Rollingstoney
New Member
What the different between soil an coco pros an cons? Water schedule, feed nutrient, yield, an etc.
Soil or coco
- Thread starter Rollingstoney
- Start date
hotrodharley
Well-Known Member
Oh sweet Jesus.
poundofyourfinest
Well-Known Member
Coco would actually be a soilless mix, so if you are asking the difference between bagged ready to use soil or a soilless mix, coco alone needs amendments and aeration added to it before you use it unless you are feeding hydroponically, a bagged soil would be ready to use supposedly. Coco is just part of the soilless mix
sarahJane211
Well-Known Member
I never managed to grow in soil, they all died.
But in coco I had no problems, everything grew well.
So if you want to compare yields,
soil = zero
coco = plenty
That might just be me though.
But in coco I had no problems, everything grew well.
So if you want to compare yields,
soil = zero
coco = plenty
That might just be me though.
MICHI-CAN
Well-Known Member
The thing that works is the only answer. Soil/coco blend here and only water until 5th week. Then top dress. Force nutes if I want. But not needed. LOL. I'm lazy and old.
T macc
Well-Known Member
Soil pros:
-it's easy
Soil cons:
-You'll need to amend it, or make a water/feed routine.
-Can be slow
-Needs bigger pots for root space
Coco pros:
-it's also easy
-No need to go higher than 3 gallon pots, EVER.
-Faster growth rate (feed from sprout)
Coco cons:
-you'll need to feed at every water.
-Keeping up with the ph.
-Multiple waterings in a single day (get an automatic system)
-it's easy
Soil cons:
-You'll need to amend it, or make a water/feed routine.
-Can be slow
-Needs bigger pots for root space
Coco pros:
-it's also easy
-No need to go higher than 3 gallon pots, EVER.
-Faster growth rate (feed from sprout)
Coco cons:
-you'll need to feed at every water.
-Keeping up with the ph.
-Multiple waterings in a single day (get an automatic system)
MICHI-CAN
Well-Known Member
I custom mix 4 part local organic soils. Then amend with 4 part online goodies. Just water or push with one part water soluble fert.
3 gallon pots after 3 week veg from clones.
And rootball from 10' plant. Soil is just not understood by most. And you can't read it with probe. LOL.
twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
T macc
Well-Known Member
Noice!! Is that a single plant? From a 3 gallon?
MICHI-CAN
Well-Known Member
I like my digital crutches also. But they can't do what this does. LMAO. Tried and proven. Replenished and shelf stable for another 20years+.
twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
I bought it thinking I'd be needing to use it all the time. Stupid YouTube videos lmao. I used it maybe twice. Not needed for coco.
MICHI-CAN
Well-Known Member
5 gallon hole in hard pack clay. Basically terra cotta. It is root health and proper wet dry cycles to maximize you pot potential. Look at the roots of your next harvest in soil. I bet the most are in a dense mass at the bottom of the pot. Wasted real estate above them due to growing plants and not roots.
My understanding is all. Ty for allowing me to share.
Rurumo
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind with coco you will need accurate tds and ph meters, not the cheapies, and you will need to get good at mixing nutrients for each stage of growth. You will spend a LOT more time "feeding" your plants, as you feed them nutrients instead of plain water-so be sure you have the time to mix up nutrients and feed your plants at least twice per day, once they are full sized. With soil, you main concern will be overwatering your plants, but once you get watering down, soil is much more forgiving. I'd recommend soil for a first grow unless you are commited to a lot of research into coco. Start here to understand "cation exchange capacity" and the reason you need to keep coco constantly moist (and fed) https://www.icmag.com/forum/marijuana-growing/growing-in-coco-coir/308425-the-chemistry-behind-coco-coir-a-strange-journey-from-ferts-bottle-to-to-buds?t=307683. As far as nutrients, Maxibloom is a good choice for a new person-don't buy into the bottled nutrient hype- check out this thread for more info https://www.icmag.com/forum/marijuana-growing/nutrients-and-fertilizers/189616-the-k-i-s-s-method?t=191645
Good luck!
Good luck!
Autofire
Well-Known Member
Soil takes less of your time for waterings but is harder to fix if things go wrong. You can underwater or overwater soil plus soil has an unknown quantity of nutrients and Coco doesn't. So fixing deficiencies can be very difficult in soil but in coco is as simple as flushing and running a fresh balanced feed.
Setting up an automatic watering system is cheap and easy to do. About 80 bucks will get you sorted for a 4 plant system. And once you go auto all you do is mix up a tank of nutes about once a week and empty your drainage.
Setting up an automatic watering system is cheap and easy to do. About 80 bucks will get you sorted for a 4 plant system. And once you go auto all you do is mix up a tank of nutes about once a week and empty your drainage.
shackleferd
Well-Known Member
My yields increased with coir, its very easy to fix a screw up. Single flush will do the trick. Impossible to over water with coco/perlite mix 75/25. And those nasty fungus gnats are a thing of the past.
Coir usually sucks up calcium and magnesium so adding 2 to 5ml of calmag per gallon usually does the trick. Starting a seedling in coir is a bit finicky since it sucks up calcium and magnesium even with calmag but after she gets going it clears up.
With soil my plants leaves looked a bit healthier especially near the end of flower. Both have its pros and cons but if i had to choose it would be coir
This is my experience with coco "coir" your grow might be different
Coir usually sucks up calcium and magnesium so adding 2 to 5ml of calmag per gallon usually does the trick. Starting a seedling in coir is a bit finicky since it sucks up calcium and magnesium even with calmag but after she gets going it clears up.
With soil my plants leaves looked a bit healthier especially near the end of flower. Both have its pros and cons but if i had to choose it would be coir
This is my experience with coco "coir" your grow might be different
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twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
Great points. Although some may not need extra calcium or magnesium depending on their water source and/or nutrients. My seedlings have slowly been getting better with each try.
I use Canna Coco Professional and flush it with low EC solution before use. This helps rinse out any "fines" and primes the coco for germination.
lusidghost
Well-Known Member
I've been using 6" coco cubes all pushed together into one big square with panda film covering my trays. I have a few empty cubes to every cube with a plant. I just got through the stretch phase, and it looks like I'm going to be able to go 3 days without watering them. Not being able take a day off, let alone a weekend, has always been my biggest gripe with coco. I'll check again before they go dark, but this might be the solution.
lusidghost
Well-Known Member
This has a cold war Russian vibe.