Growing Mediums for noobs

[narcotics420]

Hi everyone

 

just wondering from the experienced foe's on here what medium would suit a noob to indoor growing and why?

 

much appreciated narcotics420

[dani]

hey 420

 

ok i'll bite and set off the debate this will probably cause

 

i use coco and clayballs top and bottom..

coco is hard to overwater, (although my daughter seems to have the knack ) it has good drainage and is so easy to flush if there's a problem ..

clay balls on bottom of pot help with drainage and also to spread out and aerate the roots.. clayballs on top are a deterrent to gnats cos the sharp balls will cut them

 

[narcotics420]

alight sweet dani thanks heaps i could imagine how many different responses i will get but i'm keen to hear what everyone thinks what do you think just pots under some lights to start then wok my way into it slowly or do u think its better to jump straight into it was thinking DWC setup with 20lt buckets but they are so bulky man take up heaps of space anyway enough of my jibber jabber whats everyone think

thanks narcotics 420

[Frazz]

pot 1/3 full of scoria rock, fill the rest with perlite ... why i use this? cause it works well for my simple hand-watering arrangements

 

DWC is brilliant and fantastic at the same time, BUT i wouldnt advise doing it 1st time round, this time is your apprenticeship

1st get to know Cannabis's growing habits, likes and dis-likes, etc, using the most simple system you can cobble together

 

then go sick on DWC

 

[narcotics420]

thanks frazz scoria rock is that volcanic rock or different? what size pots? how often do u have to water them frazz? pearlite dry's up pretty quick though..

[STONEDAJ69]

I'm with frazz, but i dont even know what scoria is... Just dig up your driveway gravel (or a neighbours, doesn't matter), line the base of the pot with that then top off with perlite.

[bufo marinus]

I started with hand watered Perlite, and think it's a great way to learn about Hydroponic gardening as long as you can be around to water every day or two. Pumping water around is the next obvious step to making the grow easier however attention to details like drain lines, pumps, timers etc can be a bit daunting and easy to stuff up until things are sorted.

Hand watered Coco is almost an organic way to grow, those mulled up coconut husks are like nice clean dirt so it is different to using straight perlite or straight clay balls(Hydroton). Watering times are further apart as the coco holds 'the right amount' of water/nutrient and won't easily overwater. I agree with what dani said except for (respectfully) the part about the clay balls on top, they won't stop/cut scarid fly, scoria will,... the clay balls on top are there to break the surface tension of the water so it soaks into the crusty top layer of coco evenly. Scarid fly show up to feast on decaying roots, guaranteed, I've decayed plenty of healthy root masses

Phytocell I wouldn't bother with, no one seems to be able to get the watering right.

DWC, if you understand how important oxygen is to the root mass and pumps and blocked drain lines don't scare you then go for it. Hands down the most efficient way to grow bar none (aeroponics is really just another form of DWC) and really quite easy once your setup is sorted. Indycar's idea with the drain line on the high water level of the pot is still the cleverest idea I have seen, so simple yet very very clever and eliminates blocked drain line problems inherrent with any pump set up.

If your going indoors buy the right lighting set up first too; 600HPS + cool tube + 150mm centrifugal exhaust. Carbon air filter to cut down the stink is optional. The cool tubes are fricken awesome and will stop the roots of your plants getting too warm which is one of the biggest problems indoor growers have to get there head around, keeping the roots happy.

Best of british luck to you

[dani]

"I agree with what dani said except for (respectfully) the part about the clay balls on top, they won't stop/cut scarid fly, scoria will,... the clay balls on top are there to break the surface tension of the water so it soaks into the crusty top layer of coco evenly. Scarid fly show up to feast on decaying roots, guaranteed, I've decayed plenty of healthy root masses "

 

 

cool bufo thanks for the tip and lesson

 

[Syb3 rm3nt41_%20]

Coco and perlite, 75% coco 25% perlite ...... when the plants are small though ..... up to 40-50% perlite (the rest being just coco) ... as the plant grows decrease perlite back to 25%......when there is a lot of perlite in the medium when plants are small root growth is phenomenal and i think it is important to stimulate root-growth early on .... the plants seem to be god damn indestructable when rootgrowth is stimulated early on in their lifecycle ...... so i like to use a higher concentration of perlite to coco when theyre small ...... its possible to introduce beneficial bacteria into this kind of medium.... i think the buds taste better than straight hydro nugs when grown in coco imo......... especially if youre feeding the plants organic bloom nutrients.......

 

peace n pot,

[Auntynorm]

G'day N.

I have a soil recipe at the start of my grow diary. I've found it to work well for new growers, this is only my second indoor effort. I just transfered what I'd been doing outdoors, for over 30 years, and it works. Grow hard.

 

:guitar: