[Shcrews]

i'm planning on running most of my outdoors this year in Coco/Smartpots (10gallon). handwatered of course...

If anyone has any experience with medium-to-large scale outdoor coco grows, this is my first time so bear with me.

1. what is a good, simple nutrient schedule? i don't have RO water btw, obviously. I am thinking i might go with Botanicare grow and bloom, calmag+, and mix in some Thrive-Alive B1 in veg and Nitrozime in bloom. any ideas? I'm looking for cheap and simple because i have so many babies that i would be spending $$$ on expensive nutrients and forgetting how to mix them!

2. How often/much should I water? right now I'm watering 2x per day probably 2 gallons per plant each time. should i just shoot for some runoff and not worry about measurements?

3. should I worry about the smartpots getting hot in the sun? i know black plastic pots have this problem... the guy at my gro-shop said the smartpots stay cooler in the sun, so no need to cover them with white pands plastic

these are all the Q's i can think of right now.. thanks ppl

1. If simplicity is what you want, try GH FloraNova.
One bottle, cheap to use, great results.

2. Once daily is normal but it depends on many factors.
You could end up with multiple feedings per day if the plants are big and it is hot out.
I would just allow for runoff like you said and not worry about figuring an amount per watering.

3. Don't worry about the Smart Pots getting hot.
They were designed to be in the hot sun, resting on the ground.

[Wait...What?]

Parts of my veggie garden have been outdoor hydro of various methods for years. I'd like to see a grow diary of someone doing outdoor coco. Please do share it with us [but if not, I understand the guerrilla nature of outdoor grows]

[jakeh]

I'll probably get blasted for posting this but if you are going to do several pots I would highly recommend filling a couple of smart pots with miracle grow moisture control potting mix. It is a mixture of coir, peat, perlite and time release nutrients. Just add water. Actually I throw in some silica blast for thicker stems and cell walls. I'm trying several methods this year and the best looking plants are in pure miracle grow moisture control potting mix (2 cubic ft bag $11). I was all about pure coir but that hole has been problems all along. I'm not trying to discourage you from coir but this is my 3rd year and simplicity, cost and odds of success are probably higher going with the 2 cubic ft mg. No hydro shop, no nute meter, no ph pen, no high $$$ and you still are growing in coir if only in part. Good luck.

[Shcrews]

thanks all for the help, I am torn betw GH and Botanicare, but like dongle said^^ GH would probably cheaper and maybe a bit simpler..

I will be sure to get a few bags of the Miracle Grow mix to try out.^^, I also have my own organic Sunshine Mix recipe that requires no liquid nutes. I will be running a few different media this year, coco, soil, and perhaps the Miracle Gro mix.

I will try to keep a log if possible... my spot is still in the construction phase so we'll see

anybody else run Coco outdoors? I can use all the advice i can get

My goal is to find the outdoor grow method that most displays these traits:

1.portable (in case of emergency... don't put your plants in the ground unless you're wlling do dig them out later!)
2. cost effective
3. high growth rate / yield
4. low maintenence

peace

Originally Posted by jakeh

I'll probably get blasted for posting this but if you are going to do several pots I would highly recommend filling a couple of smart pots with miracle grow moisture control potting mix. It is a mixture of coir, peat, perlite and time release nutrients. Just add water. Actually I throw in some silica blast for thicker stems and cell walls. I'm trying several methods this year and the best looking plants are in pure miracle grow moisture control potting mix (2 cubic ft bag $11). I was all about pure coir but that hole has been problems all along. I'm not trying to discourage you from coir but this is my 3rd year and simplicity, cost and odds of success are probably higher going with the 2 cubic ft mg. No hydro shop, no nute meter, no ph pen, no high $$$ and you still are growing in coir if only in part. Good luck.

I'm with ya on the MG tip. I used that same MG you use, also Walmart and Lowes soil, great results from all of them.

Schrews, I run coco outside in 5 gallon square buckets. In the middle of the summer they plants will drink ALOT. It also depends on the size of the plant, bigger plant drinks more. Very rarely did I have to water more than once a day, but once a day is pretty much mandatory.
I'll tell you what though, you will not believe your eyes when you see how fast plants grow outside in coco.
Evl...

[ScrubNinja]

I did heaps of outdoor coco last year, it was awesome! I used 35 litre growbags - like heavy duty woven plastic with handles. They're green which comes in handy.

These were totally outdoor grown from seed except I broke my collarbone shortly after starting flower so sometimes it was a week (!!!) between nutes/water. Once or twice it was more than that! Plus my ph meter flaked out once, and they sort of revegged.



The buds were pretty airy to say the least but it was better than a kick in the pants. These next ones were watered every 2 days (very occasionally 3 days) Much better results although they were vegged indoors/outdoors. (brought inside under a couple of CFLs at night)



My best results ever were this one watered every day in flower usually. It was also vegged indo/outdo. (got 18oz. 1.5ft high)



The best advice I can give you is use a larger pot if you think you may get lazy later in the grow, and absolutely get a 12v electric pump and 2 small motorcycle batteries that you can flip/flop/recharge once a week or so. Coco uses so much water it makes sense, plus you don't wear down a track to water that way. Less chance of running into a snake too.

I used dutch master advance or gold nutes and a pk boost later in flower. Pretty simple. Oh yeah, bury your pots, it's an easy way to stealth your plants a bit but still relocateable.

[Shcrews]

these ladies are blowing up!!!! i've never seen faster growth! sunlight + coco + 10gal smartpots = MONSTERS

I am running a very simple nutrient regimen, just Floranova Grow and Bloom, plus some Calmag. I will probably use some Nitrozime later in flowering.

everything is in veg right now, the smallest ones are just out of the dixie cups, the biggest ones have trunks as big around as a golf ball... I have 50 ladies outside, should be interesting to see how i manage when they get bigger

maybe someday i will get a new camera and post pics for y'all... my spot is really amazing... a rooftop right next to Natural Bridges state park, so you can watch the sunset over the ocean from the garden!

[Shcrews]

Originally Posted by jakeh

I'll probably get blasted for posting this but if you are going to do several pots I would highly recommend filling a couple of smart pots with miracle grow moisture control potting mix. It is a mixture of coir, peat, perlite and time release nutrients. Just add water. Actually I throw in some silica blast for thicker stems and cell walls. I'm trying several methods this year and the best looking plants are in pure miracle grow moisture control potting mix (2 cubic ft bag $11). I was all about pure coir but that hole has been problems all along. I'm not trying to discourage you from coir but this is my 3rd year and simplicity, cost and odds of success are probably higher going with the 2 cubic ft mg. No hydro shop, no nute meter, no ph pen, no high $$$ and you still are growing in coir if only in part. Good luck.

Just cuz you said so, I put 4 plants in Miracle Gro potting mix, and 5 plants in my version of Blazeoneup's soil mix. i'm gonna compare the Miracle Grow soil to the organic soil mix, and then see how they stack up next to the coco..



BTW I am running 20 OG Kushes and 25 DJ Short Blueberries, plus 4 Tangerines and 1 DJ Short Vanilluna (future mom)

[jakeh]

Originally Posted by Shcrews

Just cuz you said so, I put 4 plants in Miracle Gro potting mix, and 5 plants in my version of Blazeoneup's soil mix. i'm gonna compare the Miracle Grow soil to the organic soil mix, and then see how they stack up next to the coco..



BTW I am running 20 OG Kushes and 25 DJ Short Blueberries, plus 4 Tangerines and 1 DJ Short Vanilluna (future mom)

A little update. The hole with coir is doing extremely well. My miracle grow holes are looking good to but some are having insect and yellowing issues with 3 yr old miracle grow potting mix below the mound that may have started to get acidic. Due to losses I had a reserve plant to plop into a hole if need be. I stuck this plant in a hempy bucket with 3" of perlite and holes 3" from the bottom and the growth has been nothing short of explosive. I am having some calcium deficient leaves on the bottom growth if anyone has suggestions. I'll keep you posted.
jake