Hello, all you autopot enthusiasts!
I just harvested my last indoor plant and will be completely revamping my grow space in preparation for my next grow (Hulkberry, Yeti Wedding, Godzilla Glue, Gelato, Zkittlez or some combination of those) and I need to ask a question about the coco I will be using inside said autopots. Do you guys use clay pellets in your coco? I saw a YouTube video that suggested mixing them in to assist with drainage.
Thanks for all the info in advance! @Myfriendis410@Nicky@Graysin@OGIncognito
And here’s a photo of a magnificent cannabis eater that arrived in my yard today by way of a giant peach. Enjoy.
IMO, LECA/hydroton/clay pebbles are a righteous pain in the a$$. The roots of your plant will grow into the pebbles. While I don’t know if this has any actual impact on the plants, I do know it means you can’t really reuse the hydroton when you’re done without a massive wash undertaking. I personally don’t use anything but the coco itself. Some folks mix coco and perlite or coco and pumice, but I’ve never found it necessary.
I use Canna Coco bricks or, more recently, the FloraFlex quick fill bags. They are pricey, though. I got them at like 75% off so I just went for it and have a good 20 gallons’ worth. I do like it more than the Canna, but not enough to justify the high cost at the “normal” retail price.
I’m on my second autopot grow, both with coco loco and perlite with one inch of clay balls at the bottom. First grow I just dumped in the clay balls then the coco and started growing, second grow I soaked the clay balls in a bucket of 5.8 ph water before using them, don’t see a difference yet. I was not able to reuse the clay balls from the first grow, just dumped the whole bag out and started with new coco, clay balls and perlite. This grow I’m using grow dots in the coco, so far it is the fastest growing, best looking plant I have grown,
Just as a heads up, coco loco isn’t really coco, it’s still more of a soil blend.
I love my Grow Dots. I don’t use em right now but it’s due to lack of foresight not lack of results. Jacks is my go-to for most things, but Grow Dots performed well against Jacks in a clone-on-clone grow-off.
I still have half a 10L bag of Hydroton balls to use. Prior to use they should be rinsed thoroughly to remove small particles and dust which would end up in the tray. They should also be soaked in ph water according to medium used. I don’t worry too much about reusing them. I’ll pick out the easy ones. If I did want to reuse them I don’t know why a mesh bag wouldn’t work.
Nice choice with auto pots Brother! I’ve used cheap coco that I had to repeatedly rinse before I could use it and Canna is the smart choice. I’ve used FF coco with great results. I stick with a 70/30 coco to perlite and nothing else. Only thing beside nutrients and medium I added was a wave maker inside my reservoir to help with PH drift
My last grow (harvested two weeks ago) was 4 photoperiods in coco with autopots: 3 were in 5 gallon fabric pots, one in a 3 gallon and all were in Canna Coco with 2 inches of Hydroton in the bottom. I saw no difference in yield between the 3 and the 5 gallon. Plants weren’t huge but decent yields for my altitude. I chose fabric pots over the XL plastic pots and air domes this round and was happy with the results. I had around 37 oz. from 4 plants.
I’ll take that every day! 9 zip average is Kill’n it. I run strictly 3 gallon fab pots sometimes 1 gallons and have been averaging 6-8 ounces per plant
Waiting for larger roots=larger fruits crowd nice job fellas!
There’s a trend right here in your topic worth noting. Ditch the hydroton and mix some large chunk perlite in. Not only will it help with aeration but will also help combat compaction.
Along the same line, will mixing in some coco chips also help with aeration and reduce compaction? I have thought adding both - chips and chunky perlite
It could. I think it really depends on ratio of chips to fiber to pith in each users product. If starting with loose coco there is usually decent amount of chips in my experience. The condensed bricks I’ve used however seem to not have much for chips.
Jacks is my go-to for most things, but Grow Dots performed well against Jacks in a clone-on-clone grow-off.
I’ll take that every day! 9 zip average is Kill’n it. I run strictly 3 gallon fab pots sometimes 1 gallons and have been averaging 6-8 ounces per plant 
nice job fellas!