WackyZac said:

I've been trying to learn coco-coir. This run has Foxfarms 50/50 coco-perlite mixed with Build-A-Soil 3.0, and I'm very lightly adding Lotus nutrients and Stash blend, only once so far and they're about to start week 4.

My question, is there a certified organic nutrient line I can use with a coco-perlite and worm casting blend? Instead of mixing coco with an organic soil? How do you supply nutrients to your coco if not using synthetic liquid nutrients?

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JIMKSI64 said:

Might wanna see if anyone has a diary open with that mixture in the pot. I would caution you treating it as soil or treating it as coco either will be wrong. Hybrid mixtures are different.

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Rastabreath said:

I use Gija green with molasses (compost tea) ..I used to try and make it but they make a great product still tweaking my greenhouse ..I am using coir with Cal-mag as a pre caution and I did Cal mag buffer ...most of it . Auto flower seems picky about it but sometimes they work so maybe me ..but the photos seem to just love coir every clone did awesome

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JIMKSI64 said:

Might wanna see if anyone has a diary open with that mixture in the pot. I would caution you treating it as soil or treating it as coco either will be wrong. Hybrid mixtures are different.

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RoadKillSkunkHunt said:

Adding to what @JIMKSI64 is saying about your soil mix. When people start mixing coco with soil, they frequently have problems. The 2 mediums mixed together is frequently less than either of those mixes by itself. Coco is meant to be an inert media and its best used with nutrient salts. This doesn't mean people don't grow organically in coco because some people do.

Let's talk about coco for a moment. If I were to try to describe its properties, I would say its like a shredded sponge. It will hold a lot of water, but it will also hold a lot of air. It's inert meaning it comes with zero nutrition in the mix in its natural state. This is what appeals to people who grow in coco. Complete control over the nutrients the plant receives in a medium that holds water and plenty of air. Now, when you add soil to that you're essentially plugging up the sponge. It no longer holds the water like it naturally would. It also loses its ability to hold air. All those fine particle organics then turn to muck.

When I say that, the most common response I get is something about some coco/soil mix that is sold commercially. Those are not the same as your home made mix. First off, the total amount of coco + soil is typically in the 30-40% range and the rest of the mix is organics and buffers to keep the properties present in the mix that helps plants grow. Commercial mixes control even the size of particles used in these mixes. None of this is easily done at home.

If it were my grow, I would pick one media or the other. If you want to use coco, that is fine. It's a wonderful media when used as its intended. It works best with frequent feeds using a salts based nutrient program. If you want to grow organically, use an organic soil mix and don't mix in any coco. Right now, you're mixing too many things that don't play well together and you're likely to have more than your share of issues. It's like was said above ... Hybrid mixes are different.

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RoadKillSkunkHunt said:

Adding to what @JIMKSI64 is saying about your soil mix. When people start mixing coco with soil, they frequently have problems. The 2 mediums mixed together is frequently less than either of those mixes by itself. Coco is meant to be an inert media and its best used with nutrient salts. This doesn't mean people don't grow organically in coco because some people do.

Let's talk about coco for a moment. If I were to try to describe its properties, I would say its like a shredded sponge. It will hold a lot of water, but it will also hold a lot of air. It's inert meaning it comes with zero nutrition in the mix in its natural state. This is what appeals to people who grow in coco. Complete control over the nutrients the plant receives in a medium that holds water and plenty of air. Now, when you add soil to that you're essentially plugging up the sponge. It no longer holds the water like it naturally would. It also loses its ability to hold air. All those fine particle organics then turn to muck.

When I say that, the most common response I get is something about some coco/soil mix that is sold commercially. Those are not the same as your home made mix. First off, the total amount of coco + soil is typically in the 30-40% range and the rest of the mix is organics and buffers to keep the properties present in the mix that helps plants grow. Commercial mixes control even the size of particles used in these mixes. None of this is easily done at home.

If it were my grow, I would pick one media or the other. If you want to use coco, that is fine. It's a wonderful media when used as its intended. It works best with frequent feeds using a salts based nutrient program. If you want to grow organically, use an organic soil mix and don't mix in any coco. Right now, you're mixing too many things that don't play well together and you're likely to have more than your share of issues. It's like was said above ... Hybrid mixes are different.

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WackyZac said:

Thank you for your time and information, very thorough. What you mentioned about water/air retention answered an unasked question. Do you have a recommendation for organic nutrients? I dont like soil because even three or four gnats annoy me, so I'm leaning towards coco/hydro.

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RoadKillSkunkHunt said:

Again, if it were my grow and I was growing in coco ... I would use synthetic nutrients ... salts based nutrients.

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WackyZac said:

Do you have a recommendation for organic nutrients?

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WackyZac said:

I dont like soil because even three or four gnats annoy me

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WackyZac said:

I'm leaning towards coco/hydro.

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RoadKillSkunkHunt said:

Again, if it were my grow and I was growing in coco ... I would use synthetic nutrients ... salts based nutrients.

If I wanted to grow organically, I would be growing in soil. You can use mosquito pellets in your water during veg to kill any gnats from what I've been told. I grow in soil. I don't use mosquito pellets. I use nutrient salts and I bet you couldn't tell the difference in a taste test between my salts based grow and someone else's organic grow. The grower who has the best growing skills regardless of salts or organics will have the best tasting harvest every time.

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LoveGrowingIt said:

+1


I use Gaia Green and several other helpful amendments, such as lime and azomite.


I grow in soil and haven't seen a gnat in a long time. Controlling them is not difficult.


Coir & hydro are less messy but more complicated, IMO. I doubt organic nutrients would work in that environment because they depend on the presence of fungi that function as a symbiotic intermediary. Synthetics, on the other hand, do not. They're directly available to the plant's roots.

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WackyZac said:

Gaia Green is on my radar, probably going with whatever pre-made organic blend they have on sale at the green house and mix with Gaia Green.

I only get three or four gnats at a time and they manage to be avoiding of the sticky traps so they just really annoy me until I grab the swatter. Difficult no, annoying and distracting yes.

So upping Lotus and Stash blend is a good idea?

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WackyZac said:

I only get three or four gnats at a time and they manage to be avoiding of the sticky traps so they just really annoy me until I grab the swatter.

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LoveGrowingIt said:

Sticky traps don't work. There are, however, methods that do. Letting the soil dry is a method that

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LoveGrowingIt said:

Sticky traps don't work. There are, however, methods that do. Letting the soil dry is a method that does.

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WackyZac said:

I've been trying to learn coco-coir. This run has Foxfarms 50/50 coco-perlite mixed with Build-A-Soil 3.0, and I'm very lightly adding Lotus nutrients and Stash blend, only once so far and they're about to start week 4.

My question, is there a certified organic nutrient line I can use with a coco-perlite and worm casting blend? Instead of mixing coco with an organic soil? How do you supply nutrients to your coco if not using synthetic liquid nutrients?

Click to expand...

WackyZac said:

I only water when bottom of the pot is dry now that they're 3 weeks old. Or when the soil meter I bought says "dry". 1 liter at this point with a few half liter top watering.

Are Nectar of the Gods a liquid organic that would work with coco? Or is salt the catalyst for synthetic nutrients to work in coco so even liquid organic doesn't work?

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WackyZac said:

I only water when bottom of the pot is dry now that they're 3 weeks old. Or when the soil meter I bought says "dry". 1 liter at this point with a few half liter top watering.

Are Nectar of the Gods a liquid organic that would work with coco? Or is salt the catalyst for synthetic nutrients to work in coco so even liquid organic doesn't work?

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Smokey_LaFleur said:

I can't say whether soil is better, as I've never used it. I use FF coco loco mixed with NLS additives. Works well for me. YMMV, of course.

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Smokey_LaFleur said:

I can't say whether soil is better, as I've never used it. I use FF coco loco mixed with NLS additives. Works well for me. YMMV, of course.

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Week4Bytch said:

Check out Rooted Leaf products

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