Grow Mediums Has anyone used Coco in the 8.5 liter Autopots?

[InexpensiveBeret]

Posted this in the Autopot section but figured I'd ask here too. Anyhow, this seems like it should work better than the 15L, if I'm understanding the theory of 'coco-as-hydro' (vs. as soil) correctly. More dry/wet cycles=faster growth, no? Theoretically, hypothetically, and to my inexperienced, untrained eyes, it seems like in an inert substrate such as coco, what matters isn't the size of the container as much as the amount of water that the plant has access to. Is that a more or less fair assesment? What kind of limitations on growth can I expect from this (if any)? I'm assuming it would limit some of the more XXL varieties, but that doesn't really seem like a huge issue for me as I would rate variety over yield.

Anyone done one of these? Remember seeing it in someone else's thread at some point? Just have a theory? Don't have one but are curious? Do have one but it is actually about how they built the pyramids or how to split the atom? GO FOR IT! No bad answers, amirite? All comers welcome.

If it matters, I will (fingers crossed for successful shipping) have 3x3BOG, and 1x each of Sour Hound, Supernatural OG, Sour Stomper.

 

[AJrexxx]

Not sure I have an answer, but I will. My next run will be in the three gallons I will let you know. Pops22 has grown in it and done quite well.

 

[Free Flow]

You are on the right track as far as coco goes. I have no idea about auto pots though. Coco as a hydro medium just means that there is no dry cycle pretty much. The more its fed the more like hydro it is.

I water my coco daily but consider it to be more like soil. Once I build a self watering contraption ill consider it more hydro.

If any of that made sense.. Sorry man I'm higher than a giraffe's asshole right now lol

 

[KonopCh]

@slowandeasy maybe have answer to this.

 

[Hippy_BiotabsF70]

@Slowmo uses an 8.5 litre autopot with coco I believe. Pretty sure he's got 3 x 15 litre and 1 x 8.5 litre and I remember him saying he prefers the smaller pot.

 

[Slowmo]

@Slowmo uses an 8.5 litre autopot with coco I believe. Pretty sure he's got 3 x 15 litre and 1 x 8.5 litre and I remember him saying he prefers the smaller pot.

I actually had special ordered 2 more 8.5l ... so now i have 3x 8.5l..

and ya in my 1m2 tent the 15l pots just grows them to big !

 

[InexpensiveBeret]

I actually had special ordered 2 more 8.5l ... so now i have 3x 8.5l..

and ya in my 1m2 tent the 15l pots just grows them to big !

Round here we call those kind of problems the best kind.

Edit: Is this consistent across different plants (the size relative thing) or is it strain dependent? What I'm saying is, do the 15ls grow bigger plants, or do they allow the plants that are already genetically wired for bigness the space they need? Would 'smaller' varieties "suffer" the same way?

 

[InexpensiveBeret]

You are on the right track as far as coco goes. I have no idea about auto pots though. Coco as a hydro medium just means that there is no dry cycle pretty much. The more its fed the more like hydro it is.

I water my coco daily but consider it to be more like soil. Once I build a self watering contraption ill consider it more hydro.

If any of that made sense.. Sorry man I'm higher than a giraffe's asshole right now lol

makes perfect sense. i'm a little high too though so y'know, maybe it doesn't.

i was thinking of a watering setup but really any of those are far more complicated to setup than autopots (except for blumats, which aren't great with nutes), and i would rather reduce the number of variables with these early grows.

 

[slowandeasy]

15l of Coco is about 2x the amount I suggest using. Use the smaller pots. Your plants will grow better, flush, better, and will yield excellent. I have seen more than a few people in just the past week complain of issues with plants in the 15l pots.

My theory from hundreds of plants is to treat Coco like hydro for optimal growth. These large pots slow down root growth. You over water them from the bottom up. I don't like bottom feeding Automatically. Your roots stay too wet. They don't need to grow, the roots stay thin and won't fill your medium. Pale plants and problems arise later from the over watering. Autos don't have as long of a growth cycle. They don't have time to fill out 5 gal of Coco with roots in a pot before they start budding. That's just a waste of Coco. If you use Autopots, buy Airdomes and a good pump. I have 12 of the 15l pots in bubble wrap from buying Autopots. I ordered the 8.5l when I bought them. Needless to say...I don't like Autopots for the bottom feeding aspect. I actually bottom feed my clones and seedlings to promote downward root growth. But after that, bottom feeding is not my cup of tea. Roots don't want to sit in too much moisture and you never get run off to expell salts. Just my opinion from a ton of experience. Good luck. Slow

 

[InexpensiveBeret]

Yeah I get what you're saying and with my peppers etc I agree, but as far as I can tell the Autopots are the 'safest' off-the-shelf setup currently, both in that they come basically ready and setup is minimal, and in the sense that there's fewer parts to maintain. I'd rather start off with a relatively uncomplicated system that can produce decent results. They seem like decent tools for straight beginners who need the option to leave plants unsupervised.