IndooorGardnerOhio
Well-Known Member
Ok, So Dr.Bugbee's Soilless blend is 50% Peat,50% Vermiculite,Dolomitic Lime 40g per cubic foot,Gypsum 10 grams per cubic foot, Would it be a bad Idea to Mix Coco Coir in with this blend?
Is it a bad Idea?
- Thread starter IndooorGardnerOhio
- Start date
MtRainDog
Well-Known Member
That mix as is doesn't contain any food for the plants, so you'll end up feeding every watering. If you want to add coco, you might as well just go 100% coco at that point. Otherwise I don't think coco adds anything of value to the mix. Nor does the vermiculite. Vermiculite retains moisture which is counter to what you want in your soil mix. You'd be better off replacing the vermiculite with perlite.
Mumbeltypeg
Well-Known Member
If your going to try and follow Dr Bugbees advice then why not just follow it? The man’s educated af and shares all his information on what he does.
If you want to make a chocolate cake you use chocolate… you don’t swap the chocolate for coffee.. might still taste alright but it won’t be a chocolate cake.. y’dig?
MickFoster
Well-Known Member
Just use coco and perlite........you can thank me later.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Imo, coco and autowatering, makes things very easy.
MissinThe90’sStrains
Well-Known Member
Search through some of the older threads. Most basic questions have already been discussed, and you’ll get much more thorough answers.
IndooorGardnerOhio
Well-Known Member
Oh i hate perlite with a passion. All it ends up doing is floating to the top when you water and then you have a top layer of perlite and very little of it left in the soil doing what its suppose to. Plus it adds noting nutrient wise to the blend, at least vermiculite adds silica. just my expierences with it in food growing.
IndooorGardnerOhio
Well-Known Member
Oh I am on my first grow, to the letter, but down the line i might want to expirement and was just wondering if there was a reason it was a bad idea that I wasnt seeing.If your going to try and follow Dr Bugbees advice then why not just follow it? The man’s educated af and shares all his information on what he does.
If you want to make a chocolate cake you use chocolate… you don’t swap the chocolate for coffee.. might still taste alright but it won’t be a chocolate cake.. y’dig?
SnidleyBluntash
Well-Known Member
Yes bad idea. No not add coco to something. It doesn’t work. It has different property’s and it only cause you problems. Just use something as it states to start out with.
IndooorGardnerOhio
Well-Known Member
That was the plan Low dose Nutes at every watering. Just like Dr.Bugbee suggests He says Water With Ferts should be About 1.27 EC meter Which converts to about 889 PPM at every watering. He also uses "the blue stuff" tho he didnt list a name brand when he showed his fert note book the first one in the book was Jacks and he says to use a 20-10-20 npk.
IndooorGardnerOhio
Well-Known Member
I plan to thanks! This is why I ask some sometimes i like to expirement and well, it may look like a good Idea on paper, but that doesnt mean it is in pratice .
MtRainDog
Well-Known Member
Depends how you water. I have automated drippers and don't have that problem.
IndooorGardnerOhio
Well-Known Member
I do not have an auto water system, and I am pretty sure im setting up a SIP or Doing it in a cloth Bag, Or A combo of the two, Cloth bag inside a SIP Bucket.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
If you're going to use a sip, l.o.s., is the way to go, imo. There's no way to water to runoff in a sip.
shnkrmn
Well-Known Member
100% perlite. Perlite provides great aeration and drainage.
Billy the Mountain
Well-Known Member
The Bugbee mix and nute recommendations are for DTW.
If you really want to follow his method, you should actually follow his method.
SIPs are quite different.
It doesn't get any cheaper or easier than a brick of coco and a bag of megacrop for a first grow.
Ravnik68
Member
Sounds like "Hempy" style growing. Worked pretty well for me few yrs ago.
IndooorGardnerOhio
Well-Known Member
Cloth Bag and DTW it is! Thanks, He didnt cover how he grew just the media in the video I personally watched. No mention of DTW that I recall
Blue brother
Well-Known Member
It is definitely drain to waste, as in he doesn’t recycle the run off, if I were you I’d just stick to the same pots he uses (plastic) rather than using fabric pots, unless you’re irrigating multiple times a day the moisture content of the media will be inconsistent throughout the pot, due to the sides drying out much quicker.