Coco DTW - Potential 4x4 SOG - Advice Please

[CocoTheClown]

Hey Farmers!

After a couple years off due to not-so-great results and other factors, I'm thinking of taking up the hobby again, though with some changes to my methods!

May be a bit of a long post but just trying to be as thorough as possible for the best advice.

Basically in the past, probably through a mix of beginner mistakes, not using the space efficiently etc, utilising methods such as LST and topping etc I've only achieved the results as follows:

As low as 11z yield, to a max of 14z (0.47 GPW & 0.6 GPW).

Basically my best grow worked out at 0.6gpw, the environment was well within range with regards to temps and humidity, all the same clone, no pests, any issues at all really. I should also point out that is purely neatly dry trimmed bud weight post-cure, no larf or excess leafy material etc. This was growing Mimosa x Orange Punch from Barneys Farm from clone.

Now I'm aware experience, genetics, pheno and other factors play a very large factor, but even back then there were people pulling silly numbers from my light/setup, with just one example pulling even up to 2.17 GPW. That was also with a SOG setup, with a Sativa Dominant strain, though they were using 5gal pots with peat moss medium (ProMix) I think it was. I'm unsure of the veg time they used, clones etc.

I'm basically reconsidering my approach, so rather than going down the longer veg, lower number of plants and using methods such as LST, Topping, ScrOG - I'm thinking of going the SOG route instead.

Please see proposed setup and methods below:

My Setup:

Budbox Pro 4 x 4 Grow Tent

645w Gavita 1700e LED

6” Rhino Ultra Silent EC Fan

6” Phresh Inline Carbon Filter

16 x 1gal (4L) Square Pots

DIY Raised Platform for pots to sit on (so the DTW can drain into one large pan underneath rather than a single saucer per pot)

Inkbird Humidity Controller

5L Dehumidifier ( Lung Room )

2 x Oscillating Tent Pole Fans

(NO CO2)

Medium:

70/30 or 80/20 Coco/Perlite (Buffered)

Nutrients:

I used to use the full Mills Nutrients Range, but I'm honestly thinking of trying to keep it as simple as possible and only use Coco base nutes (A+B), as well as CalMag.

No extra boosters or anything else to keep it as simple as possible.

Plant Success - Great White Shark Mycorrhizae

Methods:

Indica Dominant Strain (Barneys Farm Wedding Cake or Similar)

2 week veg from clone 18/6, then flip to flower 12/12.

Hand Watering Coco Drain-To-Waste (20% Runoff Always) - Feed once per day in Veg for the 2 weeks, Max Feed twice per day in Flower, as I don't want to be going down the dripper route or hand watering 6 times a day.

In the past when I constantly monitored the runoff EC, I sent myself almost crazy panicking constantly which is why I'm wanting to just use base nutes and CalMag, and purely just go off the plants to see what they're asking for.

Getting a bit too light green leaves? Increase base nutes/EC.

Looking a bit too dark green leaves / burnt tips? Reduce the base nutes/EC.

I'm not expecting the world ( I don't think so anyway ), or to be pulling ridiculous numbers compared to super experienced growers, but honestly, with the price of electricity and all the other costs involved in the hobby, I basically just want to maximise the efficiency of my setup, that's all. AFAIK nobody has ever complained by having more in their jars.

I'd honestly be happy with just hitting 1 GPW. Anything above that is just a happy bonus.

Happy to hear all suggestions, critiques or tips regarding my proposed setup - as well as whether people think this is a viable way to maximise the efficiency of my setup and hear what others are pulling in terms of GPW with similar setups etc.

Happy Growing!

 

[Florida_Mike]

Welcome to the farm!

Nice setup, I'd like to do sog with my recirculating drip method, but I'm limited to 12 plants.

I don't run tight numbers, Instead, I run ranges; It's much easier on the stress levels and sanity, e.g. pH range of 5.8-6.4. Currently I'm having a bit of an issue of my pH spiking (maybe the beginning of root-rot - long story...), so I'll set the res even a bit lower than my range at 5.6 and it'll rise to 6.1-6.2 over 24 hours.... That's actually perfect imo, bc different nutes are absorbed at different pH levels. I do the same with my nutes; currently I'm running 1200-1400 ppm.

Good luck with your grow, you've come to the right place; If you have any questions, feel free to ask, there are many knowledgeable people here.

 

[CocoTheClown]

Welcome to the farm!

Nice setup, I'd like to do sog with my recirculating drip method, but I'm limited to 12 plants.

I don't run tight numbers, Instead, I run ranges; It's much easier on the stress levels and sanity, e.g. pH range of 5.8-6.4. Currently I'm having a bit of an issue of my pH spiking (maybe the beginning of root-rot - long story...), so I'll set the res even a bit lower than my range at 5.6 and it'll rise to 6.1-6.2 over 24 hours.... That's actually perfect imo, bc different nutes are absorbed at different pH levels. I do the same with my nutes; currently I'm running 1200-1400 ppm.

Good luck with your grow, you've come to the right place; If you have any questions, feel free to ask, there are many knowledgeable people here.

Thanks mate appreciate that!

Honestly I’d love to run true hydro but I think I’m happy with being somewhere in the middle between soil and hydro, coco seems to just tick all the boxes for me whether that’s in a ScrOG or a SOG setup and it’s basically what I’m used too now tbh haha.

Thanks again for the comment and hope you have a great harvest when it’s all said and done!

 

[CocoTheClown]

Hey Farmers!

After a couple years off due to not-so-great results and other factors, I'm thinking of taking up the hobby again, though with some changes to my methods!

May be a bit of a long post but just trying to be as thorough as possible for the best advice.

Basically in the past, probably through a mix of beginner mistakes, not using the space efficiently etc, utilising methods such as LST and topping etc I've only achieved the results as follows:

As low as 11z yield, to a max of 14z (0.47 GPW & 0.6 GPW).

Basically my best grow worked out at 0.6gpw, the environment was well within range with regards to temps and humidity, all the same clone, no pests, any issues at all really. I should also point out that is purely neatly dry trimmed bud weight post-cure, no larf or excess leafy material etc. This was growing Mimosa x Orange Punch from Barneys Farm from clone.

Now I'm aware experience, genetics, pheno and other factors play a very large factor, but even back then there were people pulling silly numbers from my light/setup, with just one example pulling even up to 2.17 GPW. That was also with a SOG setup, with a Sativa Dominant strain, though they were using 5gal pots with peat moss medium (ProMix) I think it was. I'm unsure of the veg time they used, clones etc.

I'm basically reconsidering my approach, so rather than going down the longer veg, lower number of plants and using methods such as LST, Topping, ScrOG - I'm thinking of going the SOG route instead.

Please see proposed setup and methods below:

My Setup:

Budbox Pro 4 x 4 Grow Tent

645w Gavita 1700e LED

6” Rhino Ultra Silent EC Fan

6” Phresh Inline Carbon Filter

16 x 1gal (4L) Square Pots

DIY Raised Platform for pots to sit on (so the DTW can drain into one large pan underneath rather than a single saucer per pot)

Inkbird Humidity Controller

5L Dehumidifier ( Lung Room )

2 x Oscillating Tent Pole Fans

(NO CO2)

Medium:

70/30 or 80/20 Coco/Perlite (Buffered)

Nutrients:

I used to use the full Mills Nutrients Range, but I'm honestly thinking of trying to keep it as simple as possible and only use Coco base nutes (A+B), as well as CalMag.

No extra boosters or anything else to keep it as simple as possible.

Plant Success - Great White Shark Mycorrhizae

Methods:

Indica Dominant Strain (Barneys Farm Wedding Cake or Similar)

2 week veg from clone 18/6, then flip to flower 12/12.

Hand Watering Coco Drain-To-Waste (20% Runoff Always) - Feed once per day in Veg for the 2 weeks, Max Feed twice per day in Flower, as I don't want to be going down the dripper route or hand watering 6 times a day.

In the past when I constantly monitored the runoff EC, I sent myself almost crazy panicking constantly which is why I'm wanting to just use base nutes and CalMag, and purely just go off the plants to see what they're asking for.

Getting a bit too light green leaves? Increase base nutes/EC.

Looking a bit too dark green leaves / burnt tips? Reduce the base nutes/EC.

I'm not expecting the world ( I don't think so anyway ), or to be pulling ridiculous numbers compared to super experienced growers, but honestly, with the price of electricity and all the other costs involved in the hobby, I basically just want to maximise the efficiency of my setup, that's all. AFAIK nobody has ever complained by having more in their jars.

I'd honestly be happy with just hitting 1 GPW. Anything above that is just a happy bonus.

Happy to hear all suggestions, critiques or tips regarding my proposed setup - as well as whether people think this is a viable way to maximise the efficiency of my setup and hear what others are pulling in terms of GPW with similar setups etc.

Happy Growing!

Can’t edit main post now so quoting to add, the grow I quoted that delivered 2.17 GPW was by @sshz when he grew Orange Gasm with the same light(s) (Gavita 1700e LED) as me.

I can’t see any activity of his since April 2021 so not sure if he’s still active on the site or not!

 

[JIMKSI64]

If you have not done so this web site has a lot of great information. Lots of success stories and if I was going to do coco and perlite I would follow the system recommendations.
https://www.cocoforcannabis.com/

 

[CocoTheClown]

PIf you have not done so this web site has a lot of great information. Lots of success stories and if I was going to do coco and perlite I would follow the system recommendations.
https://www.cocoforcannabis.com/

Thanks for the recommendation mate.

Yeah that’s where I got most of my info for the previous grows I’ve done with regards to fertigation frequency etc, it’s definitely a great source of information for all things regarding growing in Coco.

Honestly I’m mainly just looking for some advice as to whether using the SOG method in my proposed setup etc would likely be the best way to gain the most efficiency from my setup.

The main reason I stopped growing and took a multi-year break was due to getting not so great results, hence wanting to just to back to basics in a way regarding the feeding and changing up my method from a ScrOG background to SOG instead!

All the best and happy growing!

 

[JIMKSI64]

I would search grow diaries here and look for the grow you want.
Use the 3 horizontal bars top left and navigate to forums and then categories then grow diaries. Once in grow diaries use the spyglass to tag coco and sog and perhaps enev your nutrition choice. It will then look for grows that match the words you put in. Hopefully they will be dozens of grows to read and see how it went and any troubles that had to be fixed.
I myself know that to do hydro I would need an auto pH system as I can not spend that much time on a grow and my first attempt at hydro showed me my limits of attention

 

[CocoTheClown]

I would search grow diaries here and look for the grow you want.
Use the 3 horizontal bars top left and navigate to forums and then categories then grow diaries. Once in grow diaries use the spyglass to tag coco and sog and perhaps enev your nutrition choice. It will then look for grows that match the words you put in. Hopefully they will be dozens of grows to read and see how it went and any troubles that had to be fixed.
I myself know that to do hydro I would need an auto pH system as I can not spend that much time on a grow and my first attempt at hydro showed me my limits of attention

Perfect mate I’ll give that a go! Thanks for that!

Yeah I totally agree, I did high frequency fertigation with Coco hand watering only ( like 5-6 times a day in flower) and almost lost my sanity in the process lol.

Going off mates who run hydro grows I’ve definitely heard similar needs to be on point with regards to EC & pH. The results are great don’t get me wrong, but I think I’d send myself nuts constantly worrying about EC and pH haha.

That’s why I love Coco so much, it’s just a nice middle ground between soil and actual hydro!

 

[JIMKSI64]

The thing is that all of those issues in hydro and stuff can easily go away.
For $500 LOL
If I can just grow enough pot in soil to stop buying dispensary weed for 6 months I already have the crap for a 4 tote rdwc system. Just need the auto doser and a good EC system.

 

[Florida_Mike]

Thanks mate appreciate that!

Honestly I’d love to run true hydro but I think I’m happy with being somewhere in the middle between soil and hydro, coco seems to just tick all the boxes for me whether that’s in a ScrOG or a SOG setup and it’s basically what I’m used too now tbh haha.

Thanks again for the comment and hope you have a great harvest when it’s all said and done!

I'm in coco currently as an experiment; rockwool is my normal medium. I'm in 1gal (3L true) nursery pots, which are way too small for my plant size; but I'm hoping I can limp to the finish line.

I'm using recirculating drip 15min on 15 min off during lights on, 2-15 min cycles during dark. I spend 15-20 mins per day, to top off the reservoir. It's actually very simple.

If you want max sog yield, recirculating drip is your best option imo

Check out this guy also, he's in living soil, but is shooting for the moon with his sog method; some of his methods should easily transfer and be of use... https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/epsilon-v2-plan-6g-per-watt-goal.172275/

My current 5 plants with double scrog nets

I was around 2+ gr/w my last grow out of my 4x8 tent, burning 2x760w (I tossed a bunch bc of bud-rot, so I don't know exact #'s)

 

[CocoTheClown]

The thing is that all of those issues in hydro and stuff can easily go away.
For $500 LOL
If I can just grow enough pot in soil to stop buying dispensary weed for 6 months I already have the crap for a 4 tote rdwc system. Just need the auto doser and a good EC system.

Yeah that's true!

Honestly the main thing that put me off with Hydro was noise due to pumps etc due to stealth worries and a fear of something going wrong and flooding my house...

 

[Florida_Mike]

Perfect mate I’ll give that a go! Thanks for that!

Yeah I totally agree, I did high frequency fertigation with Coco hand watering only ( like 5-6 times a day in flower) and almost lost my sanity in the process lol.

Going off mates who run hydro grows I’ve definitely heard similar needs to be on point with regards to EC & pH. The results are great don’t get me wrong, but I think I’d send myself nuts constantly worrying about EC and pH haha.

That’s why I love Coco so much, it’s just a nice middle ground between soil and actual hydro!

Coco is an inert media, it is hydro for all intents and purposes. One a couple key points are learned, hydro is simple...

 

[Florida_Mike]

I have an 8" exhaust blower in my 4x8 and 6" in my 4x4, they are the only noticeable noise. feed and circulation pumps are silent... Oh, I have an air pump and dehumidifier that make a little noise as well.

 

[CocoTheClown]

I'm in coco currently as an experiment; rockwool is my normal medium. I'm in 1gal (3L true) nursery pots, which are way too small for my plant size; but I'm hoping I can limp to the finish line.

I'm using recirculating drip 15min on 15 min off during lights on, 2-15 min cycles during dark. I spend 15-20 mins per day, to top off the reservoir. It's actually very simple.

If you want max sog yield, recirculating drip is your best option imo

Check out this guy also, he's in living soil, but is shooting for the moon with his sog method; some of his methods should easily transfer and be of use... https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/epsilon-v2-plan-6g-per-watt-goal.172275/

My current 5 plants with double scrog nets

I was around 2+ gr/w my last grow out of my 4x8 tent, burning 2x760w (I tossed a bunch bc of bud-rot, so I don't know exact #'s)

Those look lovely mate, even in 1gal pots you're knocking it out the park!

Yeah I must admit the recirculating drip sounds simpler than I initially thought... especially the way you've explained it but like I said in a previous reply to @JIMSKI64 - my main concern with running true hydro is noise of pumps etc due to stealth concerns and a god level fear of flooding my house somehow.. my idiocy knows no bounds

I'll give that thread a read though mate, thanks for pointing me that direction! Jesus Christ, 6 GPW Goal?! That is next level!

Damn man, sorry to hear about the bud rot! But 2 GPW is definitely something to be happy with! With the thread you mentioned of 6GPW goal, your previous return of 2+ GPW - I'm honestly thinking that my goal of 1GPW is realistic, if not kinda low as to what I should be expecting from my setup? Honestly if I can hit 1 GPW, anything over that ill be happy!

I have an 8" exhaust blower in my 4x8 and 6" in my 4x4, they are the only noticeable noise. feed and circulation pumps are silent... Oh, I have an air pump and dehumidifier that make a little noise as well.

Yeah that's basically what I've got and would plan to use for a 4x4 SOG - 6" Rhino EC Fan, 6" Phresh Inline Carbon Scrubber and some cheap arse 5l dehumidifier.

I'm probably just overly paranoid about noise hence my setup revolving around minimum noise with the EC Fan, Acoustic Ducting etc - I even used to sit my dehumidifier on a padded coffee table thing to avoid vibrations...

​

 

[Florida_Mike]

Those look lovely mate, even in 1gal pots you're knocking it out the park!

Yeah I must admit the recirculating drip sounds simpler than I initially thought... especially the way you've explained it but like I said in a previous reply to @JIMSKI64 - my main concern with running true hydro is noise of pumps etc due to stealth concerns and a god level fear of flooding my house somehow.. my idiocy knows no bounds

I'll give that thread a read though mate, thanks for pointing me that direction! Jesus Christ, 6 GPW Goal?! That is next level!

Damn man, sorry to hear about the bud rot! But 2 GPW is definitely something to be happy with! With the thread you mentioned of 6GPW goal, your previous return of 2+ GPW - I'm honestly thinking that my goal of 1GPW is realistic, if not kinda low as to what I should be expecting from my setup? Honestly if I can hit 1 GPW, anything over that ill be happy!



Yeah that's basically what I've got and would plan to use for a 4x4 SOG - 6" Rhino EC Fan, 6" Phresh Inline Carbon Scrubber and some cheap arse 5l dehumidifier.

I'm probably just overly paranoid about noise hence my setup revolving around minimum noise with the EC Fan, Acoustic Ducting etc - I even used to sit my dehumidifier on a padded coffee table thing to avoid vibrations...

​

​

You've got it going on homie, you'll hit your goal plus with that setup np.

Pro tip is to always put a tarp down with edges high enough to contain the reservoir in case of catastrophic flood. e.g. use 2x4's on edge to staple the tarp to, to make a tub. The 'pans' that come in tents are completely waterproof and will hold quite a bit. Even in soil or coco, spills happen when mixing nutes etc. and a quality tarp is cheap insurance imo

 

[Florida_Mike]

Oh, we also have a clown here that's a mod and a master of tight spaces: @Captspaulding, and also @Mikedin, another mod and master of living soil, it'd be worth your while to check them out as well.

 

[CocoTheClown]

You've got it going on homie, you'll hit your goal plus with that setup np.

Pro tip is to always put a tarp down with edges high enough to contain the reservoir in case of catastrophic flood. e.g. use 2x4's on edge to staple the tarp to, to make a tub. The 'pans' that come in tents are completely waterproof and will hold quite a bit. Even in soil or coco, spills happen when mixing nutes etc. and a quality tarp is cheap insurance imo

Perfect mate thanks for the words of reassurance! I’m just traumatised from my previous results of 0.4 & 0.6 GPW. Made me take a few years off…

I definitley think going for 16 clones in 1-2gal pots, 2 week veg then flip, seems like my best bet of maximising efficiency from my setup, and hitting that 1+ GPW!

Hopefully I’d be able to stick to the once a day feed in veg and twice a day max in flower!

Yeah that’s a good call mate, plus I suppose with a 4x4 footprint, the added insurance of a tarp, since it’s not linked to a constant auto fill reservoir, it’s not the end of the world if something was to happen and it should all be contained.. just get the shop vac out and fill the res again!

Oh, we also have a clown here that's a mod and a master of tight spaces: @Captspaulding, and also @Mikedin, another mod and master of living soil, it'd be worth your while to check them out as well.

Perfect mate I’ll check them out, thanks again for all your help bro!

 

[Mr.SSHZ]

Can’t edit main post now so quoting to add, the grow I quoted that delivered 2.17 GPW was by @sshz when he grew Orange Gasm with the same light(s) (Gavita 1700e LED) as me.

I can’t see any activity of his since April 2021 so not sure if he’s still active on the site or not!

I'm still actively growing but when I hit 70 years old, I stopped most of my grow threads and now just post pics here and there. But, I'm still pumping out over 3 lbs per gavita 600 watter in a 4x4 sq ft space, and the same led units I started with 6 years ago. Same facts remain, 5 gallon pots, promix, botanicare pure blend fertilzer and extra cal/mag and nothing else. Yields are highly dependent on your grow experience and genetics and not much more.