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[Dothraki]

The easiest way to success in a grow is to understand the type of grow your doing. If you don't then no matter what style you will have problems.

Imo after hydro, peat, coco and soil for mothers. Coco is the easiest to maintain the media. There is so much more control over your media than others. Don't like the ph and ppm...... simply flush through the ph and ppm ya want and done. Hopefully after some reading you can decide what you feel will meet the needs of your knowledge and time commitment.

Oh and I do not recommend starting in 1 gal coco. Just not a begginr thing.

5 gal pots for coco is way to big unless you plany on growing trees and I'd say not likely in a 3x3. hell 5 gal pots are imo to big for soil in your 3x3. Pots that are to big will likely cause you watering issues just like pots to small if your not able to maintain them.

The whole benefit to coco is less media. 3 gal 70/30 is a pretty forgiving media to start that won't require a crap ton of watering like 1 gals do.

If your going to do coco read these.

HOW TO WATER COCO FOR BEST RESULTS.

Ok writing this cause i see this issue often and rather have a thread to link than explain this each time. This is not my work but a collection of info from many members here and I have put into practice myself. So first off COCO is NOT soil. For best results we want to keep it saturated...

www.thcfarmer.com

Marijuana pH Levels for Growing Weed: A Basic Explanation

OK I'm going to do my best to explain PH since its something that is for the most part greatly misunderstood and can be confusing to new growers and even experienced growers alike. This will explain why we need both ppm and PH meters to give us informed information about PH This will be a...

www.thcfarmer.com

If your going to do soil read these 2.

Marijuana Watering, how media, pot size/shape and environment affect it

Ok lots of posts on how to water plants. So I thought I would put together a thread on how different factors contribute to different results that ppl see. This will be a long read based on my personal knowledge, opinions, research and others work to consolidate information for our members. I'm...

www.thcfarmer.com

New Simplified Way to Water Marijuana Plants

The other day I had an idea and after testing, it works great. To know if you need to water, get yourself a soil meter. Poke or drill 4 holes in your pot 1/4 way up from the bottom spaced around the pot. Insert the meter probe into the hole and test for moisture. If its dry, then water SLOWLY...

www.thcfarmer.com

My initial plan was 3 gallon pots...but many things I read were stating to get double the size if going with fabric pots. I can still go with 3g if it would suit my setup for a better grow...especially since yield is not a concern for me. I ordered “smart pots” if that makes a difference...

 

[Aqua Man]

Incase you all think I'm an inbred, illiterate, plaid wearing hillbilly.

In my defense I have poor eyesore (<---- see dam autocorrect), a small phone, an autocorrect that misspells more words than a 1 ur old in a high-school spelling bee (not gonna lie I just Googled to make sure have the proper spelling g for bee) (and guess what I was right not B or be and at no point did I consider be for the record)

But I also have what commonly referred to as fat finger syndrome.

So to end, after yrs of posts, I gave up and let you all play DaVinci's Code with em.

The defense rests.

 

[Aqua Man]

My initial plan was 3 gallon pots...but many things I read were stating to get double the size if going with fabric pots. I can still go with 3g if it would suit my setup for a better grow...especially since yield is not a concern for me. I ordered “smart pots” if that makes a difference...

Evaporation will be a very small contribution to water loss in a 3 gal.

 

[PipeCarver]

Evaporation will be a very small contribution to water loss in a 3 gal.

I just went over this myself I'm now 100% convinced 5 gallon pots indoors are a waste of space, nutes & dirt. I'm going back to 3 gallon unless I veg over 2 months.

Something else I think is a must in a grow is a wet vac to suck up your spills and excess water in your trays. I use the GH trio and it works for me but I think there are many companies you can go to, just follow their feed schedules as recommended then after some experience with them you can tweak as you see fit.

 

[Dothraki]

Yeah I keep thinking about ordering the 3g smart pots. The 5g arrived today, maybe I could order some 3g and just sit on the fives in case I need them some day. Also would probably be better to transplant from a solo cup to 3 instead of 5. I didn’t really plan on transplanting more than just once from cup to pot.

 

[growsince79]

Yeah I keep thinking about ordering the 3g smart pots. The 5g arrived today, maybe I could order some 3g and just sit on the fives in case I need them some day. Also would probably be better to transplant from a solo cup to 3 instead of 5. I didn’t really plan on transplanting more than just once from cup to pot.

Better to go from solo to 1 gal, then 3 when the 1s get big enough that you have to water every day.

 

[Dothraki]

Better to go from solo to 1 gal, then 3 when the 1s get big enough that you have to water every day.

Is that to help with root formation to keep the plant strong through the life cycle? Does it make a difference growing in the coco perlite mixture in fabric? I would prefer to use 3g just to keep the plants smaller but curious what other effects it would have for instance more frequent watering (feeding?) and how that ultimately affects the plant or heat retention if temps are fluctuating....I want all the nitty gritty lol. I’m surprised I can’t find more in depth info on this, everything just references yield but I’m sure there’s more to it than that right?

 

[TheBadChoice]

Is that to help with root formation to keep the plant strong through the life cycle? Does it make a difference growing in the coco perlite mixture in fabric? I would prefer to use 3g just to keep the plants smaller but curious what other effects it would have for instance more frequent watering (feeding?) and how that ultimately affects the plant or heat retention if temps are fluctuating....I want all the nitty gritty lol. I’m surprised I can’t find more in depth info on this, everything just references yield but I’m sure there’s more to it than that right?

I give grow76 their credit, but for depending on the size your looking for the outcome and what type of seed as well, a autoflower or fast flower “” don’t need anything above 3gallon of medium. But for coco/lite mixes I personally start in my finishing container, I’m not a fan of the transplant stuff but with that said I’ve also had zero problems. 3 gal for autos 3-5 gal for photos for their height height and size and etc you wanna take the plant. Their also another plus side to the 3gallon start to finish I’ve noticed with using coco/lite mediums is getting the the controlled watering down, I do 2x about 12ish hours apart, half a gallon will give 10% so starting right off rip like that the soil moister becomes more acclimated

 

[growsince79]

Is that to help with root formation to keep the plant strong through the life cycle? Does it make a difference growing in the coco perlite mixture in fabric? I would prefer to use 3g just to keep the plants smaller but curious what other effects it would have for instance more frequent watering (feeding?) and how that ultimately affects the plant or heat retention if temps are fluctuating....I want all the nitty gritty lol. I’m surprised I can’t find more in depth info on this, everything just references yield but I’m sure there’s more to it than that right?

For me, it's so I don't have to wait a week or two for the soil to dry. Gnats and other nasties love little plants in big pots.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Something else I think is a must in a grow is a wet vac to suck up your spills and excess water in your trays.

I use a rigid 9 gallon battery powered shop vac for that. Cordless is nice, and if you already have anything Rigid/Dewalt/Milwaukee, its worth considering adding one to your tool collection.

 

[Dothraki]

For me, it's so I don't have to wait a week or two for the soil to dry. Gnats and other nasties love little plants in big pots.

That’s a good point. I saw some growers were putting little (what looked like) clay balls on top of the coco ...I think to help prevent gnats.

I use a rigid 9 gallon battery powered shop vac for that. Cordless is nice, and if you already have anything Rigid/Dewalt/Milwaukee, its worth considering adding one to your tool collection.

I’ve actually been really impressed by some of the battery powered stuff recently. I have a weed whacker that runs on a battery and is surprisingly more than capable. Not that a vacuum needs that much...but still lol.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

That’s a good point. I saw some growers were putting little (what looked like) clay balls on top of the coco ...I think to help prevent gnats.


I’ve actually been really impressed by some of the battery powered stuff recently. I have a weed whacker that runs on a battery and is surprisingly more than capable. Not that a vacuum needs that much...but still lol.

I use battery operated power tools almost daily. Ryobi is also good if you want to save a few dollars. Warranty isn't as long as Rigid (lifetime warranty).

 

[Dothraki]

Better to go from solo to 1 gal, then 3 when the 1s get big enough that you have to water every day.

After this discussion I went reading about transplanting just to understand it more...it’s crazy how important this step appears to be. My takeaway is this:

The root structure if strong and properly formed, once in flower should be like a V8 compared to a 2-stroke lawn mower engine pushing those buds, cannabinoids and all. I know I don’t understand all this stuff yet but I would imagine that having a strong root structure (by up-potting) would very significantly impact the size AND QUALITY of my buds. Holy shit....it’s like everything is coming into focus. Since the roots are more evenly structured and “suspended” throughout the medium, it allows instant access to the water, oxygen and nutrients it needs to survive....rather than trying to use the equivalent of a small straw to eat, drink and breathe. So up-potting seems to be one of the most important factors for a successful grow.

I’m sure it’s not necessary, and you can still grow killer stuff without up-potting, but I doubt those cannabis cup winners that we drool over the photos of went from cup to final pot. Am I nuts or should up-potting be an essential Rule#1 type thing??

 

[Ponky]

After this discussion I went reading about transplanting just to understand it more...it’s crazy how important this step appears to be. My takeaway is this:

The root structure if strong and properly formed, once in flower should be like a V8 compared to a 2-stroke lawn mower engine pushing those buds, cannabinoids and all. I know I don’t understand all this stuff yet but I would imagine that having a strong root structure (by up-potting) would very significantly impact the size AND QUALITY of my buds. Holy shit....it’s like everything is coming into focus. Since the roots are more evenly structured and “suspended” throughout the medium, it allows instant access to the water, oxygen and nutrients it needs to survive....rather than trying to use the equivalent of a small straw to eat, drink and breathe. So up-potting seems to be one of the most important factors for a successful grow.

I’m sure it’s not necessary, and you can still grow killer stuff without up-potting, but I doubt those cannabis cup winners that we drool over the photos of went from cup to final pot. Am I nuts or should up-potting be an essential Rule#1 type thing??

I go from nursery tray pot to the 5 gallon pot. And when I do my soil dump they're just solid root masses. I don't see any need to take an extra step. Even when I go straight from clone to 5 gallon I don't have an issue. And when we used to do beds it was the same deal.

 

[Aqua Man]

After this discussion I went reading about transplanting just to understand it more...it’s crazy how important this step appears to be. My takeaway is this:

The root structure if strong and properly formed, once in flower should be like a V8 compared to a 2-stroke lawn mower engine pushing those buds, cannabinoids and all. I know I don’t understand all this stuff yet but I would imagine that having a strong root structure (by up-potting) would very significantly impact the size AND QUALITY of my buds. Holy shit....it’s like everything is coming into focus. Since the roots are more evenly structured and “suspended” throughout the medium, it allows instant access to the water, oxygen and nutrients it needs to survive....rather than trying to use the equivalent of a small straw to eat, drink and breathe. So up-potting seems to be one of the most important factors for a successful grow.

I’m sure it’s not necessary, and you can still grow killer stuff without up-potting, but I doubt those cannabis cup winners that we drool over the photos of went from cup to final pot. Am I nuts or should up-potting be an essential Rule#1 type thing??

No rules per se.

It all dependant on media imo. Soil is not the same as coco and amended with perlite is not the same as straight coco.

It's a game of air to water ratios and balancing o2 and gas exchange in the media.

No way can I see a 5 gal pot of coco being a thing indoors with coco and 100% not in a 3x3. Not even if it's a single plant scrog. 3 gal maybe 2 possibly because I have auto watering.

Soil single plant scrog I'd be 5-7 gal to fill a 3x3.

Transplanting in soil is sooo much more important than coco. Because you need to balance the wet dry cycle for o2.

Did I link the watering thread I did that explains how media, pot sizes and shapes etc all effect this?

It's all about balancing the o2

 

[Aqua Man]

Also of your transplanting I suggest start in plastic for all transplants until fabric for the final container.

 

[Dothraki]

I go from nursery tray pot to the 5 gallon pot. And when I do my soil dump they're just solid root masses. I don't see any need to take an extra step. Even when I go straight from clone to 5 gallon I don't have an issue. And when we used to do beds it was the same deal.

Hm...strange. Maybe it’s something less noticeable than the impression I got. I’d say I’ll try both methods but don’t have access to clones yet. I guess I could try with seeds but then there’s genotype/phenotype inconsistencies. But for shits and giggles maybe I‘ll do one of each.

No rules per se.

It all dependant on media imo. Soil is not the same as coco and amended with perlite is not the same as straight coco.

It's a game of air to water ratios and balancing o2 and gas exchange in the media.

No way can I see a 5 gal pot of coco being a thing indoors with coco and 100% not in a 3x3. Not even if it's a single plant scrog. 3 gal maybe 2 possibly because I have auto watering.

Soil single plant scrog I'd be 5-7 gal to fill a 3x3.

Transplanting in soil is sooo much more important than coco. Because you need to balance the wet dry cycle for o2.

Did I link the watering thread I did that explains how media, pot sizes and shapes etc all effect this?

It's all about balancing the o2

I don’t really understand the need for perlite in coco but it seems to be very common. If coco is already feeding the nutrients while allowing for oxygen, why the need for perlite? And if it’s needed for better management of this system, what would be the benefit to growing in just coco? I’ll go check out your link again.

Also of your transplanting I suggest start in plastic for all transplants until fabric for the final container.

Hahaa....that was my next question

 

[Aqua Man]

I don’t really understand the need for perlite in coco but it seems to be very common. If coco is already feeding the nutrients while allowing for oxygen, why the need for perlite? And if it’s needed for better management of this system, what would be the benefit to growing in just coco? I’ll go check out your link again

So as the pot size increases there is lower overall gas exchange (not ratio) and more volume of water.

Larger particles allow for higher drainage more air holding capacity and better gas exchange.

Say a 1 gal fabric pots of straight coco. No need for perlite because it's already small and doesn't hold a lot of water. Plus it has a high surface area % wise exposed to air which gives better gas exchange of the media (why fabric pots are IMO better).

Now a 5 gal pot of coco has much less surface area exposed to air % wise of volume. The further from air media is the less efficient the gas exchange. Middle of the pot will have the least kinda thing. Now because we have more water we can add more perlite to increase the gas exchange and air holding capacity while keeping enough water.

You see the gas exchange is far different in a 1 gal the a 5 gal of the same media. So we add perlite to compensate

 

[Dothraki]

So as the pot size increases there is lower overall gas exchange (not ratio) and more volume of water.

Larger particles allow for higher drainage more air holding capacity and better gas exchange.

Say a 1 gal fabric pots of straight coco. No need for perlite because it's already small and doesn't hold a lot of water. Plus it has a high surface area % wise exposed to air which gives better gas exchange of the media (why fabric pots are IMO better).

Now a 5 gal pot of coco has much less surface area exposed to air % wise of volume. The further from air media is the less efficient the gas exchange. Middle of the pot will have the least kinda thing. Now because we have more water we can add more perlite to increase the gas exchange and air holding capacity while keeping enough water.

You see the gas exchange is far different in a 1 gal the a 5 gal of the same media. So we add perlite to compensate

So....why the hell am I not just growing in a Hydro setup?!?

 

[Dothraki]

Everyone knows that snorting heroin isn’t quite as effective as shooting it right to the veins...surely cannabis must work in the same way. Is Hydro considered the “master race” of growing? I need to look into that some more lol.