My first coco grow

[OldManGrower]

I have not previously posted about my grows progress. However, a number of you asked me to post my progress in my first all coco/perlite grow. This picture is 18 days from germination.
As mentioned, this is my first coco/perlite grow. They are being watered as I would in soil for plants this size. I amended the medium with worm castings. Otherwise GH Trio, Cal Mag and a PH of 6.12.
Yeah, I see a Sophies Choice in my future. Unless they turn out to be real small, I'm going to have cull one.

[Bluey]

As they mature you will find that you may need to water them far more often than soil.

In coco in a grow room in 50ltr pots I give them b/w 4 & 5 ltrs per day and thats without runoff in peak flower. Half that outdoors in my soil. Maybe environment has a lot more to do with the variance I found here. I dont know.

[OldManGrower]

I expected that. Today they got 1/3 of a gallon. Next watering it will probably be 1/2 gallon and so on. In soil, I would expect to go 2.5 gallons every other day.

[Stevieje]

Oldmangrower, just checking out your post. This is my first grow as well. For whatever the reason, I don't see the pictures of your plants that you mentioned. I just wanted to compare. I chose to try and grow two autos. Both are Northern Lights, coco coir, perlite, vermiculite in a 5 gal fabric pot. GH trio with calmag. After germination, I planted them in their 5 gal pots. So, I water about every 2-3 days and my nutrients are at 1/2 strength. I'm 31 days into my grow. Plain water every 3rd watering w/distilled water only.
SETUP: 2'×2'x64" vivosun complete, 4" carbon filter exhaust fan, vs1000 LED Lights. My tent is setup in a lung room. I know that there is more that I can get into but not now. But my concern is, I'm 31 days in and there's not a day goes by that I don't check on my girls all throughout the day. I feel that they should be bigger. I have pictures. What is your opinion?

[OldManGrower]

Your plants are indeed unusually small. This is most likely due to being in a containers that are far too large. The soil in the large container is sapping away you water and nutes. I do not know why you cannot see my pic as it is in the body of my text.

[Smallgrow]

think the idea is that with the short preset veg time of autos, transplanting will slow growth as the transplant shock will require a couple days recovery. I see plenty of competent auto growers starting seeds in their final 5g container.

I think if you are very good at transplanting there is almost no shock, also it gives you a chance to hit the roots directly with some mycorrhizae which might benefit you more. Almost all commercial growers of any crop up pot at least once, I doubt they are all wrong.
Of course you have to contend with watering and feeding a tiny plant in a huge pot which has its own challenges

I’m just lazy and short of time usually so I like to minimize the number of transplants

[Rootsruler]

Do autos need such a large pot? It would seem their short process time would mean a smaller pot is needed to get to harvest.

[OldManGrower]

Good question. I grow in 3 gallon bags do too weight limitation. I have had autos that were 15 inches tall to 30 inches tall but usually around 24 inches. I believe that bigger pots yield bigger plants due to having a larger root ball. Will 5 gallon bags out produce 3 gallon bags with autos? Sounds like a nice experiment too me.

[No3odiesShad0w]

I've grown autos in 2,4,5 and 7 gallon buckets and with each one, the roots reached the bottom of the pot and started to circulate. Anything above 7 gallons might be overkill for an auto. I doubt the roots would reach the bottom in any meaningful way. .... That being said..... If you put an auto into a 7+ gallon bucket of well amended soil, you'll just need to water from seed to finish. No top dressing, no extra fertilizer needed. So bigger bucket can have it's advantages. Though I've noticed that ppl tend to over water in larger containers. So it could be a double edged sword.

[Stevieje]

Ok, if this grow goes well; we will get the answer to these questions. I was under the assumption that the more room for the roots to spread, the bigger the plant or, should I say, better for the plant. But my question is, are these plants about the size they should be at 31 days from germination?

[Stevieje]

So you think the plants are unusually small. What should I do, transplant too a smaller container?

[Smallgrow]

Yup, sorry OldManGrower we totally Hijacked that thread. My mistake too I wasn’t paying attention

[Smallgrow]

For reference these autos are from a previous grow. The first pic they are 30 days old from when I wet the seeds, they were started in Ezplugs (basically a rapid rooter) then into the 5g pots.

I got better yield in the 5 over 3 but my skills improved as well so its hard to say what caused that increase. Other Pics from harvest day

[Stevieje]

They were germinated with the water in the cup method and from there straight into the 5 gal pot. Maybe that contributed to the stunted growth?

[Smallgrow]

There a many ways to get good results and more ways to mess it up, it’s hard to say where it went sideways for you
Personally I soak for 8-12 hours not more, then between wet paper towel between two plates until the taproot emerges 1/4-1/2 inch then plant in medium. This is assuming fresh good quality seeds

Read this if you haven’t

https://www.growweedeasy.com/germinate

[OldManGrower]

I apologize for not following up sooner. My first grow in coco is going quite well. I have managed to more or less successfully navigate the necessary changes to my usual practices for soil.
I have had to change to a much lower PH and it has been a challenge to find the right level.
Coco holds so much water, I have had to adjust to watering with five gallons every five days vs. my usual 2 gallons every 2-3 days.
I am running my nutrients at 60% of manufacturers recommendations and Cal/mag at 100% every watering.
No bugs, no major PH problems. I did need to provide the seedlings some extra nitrogen early on.

The plants are booming. They are very short 12-18" but stocky and covered with buds. I have had to defoliate almost continually as I prefer to do so in small stages.
I doubt I will ever again grow seven plants at once in my set-up. Trimming and making them all fit is difficult and much easier with six.

[Bluey]

Coco grows do love frequent watering. A 5 gal water is huge. Is that across all pots? Try not to give it run off more than once ir twice a week...well that's my strategy anyway.

At your stage I'd probably be giving each pot close to a quart twice a day..once at lights on and once half way through lights on.

It's hard to tell from the pics but keep a close eye on those leaf tips and margins for any colour loss and adjust your nutes accordingly.

Looking good OMG 👊

[OldManGrower]

42 Days from seed. I guess this qualifies as a "Sea of Green"? Or perhaps it should be called "Just because you can put 7 plants into a tent doesn't mean you should". I felt sorry for the tiny plant in the rear, I dropped her on her head when she was a tyke. She's been a little slow ever since.

[Ckbrew]

Nice tent. I would consider putting up a net and bending them down a bit. Plenty of room.

[Bluey]

Coming along nicely OMG.

Definitely yes to the net.

[OldManGrower]

The branches seem stiff and inflexible. I have them in tie downs all around the edge of the pot but I am wary of breaking a branch by further bending. Will a net assist in this? I have never used one, only plant ties. I give the plants silica up until they flower which may contribute to their stiffness. Comments?

[No3odiesShad0w]

Good question. The Mandarin I'm currently growing has had more accidental breaks than all my past grows put together. I have been giving them silica as well but I'm not sure if it alone causes the stiffness but it's possible. A trellis could help out out could just increase the rate of breakage. It's possible it could be down to the cultivar. The Mandarin snaps like a green bean while the UG let me bend it and twist it without any breakage and they're both getting the same nutrition since they're both in the same earth box

[Ckbrew]

When I use a net I place it above the plants then slowly lower it down. As it is lowered, the branches are spread out and pushed down and sideways. I call it splat training. Like what you would get if they were hit with a broom only in a controlled manner. Try bending down just one branch to see what it will tolerate. During early training I squeeze the stem to soften it then bend it. It looks like you are into bloom so that opportunity may have passed. The idea is to spread out the plant to get as much light as possible.

[Rootsruler]

I spread them in a circle but direct branches towards areas on the net that still need to fill in.

[Bluey]

CKbrew does what I do to.

His suggestion of squeezing the branches between your fingers, if you haven't done it before, search "supercropping" on GWE, there's a tute. That will allow you to fold the highest tops over.

I'm guessing you haven't topped these? Topping with LST to help further spread does get the best results here..I think GWE calls it mainlining, works a treat.

They look healthy and strong. If you break a branch chances are very very good it will fully recover...I used Teflon tape to good effect but even crappy sticky tape will work well to repair a break...it will need support after a break, your net can do that.

[OldManGrower]

Thanks for the suggestions. They are all topped and LST with tie downs to the pot to spread things out.

[Going2fast]

Scarlet Runtz and sunset haven't needed any vertical support. At this stage I would let them go up. They are about done stretching. I wouldn't take any more leaves off at this point. Looking fine my friend.

[OldManGrower]

Yes indeed and thank you, That's exactly what I intend to do. I did redo the tie downs to spread things out as others have suggested. There is no longer any open space in the tent other than directly over the heater.