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

[slowandeasy]

If you want the cheapest, yet best automated system for Coco. Hit me up. Works better than anything else and is CRAZY CHEAP

 

[slowandeasy]

please tell me all your autopot woes.
there's a bit of a natural echo chamber element to the autopot 'scene'. i think it's because people are generally decent and prefer to spend their time sharing/bragging than criticizing, so the positive feedback drowns out the negative. but it winds up being that people get a skewed idea.
so if you guys have like autopot horror stories or just like disappointing stories please do share. i always appreciate being talked out of something.

I will be honest, maybe too honest. I absolutely love this site. Great community. But AutoFlower growing is very new in the MJ community in the grand scheme of things. Also laws have changed so much that the number of new growers is tremendously higher each year. That being said, tons of new companies arise. NEW or fairly new growers find something that works good/decent for them and praises are higher than complaints. I'm old school. I'm honest. All Automated systems have pluses and minuses. I'm not dogging any of them. Weigh your options. Ask questions. You are on the right track. Peace, slow.

 

[InexpensiveBeret]

Yup sounds about right. I've spent time in academia, and to hear first year undergrads go on about something they don't really understand is maddening. It's a fundamental disrespect for expertise and experience.

 

[AJrexxx]

@slowandeasy I am with you on that new product craziness. I think sometimes people get carried away with gear. Most of them could improve there results with the kiss method and humidity control, I went to a buddies a few weeks ago and he has started growing. Jesus it is a mess. He has thousands of dollars worth of gear and some untold amount of money spent on nutrients. He has never even had a plant in flower yet. Could of gave him a bag of maxibloom, bottle of calmag, a dehumidifier, and a couple cobs and he would of had good grow. To many people in this flood of growers want instant monsters and do not want to dial in. They never change their methods or test new theories just buy a bunch of gear that they sometimes don't understand.

Okay off my soapbox now.

@InexpensiveBeret About the feeding I always have bigger plants in drain to waste with smaller containers. I used to use five gallon pots and went to three. Less water, less nutrients, bigger plants. I am guessing with autopots the first twenty days you are top feeding so the roots will fill the pot. Then once you turn it on it is more like a hydro set up like was mentioned before. These are theories by the way I have not tested them yet. Had my autopots for a month now just sitting in the box in the basement. Haven't even opened the damn things yet. I know my biggest plant so far was about 300 grams dry and she was eating a liter four times a day. Man that becomes a lot of work. Hence my autopot experiment.

Sorry usually not that long winded.

 

[lunarman]

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.

But Pops normally uses organic soil I think.

 

[lunarman]

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

don't most hydro grows have have roots sitting in moisture? I have never done hydro like DWC so I don't know how it all works.

 

[lunarman]

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.

That's my take on them too, and for this newbie, I love them. I know others will mention failures later in this thread, but that is a risk I can afford to take. The upside potential is great plants for me so far. I like autopots. Maybe one day I'll think differently but for now I like them.

 

[lunarman]

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.

I am doing two small autopot tests. I cut 2 of my big ones down to half height. Also drilled a bunch of holes thru the side walls of the pot to get more air. Copied the idea from what slow uses.

I have 2 Dinafem Critical 2.0's going. One big pot, one smaller. Genetics seem to be variable on this strain so I can't come to any conclusion on how pot size impacts growing. The plant in the big pot did pick up a mag def and PH was harder for me to manage. That may be something to do with the size or it's operator error.

Also have 2 Sweet Seeds Red Poison in 2 different sized autopots where I modified one pot like mentioned above. I can't come to any conclusion on this one now either. They both look to be doing the same (at day 25 now). But the one in the smaller pot is light green in color compared to the big pot. I'm not sure why that is.

If you are still going to do autopots after all this, I'd recommend the smaller pots if you can by the 1-pot kits that way. I could only get the kit with 4 pots and a res in the bigger size. I'm not going to cut any more down just yet, but I will if after more time I see a real trend that smaller is better.

 

[slowandeasy]

don't most hydro grows have have roots sitting in moisture? I have never done hydro like DWC so I don't know how it all works.

Hydro doesn't have a medium and an air pump is not optional. If you don't have enough air you will fail. Hence my recommendation for Airdomes and a good pump . Root development will suffer greatly. Overwatering is almost a guarantee with the large pots. It will take an extra 10-14 days easily to grow plants in the large pots. The disadvantages greatly out weigh the advantages when it comes to pot size.

If you like Autopots, that is all that matters. The fact is for the price and function they are way over priced and there are better options to create healthier plants. I just don't like bottom feeding systems as much. You can run a top feed system and rarely get runoff in Coco, use less medium, less nutes, and have better plants that finish faster.

 

[lunarman]

Hydro doesn't have a medium and an air pump is not optional. If you don't have enough air you will fail. Hence my recommendation for Airdomes and a good pump . Root development will suffer greatly. Overwatering is almost a guarantee with the large pots. It will take an extra 10-14 days easily to grow plants in the large pots. The disadvantages greatly out weigh the advantages when it comes to pot size.

If you like Autopots, that is all that matters. The fact is for the price and function they are way over priced and there are better options to create healthier plants. I just don't like bottom feeding systems as much. You can run a top feed system and rarely get runoff in Coco, use less medium, less nutes, and have better plants that finish faster.

Thanks Slow. I believe in your way of thinking. Seeing your grows is what lead me to take a saw and drill to my autopots.