With a few peat-based media grows under my belt, went looking for something more. Had grown weed that got me high, wanted to grow weed that got me really high. A lot of YouTubers praise coco so why not. Setup as follows:
1 auto in a 2x2x6+tent with plenty of exhaust/circulation, HLG 200W light on 18/6, 3 gal fabric with 70/30 canna coco brick/coarse perlite, top water with AN 3 part, KSi, and CalMag, max feed 1.6 mS in rainwater, up to 3 daily fertigations, avg tent temp 70s, relative humidity 50s%.
Here is what it produced, this is a Mephisto Chemdogging auto
Relative to the phenos I had grown in peat, I got the increase in biomass all said would happen and practically everything above the trellis is frosted out but bud quality is a real disappointment. What survived the mold is mostly larf. Nothing like smoking larf for 6 months to motivate one to become a better grower.
As for problem conditions encountered, I couldn’t keep the input and output EC within the prescribed 0.4 mS limit. Commonly the runoff was 1.0+ over the input EC despite some low EC flushes along the way. It would correct for a couple of days and jump back up. Second known issue was light. I got caught sleeping on the explosive growth part. The main cola shot up seemingly overnight and seemed too far along in flower to train by the time I snapped to it being in the light. So max PPFD at the top was 750 in an effort to keep from burning it, 500 at the canopy.
Also, it was a pain managing all that water. Maybe it is more compatible in very dry conditions. I have moderate humidity. An outdoor plant I grew during the same period had no mold. Almost all of the tops in the tent were affected I assume from the copious amounts of water being moved through the environment.
So what am I missing? Why didn’t it work like the YouTubers said?
Answer these simple questions the best you can.
If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so; Or post
NA (non applicable)
-What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed (photo or auto)
-Age of plant
-Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF
-Vessels: Type and capacity of container (fabric, plastic, etc)
-PH and TDS of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)
-PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable
-Method used to measure PH and TDS
-Indoor or Outdoor if indoor, size of grow space
-Light system List brand and wattage/spectrum
-Actual wattage draw of lights
-Current Light Schedule
-Temps; Day, Night
-Humidity; Day, Night
-Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size
-AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,
-Co2; Yes, No
If growing Hydro some additional questions:
-DWC? RDWC? Autopots? Ebb and Flow? Other?
-Distance of liquid below net pot (DWC)
-Temperature of reservoir
-TDS of nutrient solution
-Amount of air to solution
Always try to upload a clear picture in white light of any issues you may have to allow the community to assist you.
I will try to come back and comment once more info is provided but mainly wanted to address the peat vs coco aspect of your post. You won’t necessarily grow better weed in coco over peat. Your weed will get better when you improve how well you grow it. Coco, when used properly, is capable of more rapid growth due to the mechanical properties. But it’s not just inherently better at growing weed.
Thank you both. The lion’s share of the questions are answered in the post (paragraph 2). Without diving further into the details of it all, I guess I mostly wanted to gauge if my experience was similar to those that had made the jump. For me it just produced a larger, weaker plant using the MJ Coco frequent fertigation method relative to the peat-grown dry back version. I would like to try again with different genetics and a nutrient line perhaps better suited for coco but if frequent fertigation is the only way, not so sure it is for me.
I grow in coco and love the results. In flower hand watering a number of plants in coco is alot of labor. Most long term growers in coco get some type of automated watering system. I use auto pots to get nutrients to my plants.
I used a drip system with an aquarium pump on a timer for a while until algae started building up and finished with hand watering. As I was building my wish list for the next grow during drying, there was an auto pot on it. That was all before I started trimming and assessing. Another thing I didn’t like about my coco effort was the stems were really thin and weak. I’ve read where that is an indicator of insufficient light but it also seemed reasonable given the amount of water in the system that it could be a characteristic of coco grows. Do you see that with your auto pot grows?
I use 3 gallon fabric pots indoors with coco. I don’t typically train my plants out to a trellis so they’re not quite as large, but one solid feeding per day around lights on is typically enough.
@Myfriendis410 I’ve used a couple of different brands of potassium silicate, used a TPS version at recommended dosage (1ml/L) for the coco grow. One of those things for me where I don’t see noticeable improvement with its use but a lot of smart folks and seasoned growers say it is at best beneficial and at worst won’t hurt anything. I can say it didn’t help with stem strengthening this last grow. I’ve concluded it must have been the light. I was only at 60% (120W) max. Going to train and blast the next one.
@dbrn32 I had thought if I took on top watering in coco again I would definitely cut back on the watering. I was running 4-5L/day through the one 3 gal and there wasn’t much joy in managing all that runoff, not to mention unsightly algae on and in things. I went back and read a Hellraiser journal of his switch that I had earmarked and took note that he was only watering once a day in flower.
Thanks all. I appreciate the help. I have new genetics from a black Friday deal and Jack’s in the cart. Still undecided on the media.
Hey man hope the next grow is going good. I’m actually only on my second grow attempt. First was in soil, I ended up culling those plants. Now 2nd attempt im in 100% canna coco. It’s gone good so far but I’ve had a lot of help on how to manage the medium. I’ve only had my output EC above my input a couple times and that was only but about 100ppms or about .2 ms. I’m growing an OG kush auto flower from homegrown cannabis company. It’s 45 today. There’s my journal scroll to bottom to see the current plant.
Appreciate the well wishes. New crop sprouted under the Wolf Supermoon and off to a good start. I decided to go back to peat for my medium. The dry back method just seems to be better suited to my grow conditions. I’m in the illegal south so I grow mostly indoors but with the windows and doors open on most days so I rely primarily on mother nature for my grow climate and it didn’t handle constantly wet coco in a confined space very well. Going to give coco another go on the porch when it warms up a bit.
Took a look at your journal and your project is looking good. Worked for some companies based in MN and love the place and people, and their cannabis laws. Good luck through flower and that brutal ass winter.
