Could someone explain soil vs coco please

[Tictok]

Hi All

I've never seen so many people growing in coco until I joined this forum.

Could someone explain the advantages over soil? It does seem like a lot of admin dialing in nutes measuring this and that etc. But the results look amazing.

Without going living soil, I try to be as organic as possible using biobizz and a lightly fertilised compost (Clover) but can this be done with coco?

I guess what I'm getting at, is can you do a more organic based coco grow (so not salt based nutes, maybe biobizz or something else) or is that just not worth it?

[seymore_budz]

People say coco has better water retention, it's cleaner, it's sustainable being a waste product before processing and it can be run as run to waste hydro so can lead to faster yields. I mix coco and batmix and run organic nutirients and I've just had a nice harvest. There are some downsides like there is to any system you choose. Coco IMO is a great media to grow in, gives you flexibility, stability and makes growing dank buds a breeze.

[Tictok]

People say coco has better water retention, it's cleaner, it's sustainable being a waste product before processing and it can be run as run to waste hydro so can lead to faster yields. I mix coco and batmix and run organic nutirients and I've just had a nice harvest. There are some downsides like there is to any system you choose. Coco IMO is a great media to grow in, gives you flexibility, stability and makes growing dank buds a breeze.

Thanks Grumpy, I may well consider it for my next run which won't be for a while.

Just out of interest, what organic nutes do you use? Do you still have to measure ph/ec etc?

[seymore_budz]

People say coco has better water retention, it's cleaner, it's sustainable being a waste product before processing and it can be run as run to waste hydro so can lead to faster yields. I mix coco and batmix and run organic nutirients and I've just had a nice harvest. There are some downsides like there is to any system you choose. Coco IMO is a great media to grow in, gives you flexibility, stability and makes growing dank buds a breeze.

Thanks Grumpy, I may well consider it for my next run which won't be for a while.

Just out of interest, what organic nutes do you use? Do you still have to measure ph/ec etc?

Because I'm organic there's no need for PH or EC measurements. Well the occasional PH measurement to double check I'm not very acidic or alkaline. I'm using Plagron Alga for base nutes and for my latest run I'm using Plant magic bio silicon, house and garden root stim 1 as it's fulvic acid and a great root stim, biosys instant tea for added beneficial bacteria and fungus, Atami alga-c universal stimulator. That's just a type of brown algae but full of L-type aminos, vitamins, polysaccharides and all sorts of goodies. Also green sensation as a bloom stim. The silicon and algae will help protect against mold and pests as well as give the plant a boost. I'm thinking of swapping over to Bio-nova products though if I can get hold of it. They have an awesome range of nutrients and additives.

[Tictok]

People say coco has better water retention, it's cleaner, it's sustainable being a waste product before processing and it can be run as run to waste hydro so can lead to faster yields. I mix coco and batmix and run organic nutirients and I've just had a nice harvest. There are some downsides like there is to any system you choose. Coco IMO is a great media to grow in, gives you flexibility, stability and makes growing dank buds a breeze.

Thanks Grumpy, I may well consider it for my next run which won't be for a while.

Just out of interest, what organic nutes do you use? Do you still have to measure ph/ec etc?

Because I'm organic there's no need for PH or EC measurements. Well the occasional PH measurement to double check I'm not very acidic or alkaline. I'm using Plagron Alga for base nutes and for my latest run I'm using Plant magic bio silicon, house and garden root stim 1 as it's fulvic acid and a great root stim, biosys instant tea for added beneficial bacteria and fungus, Atami alga-c universal stimulator. That's just a type of brown algae but full of L-type aminos, vitamins, polysaccharides and all sorts of goodies. Also green sensation as a bloom stim. The silicon and algae will help protect against mold and pests as well as give the plant a boost. I'm thinking of swapping over to Bio-nova products though if I can get hold of it. They have an awesome range of nutrients and additives.

Wow, so it is possible then. That sounds perfect for me, I'll definitely consider that after this run.

One final question if you don't mind, the problem I had when looking at living soil is you need so much of of the darn stuff. When you go organic in coco, is pot size so relevant? What size pots do you use for your organic runs?

Thanks man, really appreciate your knowledge.

[seymore_budz]

Thanks Grumpy, I may well consider it for my next run which won't be for a while.

Just out of interest, what organic nutes do you use? Do you still have to measure ph/ec etc?

Because I'm organic there's no need for PH or EC measurements. Well the occasional PH measurement to double check I'm not very acidic or alkaline. I'm using Plagron Alga for base nutes and for my latest run I'm using Plant magic bio silicon, house and garden root stim 1 as it's fulvic acid and a great root stim, biosys instant tea for added beneficial bacteria and fungus, Atami alga-c universal stimulator. That's just a type of brown algae but full of L-type aminos, vitamins, polysaccharides and all sorts of goodies. Also green sensation as a bloom stim. The silicon and algae will help protect against mold and pests as well as give the plant a boost. I'm thinking of swapping over to Bio-nova products though if I can get hold of it. They have an awesome range of nutrients and additives.

Wow, so it is possible then. That sounds perfect for me, I'll definitely consider that after this run.

One final question if you don't mind, the problem I had when looking at living soil is you need so much of of the darn stuff. When you go organic in coco, is pot size so relevant? What size pots do you use for your organic runs?

Thanks man, really appreciate your knowledge.

It really is simple, easy growing. Just how I like it. I don't get loads of time to mess about in my grow so it fits my lifestyle perfectly. 40 mins every two days minus the trim and potting up.

I'm using 4 x 18ltr pots per 1/m2. Seems to be working well. I'm not 100% living as I still rely on the bottled nutrients. I can't go crazy with bubblers and making tea as I have to keep things away from the kids and I live in a city and grow in my office so I have to keep things clean. My last grow survived on rain water for about 6 weeks before I needed to feed but these lot seem to be gobbling up the nutrients. Probably because I'm using a catalyst this time? Or the soil biology isn't doing very well. Saying that, IMO to have true living soil, you need to plant cover crops and run the soil for at least 6 months to let the microlife establish itself. It takes skill and patience to master so I'm told. Another readon why I went for mixing batmix in with the coco.

There are more efficient ways of growing like hydroponics and you can run coco like that and probably get better yields and faster plants but I'm enjoying my way. Everywhere I go people comment on how smooth my last crop was and how flavoursome it was. I've not got much experience with other styles but the guys I hang about and smoke with all have been growing for years and have used every setup you could imagine so I'm chuffed to bits to get all the compliments. Only downside is everyone has their hands in your stash lol. I yielded 13oz of a 400w HPS after about 17 weeks from seed. I might go hydro someday but for now this is working for me and I'm loving the results.

Checkout my diaries if you want to see what it looks like running. Whatever way you go, as long as you put the effort in and do the reseach, you'll be successful. I've learnt a lot by reading the posts here. Full of awesome information and budporn :)

[Tictok]

Thanks Grumpy, that sounds ideal.

I'm in the same boat Re time and kids, I've got a small loft grow that just fits two 60 x 60 m tents so I can't do hydro or have reservoirs, but I like the idea of being able to just get up there ever couple of days. It's arguable I have that now with soil, I just need to get over the over attentiveness of a beginner!

It does seem though that an organic grow is more achievable with coco and the relevant nutes, I'll look into that.

Thanks again for the reply, this helps a lot.

All the best
Tictok

[2-Scoops]

People say coco has better water retention, it's cleaner, it's sustainable being a waste product before processing and it can be run as run to waste hydro so can lead to faster yields. I mix coco and batmix and run organic nutirients and I've just had a nice harvest. There are some downsides like there is to any system you choose. Coco IMO is a great media to grow in, gives you flexibility, stability and makes growing dank buds a breeze.

Thanks Grumpy, I may well consider it for my next run which won't be for a while.

Just out of interest, what organic nutes do you use? Do you still have to measure ph/ec etc?

Because I'm organic there's no need for PH or EC measurements. Well the occasional PH measurement to double check I'm not very acidic or alkaline. I'm using Plagron Alga for base nutes and for my latest run I'm using Plant magic bio silicon, house and garden root stim 1 as it's fulvic acid and a great root stim, biosys instant tea for added beneficial bacteria and fungus, Atami alga-c universal stimulator. That's just a type of brown algae but full of L-type aminos, vitamins, polysaccharides and all sorts of goodies. Also green sensation as a bloom stim. The silicon and algae will help protect against mold and pests as well as give the plant a boost. I'm thinking of swapping over to Bio-nova products though if I can get hold of it. They have an awesome range of nutrients and additives.

Out of interest do use the bio-silicon and fulvic to get close to right ph after adding all rest now you know roughly how much is needed to keep ph in range or do you add at doses any other Joe would use them at generally ?

Also bio-silicon my little bit of grey matter is wondering what makes that more bio than any other standard lets say gro-tec silicon except maybe price ? I would have thought all silicon is naturally occuring stuff in the world from stuff used to seal in windows right to growing weed kind and none of it`s man made synthetic stuff. Maybe it`s the other shitty stuiff added to bottle with the silicon but again i would just think it`s a case of adding water to the granulated silicon powder to make your silicon additive for plants, it`s all you do with the dry RAW silicon powder mix anyhow. Feck knows tbh.

Some things i just can`t get my head around and this could well be one of them

[seymore_budz]

Thanks Grumpy, I may well consider it for my next run which won't be for a while.

Just out of interest, what organic nutes do you use? Do you still have to measure ph/ec etc?

Because I'm organic there's no need for PH or EC measurements. Well the occasional PH measurement to double check I'm not very acidic or alkaline. I'm using Plagron Alga for base nutes and for my latest run I'm using Plant magic bio silicon, house and garden root stim 1 as it's fulvic acid and a great root stim, biosys instant tea for added beneficial bacteria and fungus, Atami alga-c universal stimulator. That's just a type of brown algae but full of L-type aminos, vitamins, polysaccharides and all sorts of goodies. Also green sensation as a bloom stim. The silicon and algae will help protect against mold and pests as well as give the plant a boost. I'm thinking of swapping over to Bio-nova products though if I can get hold of it. They have an awesome range of nutrients and additives.

Out of interest do use the bio-silicon and fulvic to get close to right ph after adding all rest now you know roughly how much is needed to keep ph in range or do you add at doses any other Joe would use them at generally ?

Also bio-silicon my little bit of grey matter is wondering what makes that more bio than any other standard lets say gro-tec silicon except maybe price ? I would have thought all silicon is naturally occuring stuff in the world from stuff used to seal in windows right to growing weed kind and none of it`s man made synthetic stuff. Maybe it`s the other shitty stuiff added to bottle with the silicon but again i would just think it`s a case of adding water to the granulated silicon powder to make your silicon additive for plants, it`s all you do with the dry RAW silicon powder mix anyhow. Feck knows tbh.

Some things i just can`t get my head around and this could well be one of them

Good question Jimmy, I'm not too fussed about the PH. After adding all the additives and nutrients the PH is always around 6ish. It's that predictable that I only spot check now every few weeks.

The bio-silicon is all marketing buddy. Not all silicon is equal but the plant magic silicon is straight potassium silicate with a little red iron and humic mixed in so the average joe see's the plants green up and think it's the bio silicon lol. I'm pretty sure the humic does nothing except improve the soil a little. Thr RAW silicon is Silicon dioxide as the GT and Bio-silicon is Potassium silicate. I was told by a friend that you're better off using the later for organics. I'm not sure why but I'll ask him and get back to you.

You also have silicon acetate and silanol that I've not seen a product that uses acetate but I do know of one that uses silanol. But I think that's another thread :)

[2-Scoops]

Because I'm organic there's no need for PH or EC measurements. Well the occasional PH measurement to double check I'm not very acidic or alkaline. I'm using Plagron Alga for base nutes and for my latest run I'm using Plant magic bio silicon, house and garden root stim 1 as it's fulvic acid and a great root stim, biosys instant tea for added beneficial bacteria and fungus, Atami alga-c universal stimulator. That's just a type of brown algae but full of L-type aminos, vitamins, polysaccharides and all sorts of goodies. Also green sensation as a bloom stim. The silicon and algae will help protect against mold and pests as well as give the plant a boost. I'm thinking of swapping over to Bio-nova products though if I can get hold of it. They have an awesome range of nutrients and additives.

Out of interest do use the bio-silicon and fulvic to get close to right ph after adding all rest now you know roughly how much is needed to keep ph in range or do you add at doses any other Joe would use them at generally ?

Also bio-silicon my little bit of grey matter is wondering what makes that more bio than any other standard lets say gro-tec silicon except maybe price ? I would have thought all silicon is naturally occuring stuff in the world from stuff used to seal in windows right to growing weed kind and none of it`s man made synthetic stuff. Maybe it`s the other shitty stuiff added to bottle with the silicon but again i would just think it`s a case of adding water to the granulated silicon powder to make your silicon additive for plants, it`s all you do with the dry RAW silicon powder mix anyhow. Feck knows tbh.

Some things i just can`t get my head around and this could well be one of them

Good question Inegrajosh, I'm not too fussed about the PH. After adding all the additives and nutrients the PH is always around 6ish. It's that predictable that I only spot check now every few weeks.

The bio-silicon is all marketing buddy. Not all silicon is equal but the plant magic silicon is straight potassium silicate with a little red iron and humic mixed in so the average joe see's the plants green up and think it's the bio silicon lol. I'm pretty sure the humic does nothing except improve the soil a little. Thr RAW silicon is Silicon dioxide as the GT and Bio-silicon is Potassium silicate. I was told by a friend that you're better off using the later for organics. I'm not sure why but I'll ask him and get back to you.

You also have silicon acetate and silanol that I've not seen a product that uses acetate but I do know of one that uses silanol. But I think that's another thread :)

What`s that all about as well when they use Silica or Silicon on bottlle i mean are they both same thing and which is best ? I mean once upon a time you could only get budlink silica which is still one of most expensive brands around, but is silica more soluble or summink over silicon, feck knows mate it confuses me again, it don`t take much though. :)

Ahh i see silica is silicon dioxide on wiki, hmm more reading me thinks. :)

Atb
jimmi