Grow Mediums New autopot/coco question

[Failsafe hydro]

Hello , I found this forum searching for autopot information. I have read through the stickies and a few threads and still had a few questions.
I have a few grows under my belt but have never grown in coco , I have always hand watered so I have zero experience with any type of reservoir.
Thanks


1- how often do you water the seedlings in coco? And how many of those waterings are feedings.
2- do you flush the autopots before turning on the resevior?
3- any benefit/issue in turning on the air domes before you turn the system on?
4- how much air should the domes have per pot?
5- do you adjust the ph in the reservoir?
6- do you pre make your nute solution so that the ph drift can occur before adding to it?


Thanks for any help , loving the forum. I haven't grown autos yet only photos but I am really liking what I see and how much easier it may be to not have to fiddle with 12/12, light leak and tents.

 

[lunarman]

I recommend mixing coco with 50% HP Pro Mix and quite a bit of perlite. Jason the CEO of Autopots says he recommends 100% HP promix for less experienced growers in autopots. I did all coco and had troubles, had to flush and was not happy with the quality so I mixed it up and now things are good.

1- how often do you water the seedlings in coco? And how many of those waterings are feedings.
I start out in rapid rooters for germ. Then once sprouted I put in "instastransplant" solo cups for 10 days. I feed and water them daily at least by dunking the lower 1 to 2 inches of the cups (holes in bottom) in feed solution and let the medium wick up water and then pull out of the dunk. The dunk lasts about 2 seconds. So that means minimum watering really and you get the plant to start developing roots towards the bottom. Also I use clear cups so I can see the moisture. I like this method because I have less change of over watering. After 8 days or so load up your autopots with your medium of choice and get them ready. Water them with whatever feed you want and they will dry out a bit over the two days or one day you are waiting. At day 10 I remove the outer solo cup and drop the inner one with the plant in to autopots that were already precharged couple of days before.

2- do you flush the autopots before turning on the reservoir?
No. You want to precharge them with a feed mix and maybe calmag too especially if you use coco and COB LED lights.
I would run water thru the system before though without the pots in the trays and make sure they are working right.
And I hand water until at least day 21, sometimes longer, then turn on the res. I use my knuckle to judge moisture.
One you turn on the system you don't have to hand water any more and they will auto uptake as they need which I love. But I also pickup the pots daily to make sure they have the weight to them that I know means they are self watering. I also look inside the trays daily to make sure they have water. There are cases of clogged lines and you really have to check daily, if you can. I also use a ruler and measure the liquid in the res daily and record it to see how much is being used by the plants.

3- any benefit/issue in turning on the air domes before you turn the system on?
I start using air dome around day 15.

4- how much air should the domes have per pot?
you want to figure out how many liters per minute you should have and then buy a pump with the right number of outputs on the manifold and right amount of air output?

5- do you adjust the ph in the reservoir?
I ph after my feed solution is prepared. Then I like to leave it for a day and check PH again and adjust again and then dump in the rest and check daily just in case. You might get PH drift up or down (factors like that nutes you use influence this) so its best to check it every day for the first few days until its stable.

 

[Failsafe hydro]

I recommend mixing coco with 50% HP Pro Mix and quite a bit of perlite. Jason the CEO of Autopots says he recommends 100% HP promix for less experienced growers in autopots. I did all coco and had troubles, had to flush and was not happy with the quality so I mixed it up and now things are good.

1- how often do you water the seedlings in coco? And how many of those waterings are feedings.
I start out in rapid rooters for germ. Then once sprouted I put in "instastransplant" solo cups for 10 days. I feed and water them daily at least by dunking the lower 1 to 2 inches of the cups (holes in bottom) in feed solution and let the medium wick up water and then pull out of the dunk. The dunk lasts about 2 seconds. So that means minimum watering really and you get the plant to start developing roots towards the bottom. Also I use clear cups so I can see the moisture. I like this method because I have less change of over watering. After 8 days or so load up your autopots with your medium of choice and get them ready. Water them with whatever feed you want and they will dry out a bit over the two days or one day you are waiting. At day 10 I remove the outer solo cup and drop the inner one with the plant in to autopots that were already precharged couple of days before.

2- do you flush the autopots before turning on the reservoir?
No. You want to precharge them with a feed mix and maybe calmag too especially if you use coco and COB LED lights.
I would run water thru the system before though without the pots in the trays and make sure they are working right.
And I hand water until at least day 21, sometimes longer, then turn on the res. I use my knuckle to judge moisture.
One you turn on the system you don't have to hand water any more and they will auto uptake as they need which I love. But I also pickup the pots daily to make sure they have the weight to them that I know means they are self watering. I also look inside the trays daily to make sure they have water. There are cases of clogged lines and you really have to check daily, if you can. I also use a ruler and measure the liquid in the res daily and record it to see how much is being used by the plants.

3- any benefit/issue in turning on the air domes before you turn the system on?
I start using air dome around day 15.

4- how much air should the domes have per pot?
you want to figure out how many liters per minute you should have and then buy a pump with the right number of outputs on the manifold and right amount of air output?

5- do you adjust the ph in the reservoir?
I ph after my feed solution is prepared. Then I like to leave it for a day and check PH again and adjust again and then dump in the rest and check daily just in case. You might get PH drift up or down (factors like that nutes you use influence this) so its best to check it every day for the first few days until its stable.

Yea I started in small rooting cups then transplanted once I saw roots at the bottom which was about 5 days after germ.i kinda wished I would have went to a plastic cup first before i stuck them in the pots.
I flushed the coco with nutes and calmag at around 400ppm.
Next time I think I'm gonna use the cups.
Tha is for the reply!!

 

[Screwauger]

I just started my third grow in coco using autopots.
My first grow was by the autopot book. Hydroton, air dome, 70/30ish coco perlite mix.
My second grow was with no hydroton, all else the same.
My last grow in coco/perlite yielded 25 ounces from 3 autoflower plants
My first grow was in the neighborhood of 14 ounces from 2 photo plants.
I have no idea what Autopots say's these days and yes, I would like to try soil or something else.
I see no real deterrent to using coco.
This time last year I had not grown indoors in twenty yrs.
I just started 4 autos in straight coco with air domes. No perlite.
This is day 8 for the 3 and day 1 for the sprout.

So lets look at your questions:

1. I feed on day 5, day 10, day 15 and then hopefully start them on the reservoir on day 20-22. I start with 1/4 strength nutes on day 5, 1/2 strength day 10 and full strength day 15 forward. Full strength for me would equal approx half of what the manufacturer recommends on the bottle. I also use AN Ph perfect sensi grow/bloom so I do not adjust pH at all before, during or after mixing nutes.

2. No I do not flush before starting the res. I have had to take a plant out of my tent and flush mid grow but only once.

3. Some swear by AD's other's will point you to grows where there was no difference between plants using AD's and those not. I follow AP's instructions and turn on the AD's when I start the res. I also have my air dome pumps tied into my light timer so they go off when the lights go off.

4. Frankly, I blast them with as much as I can. I started with a 7lpm pump. Not sure what my 4 outlet pump pushes but it's quite a bit of air.

5. & 6. See [HASHTAG]#1[/HASHTAG] above.

If you read many grows, my success has been through adopting the methods of the infamous Hansbrick. It works. On another forum, I suspect half dozen people have bought autopots after watching my results. Autopts with autoflowers equals large plants.

My other recommendation with auto's is to continue grow nutes into week 5 or 6 to get every bit of stretch and veg out of them.
I could give you more tips but the bulk of them I learned reading journals on this site.
Best of luck and welcome to the autopot forum. @Failsafe hydro

 

[SoulMan_PeeWee]

@Screwauger whats size APs do you have, 2.2 gal or 3.9 gal?

 

[Screwauger]

@SoulMan_PeeWee I have 3.9 gallon pots

 

[Screwauger]

Just for comparison purposes
This plant was grown in coco/perlite with an air dome.
Gentle LST only, no trimming, plucking, pinching etc
9.6 ounces Blueberry Auto

 

[SoulMan_PeeWee]

Damn, that's a nice tree you have there, @Screwauger . how big is your tent? I have a 2x2.5x6 but by the look of that lady, I am doubtful that I'd be able to fit two plants in there when I switch to growing in Autopots.

Also, did you place an airstone in your reservoir? I'd imagine that it would ensure your nutrients would stay mixed and settle to the bottom.

 

[lunarman]

Just for comparison purposes
This plant was grown in coco/perlite with an air dome.
Gentle LST only, no trimming, plucking, pinching etc
9.6 ounces Blueberry Auto

View attachment 904628

No topping? that canopy is quite flat. Not any big dominant cola. I want to plan my plant training to do that.

 

[Screwauger]

Also, did you place an airstone in your reservoir?

My tent is 39"x39"x70"

I tried an airstone in the res but it messed with ph so I removed it. I would suggest a small pump to circulate but to aerate.

No topping? that canopy is quite flat. Not any big dominant cola. I want to plan my plant training to do that.

Good catch. I completely forgot that at about week 9 I had to supercrop the main stem to keep it away from my lights.