Coco vs soil? Need help.

[#1cheesebuds]

Coco vs soil. Those of you who have used both which do yo find easier to grow HEALTHY plants?

Here are my pros vs cons.
Coco
Pro: coco is lightweight. Meaning you can feed more often.
Con: you have to feed it pretty much feed the plant early on in is life. Meaning you have to buy ferts sll the time.

Soil.
Pro: you dont have to feed it as early in the sedling stage.
Con: easier to over water maybe. Dont have to feed for around 2 months maybe less.

Thats all i got on pros/cons. Which do you like better or fnd easier to work with.

Gimme your thoughts...

 

[Creeperpark]

Good question cheese, if they are both soilless mixes like peat and coco, all that matters is that one keeps a steady EC so the plants will take what they can use or need. In most cases, both are given liquid fertilizer with every watering.

When you say soil I think you are talking about an amended soilless substrate. In that case, the added amendments are organic and very slowly broken down with a microbe population. These mixes are slow and steady according to the added amendments. Most soils are given water only.

My fav is to use both as a hybrid mix to keep a steady EC. The method calls for an amended organic core inside a soil-less and then fed accordingly to meet the plant's EC needs.

 

[StickyBandit]

I'm starting to warm to coco, I think many watering problems with soil are blamed on other things.
The hempy grow is becoming my new goto
You can almost see this young Ghost Train Haze growing in the hempy bucket

And here's a C99 in a hempy that's very finicky in soil. Big frosty, smelly buds!

I like a good idiot proof system

 

[singlecoiled]

So, I'm in the same boat and decided to "put my toe in the water" with coco by using coco/soil combined. I'm using Fox Farm Coco Loco.

So far so good, but I think it needs to be treated more like a soil than coco. I'm a little dissapointed on the drainage after moving to a 3 gallon cloth pot, it holds water more than I would like. Watering to runoff may be a problem we wll see.

Next grow I'll move to all Coco...

Pic: Current grow, Master Kush bag seed in Coco Loco, Dyna Grow Foliage Pro.
Coco Loco did great in a 1 gallon pot, good drainage. We'll see how it works after transplant. (last night)

 

[#1cheesebuds]

What about a layered mixture of soil, Coco and perlite? I might actually try that next round.

 

[StickyBandit]

What about a layered mixture of soil, Coco and perlite? I might actually try that next round.

I weighed up the pros and cons of that and decided against it but I have lots of pots to attend and I'm very lazy . Results with straight coco with hydroton base are so good I probably wouldn't know the difference. If you are intent on trying it will you be layering it with the soil on top?

 

[Holeshot51]

Soil in very large containers or in ground.
Small pots and bags dry out too quickly.
Make sure soil is still very aerated.
I have found coco to be far superior in growth , indoor and out.
Plants seem to finish a little faster.
I flush plants every 2 days with fresh nutes and get heaps if oxygen into root zone.
I have to baby my plants all the time ..

 

[William76]

If ur using soil and coco mixed u have to treat it like soil,but coco on its own(I use growstones thru my coco)is easy once u get the hang of it,big stinky clean tasting flowers,76

 

[Ca++]

View attachment 18907869

That last pics a bag/pot side by side?


Soil is more forgiving, as it plays a part in feeding. Coco gives the grower more to do. The growers ability is therefore more involved in the outcome.
Some people can mess up their soil pretty quickly, but that would only be amplified in coco. While other growers working the coco proficiently, will grow better (?) plants in coco than soil.
With today's LED usage, soil is really being taxed hard. It's difficult for it to keep up with demand, unless pots are getting bigger to cope. Coco doesn't really have that problem, as the EC is increased instead. I do soil from time to time, but if settling in for the long haul, I don't want to be hauling all that soil anywhere. It's more coming in, and more waste going out. I much prefer coco, as I riddle it, and go again.

 

[StickyBandit]

That last pics a bag/pot side by side?


Soil is more forgiving, as it plays a part in feeding. Coco gives the grower more to do. The growers ability is therefore more involved in the outcome.
Some people can mess up their soil pretty quickly, but that would only be amplified in coco. While other growers working the coco proficiently, will grow better (?) plants in coco than soil.
With today's LED usage, soil is really being taxed hard. It's difficult for it to keep up with demand, unless pots are getting bigger to cope. Coco doesn't really have that problem, as the EC is increased instead. I do soil from time to time, but if settling in for the long haul, I don't want to be hauling all that soil anywhere. It's more coming in, and more waste going out. I much prefer coco, as I riddle it, and go again.

That will be my last soil run for a while. I find it too hard to keep healthy. With the coco hempy I just mix the solution and pour it in the tube every 2 days to the overflow hole. I don't even need to check it any more, I just use large syringes to measure the correct amount of nutrient into a 5L watering can with the rose removed and add 2 or 3 drops of pH up each time depending on EC because I know my water now. I reduce the strength toward the end of the grow and don't even have to think about anything

 

[Riviera123]

You know the soil thing is wearing on me a bit mostly because of the slow growth to no growth phases. I may go back to coco

 

[Brother Nature]

That will be my last soil run for a while. I find it too hard to keep healthy. With the coco hempy I just mix the solution and pour it in the tube every 2 days to the overflow hole. I don't even need to check it any more, I just use large syringes to measure the correct amount of nutrient into a 5L watering can with the rose removed and add 2 or 3 drops of pH up each time depending on EC because I know my water now. I reduce the strength toward the end of the grow and don't even have to think about anything

Feeling the same as you bro. Have had so many issues trying to get the same results as coco in soil. When I started growing I only used soil and organic bottled nutes and never had any issues, but since coming back to it after running coco for years, I just can't get it right. Maybe it's just the way I think about growing has changed but using straight coco with blumats, a + b nutes, a little cal mag, and the odd additive has always yielded better results. I'm also a stubborn bastard so want to get it right in the soil, I just haven't yet, it's frustrating.

 

[Creeperpark]

Its best to keep a steady EC or ppm so the plants can adjust and take what they need. If one flip flops on the EC the plant will suffer. If I run a lower EC I can always raise it however If using a high EC I can run into problems.

 

[hazepadano]

oppure benissimo con cocco aggiunto alla perlite. a differenza della terra che usavo nei primi anni, mi sento molto meglio.
i pro sono su tutta la linea, l'unico contro è che devi annaffiare più frequentemente (che è anche il pro).
nella tecnica di coltivazione la differenza principale è che devi lasciare asciugare la terra e poi bagnarla, devi sempre mantenere il cocco tra umido e bagnato.
a livello di difficoltà il cocco non ha alcun effetto tampone (sul pH). per fare un esempio è come fare foto con un negativo e una diapositiva...
in compenso hai più precisione negli interventi.
Ritengo che in indoor sia ottimale utilizzare il cocco come substrato e concimi minerali, avendo cura di mantenere un pH stabile ed un EC proporzionale allo sviluppo.
5 sett da cambio ora vaso 6,5 litri cocco, ph 6,5 ec 2200
arriverò a 10-12 settimane con ce a 2800-3200 all'ottava (5ml/l di a, 5 di b, 15 di pk)

Padre Sereno Garden

terza settimana, speriamo si fermino che sono con le lampade al soffitto!!! hanno allungato parecchio. dovrò lasciarle alle amorevoli cure di mia madre per una settimana poichè devo assentarmi da casa. speriamo vada tutto bene... son quasi più preoccupato per le giovani speranze in radicazione...

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