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Perlite? Really??

Z

Ziggaro

I have read that many people mix coco with perlite, but decided to follow Rezdog's advice and went straight coco. Boy am I lucky!!

I find that if I don't water this stuff every day, or twice a day, for a well rooted plant, I've got dry roots on my hands. We all know we can ill afford to have the root-hairs dry up!

So why perlite? Are you perlite users using drip systems or what? What is the benefit because I can't imagine having to water any more than I already do.

BTW GH flora series per GH instructions has been working beautifully. I've never had such lush and fast growing plants in veg. I'm incredibly impressed with GH in my limited experience. I had only used organics in the past and am never switching back!! LOL
 
benzo

benzo

Active member
ex soil user right here too!

i love gh as well.

cept im following the rezipe, not GH.

i to, dont see why anyone would use perlite. but people are.. and they have fat plants. maybe there on to something....
 
Duckmang

Duckmang

Member
I've never used perlite in my coco and never will. Perlite is typically used to provide aeration and moisture retention to growing mediums that do not excel in those categories. Coco is great in both of those categories and adding perlite only seems redundant.

If you have plants drying out pots quickly, 1. Your plants are actively metabolizing and transpiring, a good thing 2. Your plants probably would do well in larger pots, especially if you are hand watering.

I drip feed past runoff my 3 gallon pots 3 times a day on a timer. Before i had the drip setup I hand watered and it was a PITA. Often I couldn't keep a consistent schedule and it wasn't uncommon to have dry pots. The plants never really suffered but now my current drip setup is a "set it and forget it" deal which is better in every way.
 
C

Carl Carlson

I wonder if the people who have seen better results with perlite mixed in, are not also growing in more humid environments (i.e. less transpiration) - controlled or not.

The only time that I see fully rooted plants in coco (up to 3 gallon so far) not dry out when the lights ARE OFF during bloom, is when the vapor pressure deficit blows up unexpectedly.
 
ShroomDr

ShroomDr

CartoonHead
Veteran
The perlite is to lighten the mix, and prevent a 'sour spot' that allegedly occurs under the root ball.

I grew in straight coco for close to 3 years. 6 months ago I started amending with #4 perlite (foxfarm chunky) about 3-4:1 coco:perlite. I wouldnt say im getting better yeilds, but im not getting worse. (there is a thread in this subforum claiming 9-11% yeild increase.)

I do think the plants start growing sooner after a transplant. IMO with 100% coco, it seems like transplants can just stagnate for 10-14 days (attributed to the 'sour spot'). This delay doesnt seem to happen with the coco perlite mix. This is the real benefit of perlite that I see.

Personally, I let plants in veg dry out a little before feeding, I feel it makes the roots search (and stretch) for moisture.
Then I treat them more 'hydroponically' for flower. A good flush to finish, and then let them dry up a bit before chop. (No reason to water what you will be drying and coco is then ready to be reused.)

Coco is very forgiving, and can accommodate many grow styles. Coco doesnt need perlite.




@Carl Its humid here June, July & Aug, but cold as hell (and dry) in the winter.
 
B. Friendly

B. Friendly

"IBIUBU" Sayeith the Dude
Veteran
coco is enough maintenance as is, why add something to aerate more. don't think they are on to anything but more work, makes no sense to me.
 
J

johndenver

Member
thruthfully, coco is a very aerated mix and really doesn't need more aeration from perlite. I highly doubt it would diminish yields. Just know how to treat your 100% coco correctly; a lot of it has to do with watering. If you have troubles with this I can give further help.
 
V

vin marioni

Member
ShroomDr said:
The perlite is to lighten the mix, and prevent a 'sour spot' that allegedly occurs under the root ball.

I grew in straight coco for close to 3 years. 6 months ago I started amending with #4 perlite (foxfarm chunky) about 3-4:1 coco:perlite. I wouldnt say im getting better yeilds, but im not getting worse. (there is a thread in this subforum claiming 9-11% yeild increase.)

I do think the plants start growing sooner after a transplant. IMO with 100% coco, it seems like transplants can just stagnate for 10-14 days (attributed to the 'sour spot'). This delay doesnt seem to happen with the coco perlite mix. This is the real benefit of perlite that I see.

Personally, I let plants in veg dry out a little before feeding, I feel it makes the roots search (and stretch) for moisture.
Then I treat them more 'hydroponically' for flower. A good flush to finish, and then let them dry up a bit before chop. (No reason to water what you will be drying and coco is then ready to be reused.)

Coco is very forgiving, and can accommodate many grow styles. Coco doesnt need perlite.




@Carl Its humid here June, July & Aug, but cold as hell (and dry) in the winter.
Click to expand...


i agree with this, straight coco means your not maximizing your containers potential, the wet mush just below the root ball in coco is a no no for ideal growth.
 
superbolan

superbolan

Active member
I mix in a little of the chunky perlite under transplants, they seem to take of faster but i do hempy's so it doesn't really change the watering frequency
 
PoopyTeaBags

PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
chunky perlite or coco chips should be mixed in with most coco and expecially 3-4 inches from the bottom where roots can become over watered....
 
fonzee

fonzee

Weed Cannasaur
Moderator
Veteran
I use a 50\50 mix as its what sold in here.
I water every 3-5 days when plants are very well rooted and growing well.
Its around 26°C and 35-45%RH in my growroom.
 
jackiee

jackiee

Member
reading this thread i think its 50/50
1/2 use perlite 1/2 dont use perlite, i personaly dont use perlite and dont think i ever will,
but never say never. stay lucky
 
B

bipotato

About half my plants are in plain coco, and the rest in a 50%-ish perlite mixture. Also have one plant in 100% perlite Hempy-style, and a few where I filled the bottom 40-50% with perlite, the top 50-60% with either plain or perlite-mixed coco. The 100% perlite plant is slightly behind, but that could easily be attributed to the fact that it's getting the same nutes as the coco plants.

Using the super chunky #4 Pharoc Giant. I used to never use perlite, but this round I decided to try a few bags and give it a go.

So far I see no visible difference, besides the perlite pots drying out a bit faster.
 
C

Carl Carlson

responder's screenname is JohnDenver.

that cracked me up. it's not a really a name that you hear anymore.
 
John Deere

John Deere

Active member
Veteran
bipotato--Keep us updated on your grow. I'll be very interested to see if there's any differences when all is said and done.

Yesterday I pulled a couple males that were grown in GH mixed brick coco. (no perlite) They had been in flower a couple weeks so I could collect some pollen so they were pretty well developed overall. The root masses were very nicely spaced and filled the entire pot (1.5 g) without crowding. I have never used the mixed bricks before. I was impressed and will probably try them again.

I've got some seedlings in 2/1 coco/perlite now. When I pot them up I think I'll put some in straight coco and run my own comparison. Could be fun.
 
B

bipotato

I have a few threads going on the grow, I will try to update as much as possible.

So far I don't see myself using perlite again in the future. I guess it's a little cheaper (4cuft perlite slightly more $ than 1.5cuft coco) than running pure coco, but it's so negligible at the end in the big picture that cost shouldn't even be a consideration.

So far all I see is at least two extra steps (= more work) with no real apparent benefits for me. (Yes I've seen Mr. Bongjangles thread, but I think it's far from conclusive in terms of performance.)
 
John Deere

John Deere

Active member
Veteran
I agree that one thread isn't the definitive answer. That's why I'm interested in your results and making a trial run myself.

I look forward to your updates.
 
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