What a difference pot size makes and coco coir makes.

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Texasdigger35

Texasdigger35

60
18
Growing in South Texas I deal with very high temps, high humidity and legality issues. Enough to make any sane person not attempt. The last few years I've had the ability to do some guerilla type grows in the yard blending in with large bamboo along a fence line. First year wasn't very prepared and just dug a 4ft hole 2 ft deep and transplanted 4 bagseed plants. Halfway through flower one plant spontainiously started stressing and died with 2 days...was these bastards eating at the main root.
20201026_121733.jpg
Fail, Couldn't get rid of them fast and the poisons and heat were stressing plants so not a great yield.
Last year I did 5 gal plastic containers and straight fox farm oc and plants grew good and normal just not super size. The main problem I was having was plants weren't super large and watering EVERY day. Would water in the morning but by the end of day they would be bone dry again. The peat moss eventually became quite hydrophobic despite using surfactant. Generally just a pia and too much work through whole summer for the 3 ozs per plant.
This year I went in with the goal of weekly watering. Increasing container size and modifying soil was my solution. Went with a mix 25 gallon plastic vs 25 gallon cloth pots to see if any real difference between the two. Rethinking my soil was also key. I started seeds on May 1st in a jiffy starter. 11 out of 12 germinated and were in growing within 48 hrs. Germination was the fastest id ever had with zero downtime. Plants just took off and into a temporary 5 gallon cloth pot within 5 days. 2 weeks later they were a looking awesome and huge for age.
20210527_170446.jpg

The soil mix i used for these pots included ffoc, bat guano, blood meal, bone meal, perlite and lots of worm castings. One thing I'm changing for next time is the 5 gal temp pots. I will not use cloth pots if I'm intending to transplants. The cloth pots were very tricky to get the plants out.

Then once I saw roots coming out fabric they went into big pots. The soil mix for the 25 gal was approx: 1/3 each fox farm oc, kellog potting or porch, and coco coir with the coco being on the heavier side and kellogs slightly on the lighter side. plus approx 1-2 gallons perlite and more worm castings and water until everything's partially saturated. It was a 4 hr ordeal to mix for 10 containers. Hard, but not too bad.

Good news is I didn't even have to water at all for a few weeks... freaking awesome! Had sporadic rains which helped and plants continued to grow vigorously. Finally I watered once with 3 gallons each. Maintained that once a week schedule until mid July! Awesome! So much less work and the plants grow much bigger n faster. The coco seems to be making all the difference in the world. Takes and holds water so much better.
The past couple weeks have been no rain and bigger plants so I've watered maybe every 4 days or so with 3 gallons of nutrients. If anyone's ever on the fence about using bigger pots just do it. Next time im thinking to start even earlier and use even bigger pots as 25 gal are kinda rootbound now.
1628386685041362777014018428356_71480442584604.jpg
16283866531914708020698499887038_71449739150293.jpg
 
groran

groran

23
13
I used 25-gallon cloth pots and still had roots come out the bottom where they could squeeze through and go down 6 inches into the soil below. Roots on the side were all the way to the side and were air trimming themselves there. Next planting time, I'm going in the ground and will replace the sand with my regular soil mix. I'll go 3 feet wide and 3-4 feet in the ground. I will also start much earlier next year too, about March. Hoping for 8-9 foot tall by 5-6 foot wide plants. Each one should give me at least a few ounces eh? I use a mix of fox's ocean soil with miracle grow standard potting soil, not the long-lasting 6-month stuff, sphagnum moss, perlite, and some other stuff that is supposed to be soil but looks more like wood mulch. My plants seem to love this combo. I mix liquid kelp concentrate and spray the roots and leaves twice a week to give them their minerals. My plants were growing an inch a day! I also used black metal porch screen material on top of the growing pen. I actually reduced the sun by at least 30%. The screen should last years, not like that shredded poly tarp crap that might last 3 months before dry rotting in the desert sun and high wind.
 
Last edited:
Texasdigger35

Texasdigger35

60
18
I used 25-gallon cloth pots and still had roots come out the bottom where they could squeeze through and go down 6 inches into the soil below. Roots on the side were all the way to the side and were air trimming themselves there. Next planting time, I'm going in the ground and will replace the sand with my regular soil mix. I'll go 3 feet wide and 3-4 feet in the ground. I will also start much earlier next year too, about March. Hoping for 8-9 foot tall by 5-6 foot wide plants. Each one should give me at least a few ounces eh? I use a mix of fox's ocean soil with miracle grow standard potting soil, not the long-lasting 6-month stuff, sphagnum moss, perlite, and some other stuff that is supposed to be soil but looks more like wood mulch. My plants seem to love this combo. I mix liquid kelp concentrate and spray the roots and leaves twice a week to give them their minerals. My plants were growing an inch a day! I also used black metal porch screen material on top of the growing pen. I actually reduced the sun by at least 30%. The screen should last years, not like that shredded poly tarp crap that might last 3 months before dry rotting in the desert sun and high wind.
More than a few ozs if you're going bigger than 25 gal and starting earlier you might triple that. Im seeing min 5 oz yields from these plants started in May. Cant stress how impressed with adding this coco coir as a medium. The hydrophobic aspects of soil have all but dissappeared. I used to water plants and i could tell it wasnt absorbing, just going right through the pots and out the bottom... not anymore.. i get practically no runoff. I've been feeding heavy with dakine420 and very little signs of overfeeding. The lightest of tip burn is all ive got and that was at 2.8ec pushing the issue just to see what they could handle. They just take it and beg for more... just how I like it!
I dont even move my cloth pots. I know the roots are through the bottom. Moved one and heard all them snapping and breaking underneath. Plus the bags aren't rigid and soil is disturbed when moving around. That's the downside of cloth but I do see bigger plants in general from the cloth bags and will likely continue exclusively with them.
I really like that screen idea. The sun is brutal to my terps. Might try something like that but just in last month. Thanks for the bright... not so bright idea (;
 
Mugwort

Mugwort

394
63
Growing in South Texas I deal with very high temps, high humidity and legality issues. Enough to make any sane person not attempt. The last few years I've had the ability to do some guerilla type grows in the yard blending in with large bamboo along a fence line. First year wasn't very prepared and just dug a 4ft hole 2 ft deep and transplanted 4 bagseed plants. Halfway through flower one plant spontainiously started stressing and died with 2 days...was these bastards eating at the main root.View attachment 1155311Fail, Couldn't get rid of them fast and the poisons and heat were stressing plants so not a great yield.
Last year I did 5 gal plastic containers and straight fox farm oc and plants grew good and normal just not super size. The main problem I was having was plants weren't super large and watering EVERY day. Would water in the morning but by the end of day they would be bone dry again. The peat moss eventually became quite hydrophobic despite using surfactant. Generally just a pia and too much work through whole summer for the 3 ozs per plant.
This year I went in with the goal of weekly watering. Increasing container size and modifying soil was my solution. Went with a mix 25 gallon plastic vs 25 gallon cloth pots to see if any real difference between the two. Rethinking my soil was also key. I started seeds on May 1st in a jiffy starter. 11 out of 12 germinated and were in growing within 48 hrs. Germination was the fastest id ever had with zero downtime. Plants just took off and into a temporary 5 gallon cloth pot within 5 days. 2 weeks later they were a looking awesome and huge for age. View attachment 1155318
The soil mix i used for these pots included ffoc, bat guano, blood meal, bone meal, perlite and lots of worm castings. One thing I'm changing for next time is the 5 gal temp pots. I will not use cloth pots if I'm intending to transplants. The cloth pots were very tricky to get the plants out.

Then once I saw roots coming out fabric they went into big pots. The soil mix for the 25 gal was approx: 1/3 each fox farm oc, kellog potting or porch, and coco coir with the coco being on the heavier side and kellogs slightly on the lighter side. plus approx 1-2 gallons perlite and more worm castings and water until everything's partially saturated. It was a 4 hr ordeal to mix for 10 containers. Hard, but not too bad.

Good news is I didn't even have to water at all for a few weeks... freaking awesome! Had sporadic rains which helped and plants continued to grow vigorously. Finally I watered once with 3 gallons each. Maintained that once a week schedule until mid July! Awesome! So much less work and the plants grow much bigger n faster. The coco seems to be making all the difference in the world. Takes and holds water so much better.
The past couple weeks have been no rain and bigger plants so I've watered maybe every 4 days or so with 3 gallons of nutrients. If anyone's ever on the fence about using bigger pots just do it. Next time im thinking to start even earlier and use even bigger pots as 25 gal are kinda rootbound now. View attachment 1155323View attachment 1155325
More than a few ozs if you're going bigger than 25 gal and starting earlier you might triple that. Im seeing min 5 oz yields from these plants started in May. Cant stress how impressed with adding this coco coir as a medium. The hydrophobic aspects of soil have all but dissappeared. I used to water plants and i could tell it wasnt absorbing, just going right through the pots and out the bottom... not anymore.. i get practically no runoff. I've been feeding heavy with dakine420 and very little signs of overfeeding. The lightest of tip burn is all ive got and that was at 2.8ec pushing the issue just to see what they could handle. They just take it and beg for more... just how I like it!
I dont even move my cloth pots. I know the roots are through the bottom. Moved one and heard all them snapping and breaking underneath. Plus the bags aren't rigid and soil is disturbed when moving around. That's the downside of cloth but I do see bigger plants in general from the cloth bags and will likely continue exclusively with them.
I really like that screen idea. The sun is brutal to my terps. Might try something like that but just in last month. Thanks for the bright... not so bright idea (;
They look healthy
 
Mugwort

Mugwort

394
63
Growing in South Texas I deal with very high temps, high humidity and legality issues. Enough to make any sane person not attempt. The last few years I've had the ability to do some guerilla type grows in the yard blending in with large bamboo along a fence line. First year wasn't very prepared and just dug a 4ft hole 2 ft deep and transplanted 4 bagseed plants. Halfway through flower one plant spontainiously started stressing and died with 2 days...was these bastards eating at the main root.View attachment 1155311Fail, Couldn't get rid of them fast and the poisons and heat were stressing plants so not a great yield.
Last year I did 5 gal plastic containers and straight fox farm oc and plants grew good and normal just not super size. The main problem I was having was plants weren't super large and watering EVERY day. Would water in the morning but by the end of day they would be bone dry again. The peat moss eventually became quite hydrophobic despite using surfactant. Generally just a pia and too much work through whole summer for the 3 ozs per plant.
This year I went in with the goal of weekly watering. Increasing container size and modifying soil was my solution. Went with a mix 25 gallon plastic vs 25 gallon cloth pots to see if any real difference between the two. Rethinking my soil was also key. I started seeds on May 1st in a jiffy starter. 11 out of 12 germinated and were in growing within 48 hrs. Germination was the fastest id ever had with zero downtime. Plants just took off and into a temporary 5 gallon cloth pot within 5 days. 2 weeks later they were a looking awesome and huge for age. View attachment 1155318
The soil mix i used for these pots included ffoc, bat guano, blood meal, bone meal, perlite and lots of worm castings. One thing I'm changing for next time is the 5 gal temp pots. I will not use cloth pots if I'm intending to transplants. The cloth pots were very tricky to get the plants out.

Then once I saw roots coming out fabric they went into big pots. The soil mix for the 25 gal was approx: 1/3 each fox farm oc, kellog potting or porch, and coco coir with the coco being on the heavier side and kellogs slightly on the lighter side. plus approx 1-2 gallons perlite and more worm castings and water until everything's partially saturated. It was a 4 hr ordeal to mix for 10 containers. Hard, but not too bad.

Good news is I didn't even have to water at all for a few weeks... freaking awesome! Had sporadic rains which helped and plants continued to grow vigorously. Finally I watered once with 3 gallons each. Maintained that once a week schedule until mid July! Awesome! So much less work and the plants grow much bigger n faster. The coco seems to be making all the difference in the world. Takes and holds water so much better.
The past couple weeks have been no rain and bigger plants so I've watered maybe every 4 days or so with 3 gallons of nutrients. If anyone's ever on the fence about using bigger pots just do it. Next time im thinking to start even earlier and use even bigger pots as 25 gal are kinda rootbound now. View attachment 1155323View attachment 1155325
What are the critters called that were munching your plants? Narly looking!
 
Madmax

Madmax

4,733
313
Im pretty sure they turn into christmas beetles or something...
 
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