First Timer

[Pure]

I am a first time grower but I have grown and cultivated quite a few sharmanic species and know a little about general plant care I was just after a little advice

 

I got my clones today but I I still need a few peices to complete my hydro set what I was wondering is how would the plants take to a vermicilite, perlite , and coco mix temporaraly in a pot any one know or tried ? if so I would appeciate some ratios I was thining 1/3 perlite, 1/3 verm , 1/3 Coco ( basicly just replacing a grow mix in a few formulas I have seen that people use on this site ) will this work ? Remember it is only a temporary situation and they will be in a hydro kit within a week or two so don't worry if the plants flowing stage would be effected .

[Tom]

Should work ok but use at least 60% perlite or the mix will hold too much moisture as both vermiculite and coco peat retain liquid. I am growing in a 70/30 perlite/vermiculite media at present, you can check out how it's going in the "Chev And Tom's Current Grow" link at the bottom of this post.

 

[Pure]

Thanx would you sugest using the coco and verm mix with the last part or just using verm

[Tom]

Personal choice but I would dump the coco, I have given it a couple of tries and am not all that impressed with it, plus there is an increased risk of pests with organic medias in the grow room.

 

[Pure]

Thanx I'll dump the coco I don't like bugs

 

I got it for a medium for something else and wasn't sure if it would help or not I assumed it would do something because I had bought it from a hydro shop but I think I will dump it

 

 

I am growing from clones will they need anything except watering once I pot them I have some organic seaweed nutrients if they need nutrients at this stage but as I said before it will only be a short period before they are put into a hydro kit where they will have all the proper nutrients and additives

[Tom]

I am growing from clones will they need anything except watering once I pot them I have some organic seaweed nutrients if they need nutrients at this stage

You will get differing views on this but I use 1/4 strength nutrients at first and work them up to full strength after the show signs of growth.

 

Thanx I'll dump the coco I don't like bugs 

 

I got it for a medium for something else and wasn't sure if it would help or not I assumed it would do something because I had bought it from a hydro shop but I think I will dump it

I was stating my personal choice there, some growers love coco.

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about the coco in that mix, you should do fine if it's just a temporary home for them with just a perlite/vermiculite mix. Tom's suggested 60/40 or 70/30, perlite to vermiculite, and I'd generally concurr, although I don't use vermiculite except for some seedlings and clones, and from their first transplant their into pure perlite.

 

I find that vermiculite tends to sludge and disintegrate for me, but that's just my preference. I've recently found a brand of vermiculite at my local hydro shop which is a bit better than the normal one I've gotten. It's much, much chunkier, like 3 or 4 times the individual particle size, and it's great for maintaining moisture in mixes of chunky perlite and doesn't turn to sludge.

 

But anyway, yeah, some people love coco as well, although it's an organically based media and this has to be taken into account with nutrients and pest management.

 

As to the seaweed nutrients, well, whilst these aren't the "ideal" hydroponic nutrient, it's certainly got it's advantages. You won't be able to accurately measure the e.c. with a truncheon with organic nutrients, as these are in different forms and compounds from the chemical salt, plant ready forms in hydroponic nutrients.There are many things in there though which are advantageous to plants however, and these can be particularly useful if you're transplanting or moving plants from one environment to another. Keep the strength of the nutrient low, there should be something on the side to indicate strength, and you could easily half those figures and the plants would still be happy with it.

 

But when you fertilise, make sure that you've first watered the plants with fresh water, and then irrigate with the fertiliser water. Or, alternatively, you could drop the concentration and give a very dilute solution each time you water. If they're going to be in there for only a couple of weeks though, and it's a handwatered system till then, (I'm just guessing that... could be wrong) I'd say you'd be well advised to water them with fresh water, and occasionally irrigate with fertiliser to keep them happy. Make sure that any ferts are fully flushed out of the pots before transplanting into a new system. This will prevent any organic nutrients mixing into your hydro reservoir if it's a recirc system.

 

Hope that helps. All of this is just my opinion of course, but I hope it's useful opinion nonetheless.

[Pure]

Thanx for the fast replies I really apreciate it I have them planted now now just gotta get some cash to finnish the kit off

[Tom]

Pleased we could help mate, keep us posted on how they are going.

 

[Pure]

just one more question for you how often should i Water this mixture seing as I am doing it manually for a week or two