Coco! Blumats! Seedlings! My first grow journal!

CoCoSativas · Mar 31, 2016

stoned40yrs said:
Don't believe everything you read in this thread. Fabric pots are better than airpots and using good coco like Canna works GREAT without any of that nasty fucking perlite

I second that i love fabric pots and i have like 8 cubic feet in my spare room. Was going to use it but pure coco is so much better. My former coco worked well with it but with canna theres no point in using nasty dusty perlite.

Stoned40yrs is a great source of coco info thats someone to take coco advice from guys. I stop and read when he pops in

Ez Rider · Mar 31, 2016

stoned40yrs said:
Don't believe everything you read in this thread. Fabric pots are better than airpots and using good coco like Canna works GREAT without any of that nasty fucking perlite

Explain how fabric pots are better than airpots. Personally, I think the airpots are everything the fabric pots CLAIM to be. I used fabric for over a year before I switched to airpots, and I'd never go back. Just on reusability alone, the airpots kill the fabric.

CoCoSativas · Mar 31, 2016

Ez Rider said:
Explain how fabric pots are better than airpots. Personally, I think the airpots are everything the fabric pots CLAIM to be. I used fabric for over a year before I switched to airpots, and I'd never go back. Just on reusability alone, the airpots kill the fabric.

If you dont mind ill point out that fabric pots and other grow bags take up the least amount of space when not in use so in my opinion take the cake above all other containers. Fabric pots have alot of useful aspects such as their ability to be used to plant in the ground so say you want to go veg some clones huge before a outdoor season...

Honestly better really is a matter of whats better for your situation. Sometimes its a matter of opinion but im with stoned40yrs fabric is where its at. It lets the coco dry at a nice even rate because of even airflow. There is no situation i would choose anything over a airpot except a grow bag but im considering punching additional holes and making a airpot from growbags but only because they store even smaller than fabrics.

Kweku Ananse · Mar 31, 2016

stoned40yrs said:
Don't believe everything you read in this thread. Fabric pots are better than airpots and using good coco like Canna works GREAT without any of that nasty fucking perlite

wow is this because the coco is so finely ground and nicely washed? less likely salt buildup?

the one bag of canna i did use during my initial runoff tests did seem to drain better than the clumpy/stringy brands...

I've just noticed since moving from the PNW to the rockies, the pearlite seems to go much further here... tho i have not yet tried straight canna coco in this different climate.

Kweku Ananse · Mar 31, 2016

CoCoSativas said:
If you dont mind ill point out that fabric pots and other grow bags take up the least amount of space when not in use so in my opinion take the cake above all other containers. Fabric pots have alot of useful aspects such as their ability to be used to plant in the ground so say you want to go veg some clones huge before a outdoor season...

Honestly better really is a matter of whats better for your situation. Sometimes its a matter of opinion but im with stoned40yrs fabric is where its at. It lets the coco dry at a nice even rate because of even airflow. There is no situation i would choose anything over a airpot except a grow bag but im considering punching additional holes and making a airpot from growbags but only because they store even smaller than fabrics.

also agreeing coco goes in fabric.

come to think of it... all of my soil plants are in fabric too

jav2043 · Mar 31, 2016

stoned40yrs said:
Don't believe everything you read in this thread. Fabric pots are better than airpots and using good coco like Canna works GREAT without any of that nasty fucking perlite

Totally agree with you stoned straight coco in fabric pots ftw. I use straight canna blocks with root pouch pots. They so thin you don't need perlite for quick dry and cheap enough to throw out after every run. 25@$19 > cleaning pots

http://http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/root-pouch-black-fabric-pot-12-15-month/root-pouches#reviews

doob · Mar 31, 2016

Whats wrong with a good old plastic pot these days haha! Coco out the bag with nothing in it is where its at for me as well, all though I have only ever used Canna...

I also found hand watering my plants once daily gave me higher yields and more reliable controlled results than the blumats ever could, with a LOT less hassle. Be interesting to see how you get on with them Monk, how will you be setting them up?

stoned40yrs · Mar 31, 2016

doob said:
Whats wrong with a good old plastic pot these days haha! Coco out the bag with nothing in it is where its at for me as well, all though I have only ever used Canna...

I also found hand watering my plants once daily gave me higher yields and more reliable controlled results than the blumats ever could, with a LOT less hassle. Be interesting to see how you get on with them Monk, how will you be setting them up?

I found the exact opposite :biggrin:

I stopped using blumats for 6 months and just handwatered because everyone said how great it works. Made NO difference in yield or quality over blumats and was a huge pain in the ass to waste all that time handwatering as opposed to just peeking in the bloom rooms to see the blumats working away. I'm married enough to these plants, handwatering is like slavery. Your setup must have been wrong if you think blumats are a hassle or don't give topnotch results. :tiphat:

stoned40yrs · Mar 31, 2016

jav2043 said:
Totally agree with you stoned straight coco in fabric pots ftw. I use straight canna blocks with root pouch pots. They so thin you don't need perlite for quick dry and cheap enough to throw out after every run. 25@$19 > cleaning pots

http://http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/root-pouch-black-fabric-pot-12-15-month/root-pouches#reviews

We roll the same way. Root pouch Thin Blacks, throw away after every use and canna coco blocks FTW :biggrin:

Ez Rider · Mar 31, 2016

CoCoSativas said:
If you dont mind ill point out that fabric pots and other grow bags take up the least amount of space when not in use so in my opinion take the cake above all other containers. Fabric pots have alot of useful aspects such as their ability to be used to plant in the ground so say you want to go veg some clones huge before a outdoor season...

I can do any of that with my airpots, and they knock down flat for storage as well. When in use, they maintain their shape in a way that fabric pots never will, and when not in use, I can easily stack 100 of them in an area the size of 2 shoeboxes. They keep the bottom of the medium off the "ground" as well, so there's airflow all around. I find that I can grow a larger plant in an airpot than a fabric pot of the same size. The medium pulls away from the sides of the fabric, and doesn't with airpots. Airpots pretty much last forever. Just a quick rinse with the hose after each run....you get the idea.

Personally, outside of initial cost, I think airpots are superior in every way. I am going to switch to straight coco in my pots, as I think the readygro mix I'm using drys out too fast. It's also really dry out of the bag, which makes it a hassle hydrate. I'll probably go with cocogro because my retailer stocks mostly botanicare mediums and the cocogro comes out of the bag nice and moist. I used to use it for my cuts, and I know it's very clean.

stoned40yrs said:
I found the exact opposite I stopped using blumats for 6 months and just handwatered because everyone said how great it works. Made NO difference in yield or quality over blumats and was a huge pain in the ass to waste all that time handwatering as opposed to just peeking in the bloom rooms to see the blumats working away. I'm married enough to these plants, handwatering is like slavery. Your setup must have been wrong if you think blumats are a hassle or don't give topnotch results.

monkmountain · Mar 31, 2016

MAAAN stoned, that root growth is making me really fucking frustrated I skimped out on those and bought the regular square pots :frown:

maybe next time... anyway my mix has perlite mixed in already so that will do this time around, my original thought was to run pure coco but I ordered a 70/30-perlite mix by accident

Nice to see so many people chiming in!

monkmountain · Mar 31, 2016

doob said:
Whats wrong with a good old plastic pot these days haha! Coco out the bag with nothing in it is where its at for me as well, all though I have only ever used Canna...

I also found hand watering my plants once daily gave me higher yields and more reliable controlled results than the blumats ever could, with a LOT less hassle. Be interesting to see how you get on with them Monk, how will you be setting them up?

I don't have any experience with Blumats so I think I'll set them up just like everyone else seems to do - with one per pot and constant slow drip so the coco stays moist all the time. My rez will be a 70L container about 4 feet off the ground, with just the gravity feed, I thought about the head rez but can't be bothered to run a pump.

Also I'm quite busy nowadays so automatic watering is a must if I'm to run more than just a few plants at a time.

stoned40yrs · Mar 31, 2016

monkmountain said:
I don't have any experience with Blumats so I think I'll set them up just like everyone else seems to do - with one per pot and constant slow drip so the coco stays moist all the time. My rez will be a 70L container about 4 feet off the ground, with just the gravity feed, I thought about the head rez but can't be bothered to run a pump.

Also I'm quite busy nowadays so automatic watering is a must if I'm to run more than just a few plants at a time.

Blumats don't constant slow drip. They turn off when the coco has enough moisture. Usually the drip during lights on and turn off in dark. :tiphat:

doob · Mar 31, 2016

stoned40yrs said:
I found the exact opposite I stopped using blumats for 6 months and just handwatered because everyone said how great it works. Made NO difference in yield or quality over blumats and was a huge pain in the ass to waste all that time handwatering as opposed to just peeking in the bloom rooms to see the blumats working away. I'm married enough to these plants, handwatering is like slavery. Your setup must have been wrong if you think blumats are a hassle or don't give topnotch results.

Yeah must be my setup (which is only ever 4-8 plants to so I don't mind shoving some feed down em), I have 6.5l square pots, 2 reservoirs so topped off, and i tried every single combination of arrows and clinging drip after X amount of time, tried packing more coco etc, i was never happy with how wet the medium was or my reservoir had emptied into my tray hehe. Right at the start I wound them back 2 arrows from the clinging drip after feeding, then next day open them slowly until they dripped and they would all start dripping at different points etc, so i knew right away I was going to struggle getting them dialed in. My conclusion was: i couldn't handle not being in full control of my plants :kos:

monkmountain said:
I don't have any experience with Blumats so I think I'll set them up just like everyone else seems to do - with one per pot and constant slow drip so the coco stays moist all the time. My rez will be a 70L container about 4 feet off the ground, with just the gravity feed, I thought about the head rez but can't be bothered to run a pump.

Also I'm quite busy nowadays so automatic watering is a must if I'm to run more than just a few plants at a time.

I would 100% have 2 reservoirs, the more constant head pressure the better they work I think. I didn't use a pump, I had a bucket topped off with a ball valve from the reservoir I used, would try that

Ez Rider · Mar 31, 2016

monkmountain said:
I don't have any experience with Blumats so I think I'll set them up just like everyone else seems to do - with one per pot and constant slow drip so the coco stays moist all the time. My rez will be a 70L container about 4 feet off the ground, with just the gravity feed, I thought about the head rez but can't be bothered to run a pump.

Also I'm quite busy nowadays so automatic watering is a must if I'm to run more than just a few plants at a time.

I don't think 4' is enough elevation. The pots are ~1', so you're only really talking about 3' of drop. I was running 18 plants off a loop with a rez @ 6' above the carrots, and was never entirely happy with it. I regularly had minor runaways, and control of the drippers was not very precise. Do yourself a favor...invest in a pump/accumulator system. I thought my blumats were petty cool before I pressurized, now I see why blumat recommends pressurization for optimum performance. It's a night and day difference. Turned a vw into a bmw :biggrin:

YMMV

stoned40yrs said:
Blumats don't constant slow drip. They turn off when the coco has enough moisture. Usually the drip during lights on and turn off in dark.

My blumats are most definitely are on a CONSTANT slow drip, 24/7. It's one of the things I like the most about the entire setup. My mix is 55/45 coco/perlite, so it's not holding water like straight coco. The drippers, drip at a faster rate when the lights are on, but they never stop. My demand pump cycles(~5sec) every 5-10 min lights on, and every 10-20min lights out.

monkmountain · Apr 3, 2016

Ez Rider said:
I don't think 4' is enough elevation. The pots are ~1', so you're only really talking about 3' of drop. I was running 18 plants off a loop with a rez @ 6' above the carrots, and was never entirely happy with it. I regularly had minor runaways, and control of the drippers was not very precise. Do yourself a favor...invest in a pump/accumulator system. I thought my blumats were petty cool before I pressurized, now I see why blumat recommends pressurization for optimum performance. It's a night and day difference. Turned a vw into a bmw

YMMV

My blumats are most definitely are on a CONSTANT slow drip, 24/7. It's one of the things I like the most about the entire setup. My mix is 55/45 coco/perlite, so it's not holding water like straight coco. The drippers, drip at a faster rate when the lights are on, but they never stop. My demand pump cycles(~5sec) every 5-10 min lights on, and every 10-20min lights out.

Yeah I'll have to see how things will pan out once I get them... which should be on monday. I'm pissed it has taken over 2 weeks for the hydro shop to get me my order. 24h guaranteed delivery my ass.

I remember seeing DHF saying that if running just a few plants, the second rez isn't really necessary. But I'll have to read up some more before I do any decisions.

jav2043 · Apr 4, 2016

Ez Rider said:
I don't think 4' is enough elevation. The pots are ~1', so you're only really talking about 3' of drop. I was running 18 plants off a loop with a rez @ 6' above the carrots, and was never entirely happy with it. I regularly had minor runaways, and control of the drippers was not very precise. Do yourself a favor...invest in a pump/accumulator system. I thought my blumats were petty cool before I pressurized, now I see why blumat recommends pressurization for optimum performance. It's a night and day difference. Turned a vw into a bmw

YMMV

Hey EZ what pump did you get to pressurize your system? What else would someone need? I have a bunch of blumats but not using due to headaches even thou they work great pita to dial in. Thanks

Ez Rider · Apr 4, 2016

jav2043 said:
Ez Rider said:

I don't think 4' is enough elevation. The pots are ~1', so you're only really talking about 3' of drop. I was running 18 plants off a loop with a rez @ 6' above the carrots, and was never entirely happy with it. I regularly had minor runaways, and control of the drippers was not very precise. Do yourself a favor...invest in a pump/accumulator system. I thought my blumats were petty cool before I pressurized, now I see why blumat recommends pressurization for optimum performance. It's a night and day difference. Turned a vw into a bmw

YMMV

Hey EZ what pump did you get to pressurize your system? What else would someone need? I have a bunch of blumats but not using due to headaches even thou they work great pita to dial in. Thanks

Click to expand...

A pump/accumulator makes the system operate MUCH smoother. I'm using a shurflow, # 2088-594-154 pump, and a shurflow # 182-200 accumulator. I also got a shurflow filter/strainer #255-313, and (2)#234-296 1/2"mpt to 1/2" barb adapters to connect the filter to the 1/2"mpt on the rez. The connector between the accumulator and pump comes with the accumulator. You'll also need the blumat pressure reducer, and a 1/2"fpt to 3/4"mpt to connect the pressure reducer to the accumulator. You'll also need to install a fuse/fuse holder and 3 prong plug on the pump wiring. Here's a pic of my setup, any questions, ask...

jav2043 · Apr 4, 2016

Ez Rider said:
jav2043 said:

A pump/accumulator makes the system operate MUCH smoother. I'm using a shurflow, # 2088-594-154 pump, and a shurflow # 182-200 accumulator. I also got a shurflow filter/strainer #255-313, and (2)#234-296 1/2"mpt to 1/2" barb adapters to connect the filter to the 1'2mpt on the rez. The connector between the accumulator and pump comes with the accumulator. You'll also need the blumat pressure reducer, and a 1/2"fpt to 3/4"mpt to connect the pressure reducer to the accumulator. You'll also need to install a fuse/fuse holder and 3 prong plug on the pump wiring. Here's a pic of my setup, any questions, ask...
View Image

Click to expand...

Awesome EZ thanks for the detailed break down. I will have to give this go soon enough will most likely be hitting you up again thanks

monkmountain · Apr 5, 2016

Just a lil update: I finally got my order today, so I'll put everything up & transplant and then its picture time again! Also watching Barcelona vs. Atlético Madrid later on today, anyone else?

Oh and I'll have to figure out another way to elevate my rez, turns out that by my original plan the rez would've been just around 3 feet high and I don't think that's enough by any means. Any ideas? Anyone mounted their rez on their tent? After reading up I would prefer the pump+accumulator-setup like Ez_rider recommended but really can't afford it right now... next run hopefully or if I manage to make ends meet later this grow.

Coco! Blumats! Seedlings! My first grow journal!

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