Beds Are For F***ing! Small Pots = Big Buds!

[WalterWhiteFire]

You should treat 100% coco grows like rockwool. And you can grow a 10' tree from a 4"cube of rockwool. Maybe you should try a 4" nursery pot.

 

[Medusa]

It totally goes against the grain when thinking a larger root mass is better. Only down side to the smaller pots is tipping over!

@caregiverken the multi feed does change it to hydro of sorts. The difference is the coco. It produces top quality big buds not lacking in density where in my experience hydro lacks the density. I dont use any boosters just steady Eddy on the nutes. And to get the added benefits of organic I try to use a tea once a week. But that doesnt always happen lol! I get a little lazy when they are just stacking on cruise control. :p

Loving this thread ! What nutes are u using ?I tried coco ..to much watering ..but if i could get that yeild ! might give a go again ...either a whole lot of pots in a bed or Duct Tape em down like a net .. M

 

[Prime C]

You should treat 100% coco grows like rockwool. And you can grow a 10' tree from a 4"cube of rockwool. Maybe you should try a 4" nursery pot.

Thats the way i look at it! Its the organic version of rock wool.

 

[Prime C]

Loving this thread ! What nutes are u using ?I tried coco ..to much watering ..but if i could get that yeild ! might give a go again ...either a whole lot of pots in a bed or Duct Tape em down like a net .. M

Im usung Gh 3part. Bout to use some H&G aqua flakes in another room. ;)

 

[Prime C]

You should treat 100% coco grows like rockwool. And you can grow a 10' tree from a 4"cube of rockwool. Maybe you should try a 4" nursery pot.

Some of the pots im using arent much bigger than that! I took a mom over to a friends not long ago that was 5 ft tall and almost as wide in a little as pot. Had to keep trimming it up so it would balance and not tip over lol.

 

[Capulator]

Best part about beds is reusing the coco in them. Just tear out the plants, turn it over, and put fresh starts in. This is the only reason I transitioned to beds.

20 seconds on and an hour off is what I have always fed, whether in wool or coco. If you top feed you can get away with a lot, meaning very low EC or very high EC. The key is the constant leaching. I also have a theory that the plants get used to being watered at specific time intervals, and so they no longer stress about getting water and put all their energy in to growth.

 

[liketosmoke]

Oh as well the reason why some Coco is salt ridden would be partially due to the fact that farmed green coconuts are boiled in a brine in order to remove the husk easily. Then there are the coconuts collected on the islands and seashores. These will be salt ridden from the sea itself. Next up is the aging and piling that some coco is subjected to through the ages of decomposing it is often exposed to salty water in the air. Their have been piles of coco in Sri Lanka for over a hundred years. Talk about having value lol.. Long story short the coco industry here is not too regulated and the majority of it comes from Sri Lanka and this is probably the best of it all from my experiences.

I have purchased some of the off shot shit sold as coco and I wont mention brands. But many are poor quality and most likely the bottom of the listed above in the sense of being salt ridden and filled with other contaminants like sticks and stones as well as rock salt- seen this too.. I have also looked into coco sold in the herptoculture industry being that I breed reptiles along with cannabis. I spoke with some of the largest suppliers in our field and they too rely on the same coco that I do as salt in excess is no good for amphibians, arachnids and reptiles kept on coco as a bedding for cage or when used as soil base for terrarium setups.. I may be buying bales from this direction soon as they offer them in bulk cheaper then anywhere else I can find.

This coco is not the cheapest, but it is the best ready to go used by some of the finest growers working today.

http://www.charcoir.com/products/
LTS

 

[Pimp T]

Hey @Prime C how long did you veg the cookies in the 1 gallon?

 

[Tylrr420]

Totally makes sense. I feel like so much time and money has been wasted growing in 15 gallon pots. I've been doing sunshine #4 in 10 or 15 gallons all day and my yields look nothing like this. Less root space = more food and water, DUH. I'm in transition to making the switch to coco right now. Do you reuse your coco even tho there in 3 gals and not beds?

 

[Tylrr420]

How many plants are u doing in how big of beds @Capulator

 

[Prime C]

View attachment 487004 Best part about beds is reusing the coco in them. Just tear out the plants, turn it over, and put fresh starts in. This is the only reason I transitioned to beds.

20 seconds on and an hour off is what I have always fed, whether in wool or coco. If you top feed you can get away with a lot, meaning very low EC or very high EC. The key is the constant leaching. I also have a theory that the plants get used to being watered at specific time intervals, and so they no longer stress about getting water and put all their energy in to growth.

Nice beds Cap!

 

[Capulator]

@Tylrr420 I put 8 in there.

@Prime C a plant will do fine in a small container with multiple waterings but if it is in a bigger container it will do even better. You can run an easy side by side in rockwool cubes to see the difference. same strain, same feeding, same lights. 4" vs. 6" vs 8" and look at the structure and branching of the plants and the speed of veg. There is definitely a difference.

 

[Stalks]

I was scoping your ig earier thinking about this thread lol

So you're feeding 12 times a day?

Even in the beds?

How many gallons do you put on the beds a day?

 

[Capulator]

I was scoping your ig earier thinking about this thread lol

So you're feeding 12 times a day?

Even in the beds?

How many gallons do you put on the beds a day?

On this set up I am currently hand watering:(. My dosatrons got shipped this week finally and I am about to set up all the sprinklers when I get the chance. On my old 3x3 geo pot beds I had them on 20 sec on/ 1 hour off. Worked like a charm had some of my best runs ever.

 

[MrBelvedere]

What are the best brands of coir? Obsessed with sterility as baseline without having to clean up the Coco to begin with.... Nervous of pathogens and pests in baseline (new bought bags from store)...

For ebb and flow what is the recommended mix of coir to perlite?

For hand watering what is the ratio of perlite?

Thanks it is really helping to understand. For Rockwall people it's so simple and only one company Grodan and three size cubes.

I'm finally seeing the light, coir is the equivalent of vermiculite!

For people starting out I always recommend KISS hand watering vermiculite/perlite but now it's easy to see another way that will increase their chances of success :)

 

[Jenny]

On this set up I am currently hand watering:(. My dosatrons got shipped this week finally and I am about to set up all the sprinklers when I get the chance. On my old 3x3 geo pot beds I had them on 20 sec on/ 1 hour off. Worked like a charm had some of my best runs ever.

Cap, do you have any idea how much water you run through each 3x3 bed, either each feeding or each 24 hr day? Or how much runoff you are getting per watering or per day? I'm guessing you get little to no runoff during the first part of the day and a lot of runoff by the end of the day.

Also, what type of mini sprinklers are you using? I've tried sooooo many different kinds and configurations, 180 degree, 360 degree, etc. and haven't found any that provide decent coverage without slowing down or partially clogging halfway through the crop. Always have to hand water with a wand once a week to flush out the dry/nutrient-concentrated spots. I've also tried everything from a Mondi 1500 GPH sump pump to a 3 HP centrifugal; didn't seem to make that much of a difference so I don't think pressure or volume is the problem.

 

[soopy]

Awesome thread and amazing skills @Prime C ! And to all the other amazing contributions...respect.

I've had some of my best runs in multi fed small pots of coco...

I feel DJM has mastered this technique, and has some staggering pics to prove it. A small healthy root mass fed at the rate the top requires, like @Capulator said, relieves the plant of "root borne" stress, imo, and let's the plant concentrate on flower production. Much the same way an outdoor plant with unlimited root space and ample/timely nutrition would function.

My question, has anyone done a side by side between a smart pot of coco vs a same size smart pot of rock wool? I know RW shines when the roots can escape and mat up into a nice root system, but does it handle smarties well? I know the pH would need to be different but...?

 

[MrBelvedere]

^^^^^

ample/timely nutrition

I think this "ample/timely" is the key. Like @ftwendy said... no matter what medium, for optimum growth we want the wet/dry cycle to happen as often as possible. With a smaller container, we know immediately when it is dry (because the plant shows it and the container is light). With a bed (huge container), we r somewhat "flying blind" and do not know immediately how dry the medium is, so it is harder to perfect the wet/dry cycles. With smaller containers, it is much easier to dial in the wet/dry schedule. In a bed (huge container), it takes longer to dial in the wet/dry cycles- but once dialed in the results will be nearly identical. :D So errybody is correct :cool:

No matter what the medium (RW, coir, soil) the roots thrive on the wet/dry cycle happening routinely and often. And no matter what the medium.... without proper drainage this constant wet/dry cycle will never happen often enough for the roots to thrive!

 

[ftwendy]

Here's an excellent read from @Capulator, posted a while back.... https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/great-read-on-rockwool-excellent-tips-in-here.62869/

Tho the focus of the article is specific to rockwool, the sections about setting up irrigation programs and moisture gradient are really helpful. Both sections address some of the same principles we're discussing here.

"spending as little time as possible at saturation levels" - that part is the key to the kingdom

 

[liketosmoke]

What are the best brands of coir? Obsessed with sterility as baseline without having to clean up the Coco to begin with.... Nervous of pathogens and pests in baseline (new bought bags from store)...

For ebb and flow what is the recommended mix of coir to perlite?

For hand watering what is the ratio of perlite?

Thanks it is really helping to understand. For Rockwall people it's so simple and only one company Grodan and three size cubes.

I'm finally seeing the light, coir is the equivalent of vermiculite!

For people starting out I always recommend KISS hand watering vermiculite/perlite but now it's easy to see another way that will increase their chances of success :)

@MrBelvedere this is the best coir. used by the best.
http://www.charcoir.com/products/