texastiger707
Active Member
I will be growing 3 plants. I have fox farm happy frog soil. I also have coco coir which I have never tried. I will be using 2 gallon smart pots. So what is easier to grow in? The soil or coco coir?
what grow medium is easier to grow in?
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texastiger707
Active Member
yes yes, thank you for the reply. happy new year..
Kind of depends on how you want to grow... But my vote is for soil.
Some will tell you that soil is easier because the nutrients the plant needs already present in the soil, you just need to supplement occasionally, (depending on how rich your soil is and also the strain your cultivating.) if you have a decent soil and enough of it, it is possible that you won't need nutes at all ( do a google search for "subcool's super soil" for example). However, with only two or three gals of soil, you're probably going to need to supplement with nutes especially during flowering.
Coco coir contains no nutrients so you have to add them from the start in order for the plant to survive. Some will say that coco is easier because it's ph neutral, distributes moisture more evenly than soil, allows roots to grow quickly and allows the grower complete control over nutrients.
Potential drawbacks to using soil:
1) fungus gnats....which seem to appear no matter what brand is used....but these are easily controlled by putting an inch of sand on the top layer of soil provided the infestation isn't too crazy. A good rule of thumb is if you see even a single gnat, cover the soil with sand. That's after the beans have germinated of course.
2) if you get a really hot soil it could burn the plants right out of the gate.
3) you should really check the ph of the soil before popping any beans because if it's too acidic or too alkaline you can easily wind up with sick plants due to nutrient lockout. If the ph is off, adjust the ph of the soil before you even fill those 2 gal smartpots with anything. As the saying goes...a stitch, in time, saves nine. If you start with a poorly ph'd soil you're going to have problems throughout, and that's a real PITA to deal with.
Some will tell you that soil is easier because the nutrients the plant needs already present in the soil, you just need to supplement occasionally, (depending on how rich your soil is and also the strain your cultivating.) if you have a decent soil and enough of it, it is possible that you won't need nutes at all ( do a google search for "subcool's super soil" for example). However, with only two or three gals of soil, you're probably going to need to supplement with nutes especially during flowering.
Coco coir contains no nutrients so you have to add them from the start in order for the plant to survive. Some will say that coco is easier because it's ph neutral, distributes moisture more evenly than soil, allows roots to grow quickly and allows the grower complete control over nutrients.
Potential drawbacks to using soil:
1) fungus gnats....which seem to appear no matter what brand is used....but these are easily controlled by putting an inch of sand on the top layer of soil provided the infestation isn't too crazy. A good rule of thumb is if you see even a single gnat, cover the soil with sand. That's after the beans have germinated of course.
2) if you get a really hot soil it could burn the plants right out of the gate.
3) you should really check the ph of the soil before popping any beans because if it's too acidic or too alkaline you can easily wind up with sick plants due to nutrient lockout. If the ph is off, adjust the ph of the soil before you even fill those 2 gal smartpots with anything. As the saying goes...a stitch, in time, saves nine. If you start with a poorly ph'd soil you're going to have problems throughout, and that's a real PITA to deal with.
Slipon
Well-Known Member
seems like most have been covered (nice post 3cpo)
I have done both and would suggest you to start out in soil as it is more forgive for a fist timer, yes I believe coco is more easy to deal with on a every day base when your dialed in and know what you're doing, as it is as easy to fuck up as it is to correct and you have to be a lot more careful when mixing the nuts and correcting the PH (witch should be around 5,6 - 6 in coco and about 6-7 in soil)
coco do give results closer to hydro (faster grow and better yield then in soil) but you need to be "over it" a PH pen would be a good investment and maybe even a ecc pen or one that can measure both so you know your water contains the right amount of nuts and your PH is spot on, another thing in coco is the Ca/Mg so if you dont have a nutrients line specific for coco/hydro you will have to add some extra Ca/Mg (calcium/magnesium) and even with a nute line for coco you might have to help with the Ca as coco kind a absorb the Ca ..
soil and specialy a good soil have most nutrients and micros/trace elements in it to start with and watering will be more forgiven as long as the water go in about 6-7 in PH and a good organic soil with a good active micro life in it will even correct the PH if its off to much ..
only thing I see that will be more easy with coco for a fist timer is the fact that it more easy to over water in soil (as it is one of the common mistakes newbies make) coco is almost impossible to over water ..
as allready mention a good SS (SS = super soil) will take care of most for you, both correcting the PH for you and you wont need to add many nuts yourself depending on what you mixed in to your SS
when I mix a SS I usually make one for my Veg pots and one for my flowering pots (in short there is more nitrogen in the Veg mix and more P. in the flowering pots)
but I also like to mix in about 20-30% coco in my SS (can't believe nobody els mention this already ?) as it make the soil more light and airy, and one thing weed like and is very important beside the right PH when mixing your soil is to make sure its light and airy, weed have a hugh root net and like air to its roots so stuff like Perlite and Lega Nuts is also stuff that is nice to mix in to your SS
beside the things already mention I like to mix stuff like blood/bone/kelp meal, Dolomite Lime/Mearl, Epsom Salt, Bat Guano aso. in to my soil mix ..
but do try to google it, there are many recipes out there, but a basic and simple one, could be 20% Perlite 20% coco and 60% Organic soil with a PH around 6,5 (6-7 is ok) mixed with a cup of Dolomite Lime per 2 gallon of soil mix and then just get a normal basic 2 part nuts line to add once the plant need it (most likely after 3-4 weeks and starting on low)
I have done both and would suggest you to start out in soil as it is more forgive for a fist timer, yes I believe coco is more easy to deal with on a every day base when your dialed in and know what you're doing, as it is as easy to fuck up as it is to correct and you have to be a lot more careful when mixing the nuts and correcting the PH (witch should be around 5,6 - 6 in coco and about 6-7 in soil)
coco do give results closer to hydro (faster grow and better yield then in soil) but you need to be "over it" a PH pen would be a good investment and maybe even a ecc pen or one that can measure both so you know your water contains the right amount of nuts and your PH is spot on, another thing in coco is the Ca/Mg so if you dont have a nutrients line specific for coco/hydro you will have to add some extra Ca/Mg (calcium/magnesium) and even with a nute line for coco you might have to help with the Ca as coco kind a absorb the Ca ..
soil and specialy a good soil have most nutrients and micros/trace elements in it to start with and watering will be more forgiven as long as the water go in about 6-7 in PH and a good organic soil with a good active micro life in it will even correct the PH if its off to much ..
only thing I see that will be more easy with coco for a fist timer is the fact that it more easy to over water in soil (as it is one of the common mistakes newbies make) coco is almost impossible to over water ..
as allready mention a good SS (SS = super soil) will take care of most for you, both correcting the PH for you and you wont need to add many nuts yourself depending on what you mixed in to your SS
when I mix a SS I usually make one for my Veg pots and one for my flowering pots (in short there is more nitrogen in the Veg mix and more P. in the flowering pots)
but I also like to mix in about 20-30% coco in my SS (can't believe nobody els mention this already ?) as it make the soil more light and airy, and one thing weed like and is very important beside the right PH when mixing your soil is to make sure its light and airy, weed have a hugh root net and like air to its roots so stuff like Perlite and Lega Nuts is also stuff that is nice to mix in to your SS
beside the things already mention I like to mix stuff like blood/bone/kelp meal, Dolomite Lime/Mearl, Epsom Salt, Bat Guano aso. in to my soil mix ..
but do try to google it, there are many recipes out there, but a basic and simple one, could be 20% Perlite 20% coco and 60% Organic soil with a PH around 6,5 (6-7 is ok) mixed with a cup of Dolomite Lime per 2 gallon of soil mix and then just get a normal basic 2 part nuts line to add once the plant need it (most likely after 3-4 weeks and starting on low)
Without a doubt this is your best option for a high-quality soil mix. It's about as quick and simple as it gets and you can get great results. Use the foxfarm happy frog soil you have for the 60% part, and you've got the coco already so just get ya some perlite, lime and simple nutes, and you're golden!
texastiger707
Active Member
thank you very much for the reply. happy new year...
texastiger707
Active Member
I was curious if I use this soil mix. Do I still need to PH my water? I have perlite and fox farm trio nutes already.
The easiest is a soil. perlite, co co mixed blend. ( Soil mixed with the usual fixings, guano, worm castings, buffers etc )
Something that is light but doesn't dry out too fast...or too slow.
Try a couple of mixes and go from there.
I find that the properly mixed soil from the stops many a future head ache.
Good soil mix makes growing weed much... much better.
Something that is light but doesn't dry out too fast...or too slow.
Try a couple of mixes and go from there.
I find that the properly mixed soil from the stops many a future head ache.
Good soil mix makes growing weed much... much better.
The soil will act as a buffer and a really good one at that. Provided you've adjusted and checked the PH of the soil and its in the 6.5-7 range then its not absolutely necessary to adjust the water... if it's just straight water. I suppose an exception to this would be if you check the PH of your water and it's naturally extremely high or low. (Mine has always been around 7.2 - 7.3, I dont bother to PH that and I have had zero problems using that water with my soil PH'd around 6.5-6.6)
However, you will definately want to adjust the ph of the water/nutrient mixes that you make. A couple milliliters of nute solution can cause a fairly significant change in the ph of the water and if you don't adjust you risk causing harm and stunting growth - something everyone wants to avoid. So even if you didn't ph your water to start with, you'll eventually have to check and adjust the ph of the water/nute solution you use to feed the ladies.
For example, this how it works for me. Weeks 1-3 straight water (sometimes ill go longer with straight water)
Usually around week 4 of veg I start using veg nutes at 20%-25% of the recommended strength every other watering. When added, that brings the PH of the water to the mid 6's. I don't bother to adjust that but I do check it to make sure. Observe for a week or so and if plant responds well, I increase to 50% nutes every other watering and that puts my water's PH at aroun 5.8 (too low for soil.) That I will adjust back up to the mid to high 6's. I never get to using 100% strength nutes -for me the risk of nute burn at that point far outweighs any benefit i might get from using 100% v 50% nutes. Plus my soil is pretty rich and doesn't require that level of supplementation to get really nice results.
However, you will definately want to adjust the ph of the water/nutrient mixes that you make. A couple milliliters of nute solution can cause a fairly significant change in the ph of the water and if you don't adjust you risk causing harm and stunting growth - something everyone wants to avoid. So even if you didn't ph your water to start with, you'll eventually have to check and adjust the ph of the water/nute solution you use to feed the ladies.
For example, this how it works for me. Weeks 1-3 straight water (sometimes ill go longer with straight water)
Usually around week 4 of veg I start using veg nutes at 20%-25% of the recommended strength every other watering. When added, that brings the PH of the water to the mid 6's. I don't bother to adjust that but I do check it to make sure. Observe for a week or so and if plant responds well, I increase to 50% nutes every other watering and that puts my water's PH at aroun 5.8 (too low for soil.) That I will adjust back up to the mid to high 6's. I never get to using 100% strength nutes -for me the risk of nute burn at that point far outweighs any benefit i might get from using 100% v 50% nutes. Plus my soil is pretty rich and doesn't require that level of supplementation to get really nice results.
