Soil vs Coco medium for a First Timer?

[cozyboytro]

Hey relatively new grower here, I'll be setting up a 2x4 (80cm x 80cm x 180cm) Tent with ViparSpectra P2000 200W lights. I'm thinking of going with an auto flowering strain but I'm still unsure about that. My question is which would be a better medium for a beginner soil or coco? Could I grow 2 plants in the same tent 1 with soil and 1 with coco without any complications? (Will having different mediums in the same area affect the other lol) Also should I consider just growing a regular photoperiod plant? Someone else recommended them over auto flowering, but I thought auto was easier for a beginner? Slowly it's all coming together haha

 

[Bob's Auto's]

Hey there @cozyboytro,

First of all to AFN
Loads of people who are willing to help you out and lot's of info to be found, but use the advanced search.

To answer your question. If this is your first grow I would go for soil and BioTabs. This is so freakin' easy it almost feels like cheating!!
I wouldn't do soil and coco together as both use quite different pH ranges and waitering schedules if I were you.
Strain wise you have so much choice, but I prefer Auto's as you can give 24/0 light and they'll still flower.

Anywho...Have fun and tag me if you start a diary. I'll come by and have a


Regards,

Bob

 

[Del boy]

Hello my advice would be to chose 1 dont make things complex for you self i would go coco as you have more control of water feed its a bit more labour intesnive then soil but i like that. You should be able to get 2 plants in that space with 2 gallon pots they would fill in just right.
I would do autos :smoking:

 

[Bob's Auto's]

You should be able to get 2 plants in that space with 2 gallon pots they would fill in just right.

Hell, there are crazy fools that even fit four plants in that space!!

 

[trailanimal]

Do you have a garden? does it grow good? If the answers are yes I'd go soil. Soil is all I've ever done so, yeah I'm going to say that and I'd been going for healthy plants. When I started I was so gweedy I skipped the healthy plant, free from stress part. I was seeing what knowledgeable growers where doing to boost yield. With little first hand I mostly caused damage at first. Till I started applying the first rule of Healing to my Growing. First, do no harm! If you got good soil you have what you need to get growing. If it's not well draining add some perlite. My soil over winters in extreme cold, if I don't bring compost in for mulch no bugs in the window/nursery grow. Get that first grow under your belt and you will have a point of reference and possibly a map for the next grow.....

 

[CannabisMingus]

Soil. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

 

[automan2]

Mild soil-less medium...bio bizz light mix, happy frog among a few. Avoid known hot mixes and worry about watering properly.
Start simple, grow conservatively. Don't push the rope.

 

[Death The Cultivator]

How comfortable are you with mixing batches of fertilizer using a pH/EC meter? What do you know about Coco? My biggest mistakes when I first started using Coco were

Not having quality pH and EC meters
Not understanding that EVERY watering is made of a fertilizer solution
Allowing pots to sit in waste water

I think Coco is super easy and much more forgiving than soil but it takes a good general understanding to not make mistakes. Imo, choosing which medium shouldn't be based on your status as a beginner but on what YOU feel comfortable taking the time to learn and execute. I've never taken much time to learn how to grow in soil but I know infinitely more about hydroponic/soiless systems. I've tried soil several times but because I don't invest the time to learn the results aren't impressive plus it's slower going than hydro.

Can you do soil and Coco? I don't see why not but they are two totally different ways of growing. You can do anything you want but temper your expectations because no matter how much you theoretically know, you don't always know until something goes wrong in the grow, then after you overcome it you grow yourself as a grower.

What are you trying to accomplish growing autos compared to photos?

I used to do autos but I lacked the space and mistakenly believed the hype that autos were "easier". I have the space now, I prefer taking clones and buying seeds only on occasion, I prefer the consistency of a clone over a seed. I prefer having control over flowering because if I make a mistake or something unfortunate occurs, I can veg long, prune more, etc. because I'm not in a timed clock compared to autos.

Everything is preference plus understanding - one isn't better than the other unless you're doing this commercially. You're just starting out though, I say experiment and see what works for you. I would never grow autos consistently or grow in soil but I appreciate the degree of control/growth/speed that Coco affords me and the consistency that clones of photoperiods provide. Like I said, I've done both ways so I know what I like and will invest my time to do.