medium

[allhailthebud]

hey all

 

i decided on my final grow. no pissy 30cm tall cardboard box anymore.

 

im going to get a wardrobe, and have 5 plants in it.

 

i was wondering on the best medium to have for my plants ?

 

is plain old potting mix good?

 

whats the advantages of cocoa and perlite ?

 

ta

 

while im posting, should clones be under 18/6 light ?

 

could i put a mother plant under a 20w CF globe ? and keep it from flowering by keeping it on 24/7 light ?

Edited March 30, 2005 by allhailthebud

[nitram]

I grow in Coco Chior (fiber) and use Canna coco specific nutes.

 

During flower I use COGr - Flores nutes :whistling

 

To get to this point, I pot up in stages 2" square, then 6", and finally in 9".

 

I grow from clone and finish in 45 - 50 days.

 

:yingyang

NK.

[quizywig]

i use the clay balls, have done for several grows, it keeps it all very simple and cuts down on any bugs or nastys you might get in a grow room with pottting mix or similar, its largely a personal thing i guess there are a lot of different mediums, but if your new to hydro the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)method is best.

at the moment all im using is the clay balls and DM flore nutes, thats it.

[Guest Eikel]

Hi Allhail,

 

Glad you decided to start growing, my answers to your questions are in-line:

 

hey all

 

i decided on my final grow. no pissy 30cm tall cardboard box anymore.

 

im going to get a wardrobe, and have 5 plants in it.

 

i was wondering on the best medium to have for my plants ?

 

There is really no "Best" medium, the medium of your choice depends on what

you are looking to do.

 

is plain old potting mix good?

 

Sure is - my biggest plant was grown in potting-mix and perlite (50/50 ratio), unfortunately it was a Hermie

 

whats the advantages of cocoa and perlite ?

 

CoCo and Potting-Mix are quite similar mediums, with CoCo slightly easier to

maintain due to it's "neutrality" in terms of pH.

 

Perlite is a porus material that adds drainage to your medium, if I was to start

out from scratch my first grow would've been a "Thrive" (Yates) Potting-Mix and Perlite medium mixed in equal quantities.

 

 

while im posting, should clones be under 18/6 light ?

 

Yes, Clones should be kept under 18/6 unless you want them to flower.

At the moment I'm keeping mine under 20/4 but will switch to 18/6 next

week based off advice from some more experienced growers.

 

could i put a mother plant under a 20w CF globe ? and keep it from flowering by keeping it on 24/7 light ?

 

Yep, a CF globe will do fine, and will grow much slower than a HID would grow them.

So for a mother that's fine.

 

Hope this helps!

[animal]

OK here is my quick summary of mediums.

 

coco / soil / rockwool - all these mediums retain a high amount of moisture and are mostly suited to run to waste systems. These types of mediums are dense and hold a lot of moisture and require smaller waterings less often and provide a higher level of rootzone security both in terms of temperature changes and watering failure. The disadvantage of these types of mediums is that they are susceptible to over watering causing rootrot, and it is easier for pests to live and breed in them.

 

perlite - This can be mixed in with soil or coco mediums to improve drainage and oxygen availability for the roots. It can also be used by itself in either recirculating or run to waste systems. If used in run to waste vermiculite can be added to improve water retention. Its advantage is that it is a less dense medium that coco or rockwool so is less susceptible to pests and root rot. Its disadvantage is that it provides less rootzone security and will dry out faster.

 

With all the above mediums a layer of clay balls across the top of the pots will keep the surface dry making pest infestation less likely and also guards against algae or other unwanted growths on the surface of the medium.

 

Clay balls - Can be mixed in with perlite or coco to improve airation but by themselves they are only suited to recirculated systems or in netpots for water cultures (bubblers). They provide a highly airated medium but little water retention and therefore little rootzone security. Your plants will suffer quickly if you get a watering failure. Its advantage is that it is less susceptible to pest infestation and in small setups is suited to a recirculating system which is more space efficient than a run to waste system.