's Ice cream and it's one of my favorite strains (i've grown 12-15).SO fast hitting and leaves you so clear.I would call its high the definition of balance.

 

[Gelado`]

Thanks Stefano, that's what I hear! Got six clones going now! Unfortunately I just burned a tiny bit of the top on my biggest one, so I had to clip a little off, but they are looking and smelling good in early flower.

 

[stefanosstef]

Update:

It's been day 25.A few days ago I had an accident where the pc fan taped on the cooltube fall and cut to pieces the one blueberry

The rest are growing, they showed some minor signs of calcium def but this time with the monos I handled it well.

Routine:
I'm watering twice a day, about 400ml water and I get 15-20% runoff.
1.5ml/l Hesi coco
1ml/l Calmag (0.5 each)
Ph is between 5.7 and 6.I'm getting it steady 6 from now on.

I think I'm overfeeding or something else.I will lower hesi coco to 1ml/l.
The strange thing is I'm getting this problem, leaf twisting (fan leaves downward and new growth is somewhat deformed and light green in colour) EVERYTIME I change my mh 250watt to hps 400watt.The temps never go above 28 Celcius neither I get the classic heat symptoms.I know 400 watt hps should stay max 40cm above the plants to be efficient should temps allow it so that's the rule I follow.

I got 2 possible explanations:
1.Maybe I should get the hps closer so they could use the ferts?
2.Maybe 400watt hps is for bigger surface and the 20-40cm rule turns into 50cm or more for my closet.The dimensions are 56cm(22") x 90cm(35").The closet is white and the doors are half open so light leaks.

Can anyone help me?I get this problem EVERYTIME just after 3rd week when I transplant and change to hps.I almost never get transplanting shock and neither this time.Also another strange thing is that my last grows were with biogrow and biobloom so the only stable variable here is the hps at 3rd week...

 

[stefanosstef]

 

[stefanosstef]

Also fan leaves have some tiny white/light green dots, I dont know what it is.The black things aren't bugs, it's dirt.

Sorry for multiposting, I can't edit my posts.

 

[katelynvip]

As coco CEC very low to begin with. To eliminate future problem you should prep your coco better. I don't know your method of prepping the coco, but at least water your coco with CAL/MAG, add humus, then transplant. That should illiminate your problem in the future.

 

[rickyjack9]

coco, like dwc is an art. both take careful planning, care. clean water helps a lot. also its a myth u cant just place the smartpot into a larger smartpot. ive done it to experiment and was zero problem therefore less stress. I clone in coco/dome solos, transplant into 2 gal, when roots showed thru, put the pot into a 3 gal thru rest of grow. runoff and roots determine alotta parameters. as u know

 

[GrowKäry]

100% coco 9l ventipot
Cookies kush @d60 12/12
Advanced nutrients m-g-b ph perfect