New to Coco w/ Blumats - What size pot for smallish grow?

D

dizwire

New member
starting my third grow since MN went legal. So far I've grown 5 gal pots of Fox farms HF/OF mixed with perlite with decent success (2-7oz per plant). Had been top feeding fox farm trio nutes and using ac infinity bottom watering wick bases for extra water.

I'm switching to pure coco with blumat stuff to switch over to top-drip reservoirs this time around and have a couple newb questions:

1) I've read mixed things on using perlite. Some say blumat carrots work best with no perlite? Or should I keep it in to help with aeration as I've done w/ soil?

2) I've got a 2x4x6' tent and a 2x2x6' tent so I'm planning to run 3 plants. Is 7 gallon overkill with the blumats? I want to increase yield from what I've been getting in 5 gal fabric pots with soil, but don't want to outgrow the tent. I've been doing a ton of LST and scrogging so i usually have the canopy flattened out to fill tent around 10" to grow up from there.

3) I still have some Fox Farms Grow Big, Tiger Bloom, calMag and Cha Ching left - has anyone run this through a reservoir system? Will it stay dissolved? I asked both guys at the grow store in Minneapolis and they told me opposite things. My gut says that as long as i don't use the Big Bloom with all the guano and kelp in it, my lines may stay clear?

4) What do you recommend using in reservoirs to help minimize algae/blocked lines?

Thanks!
 
dizwire said:
starting my third grow since MN went legal. So far I've grown 5 gal pots of Fox farms HF/OF mixed with perlite with decent success (2-7oz per plant). Had been top feeding fox farm trio nutes and using ac infinity bottom watering wick bases for extra water.

I'm switching to pure coco with blumat stuff to switch over to top-drip reservoirs this time around and have a couple newb questions:

1) I've read mixed things on using perlite. Some say blumat carrots work best with no perlite? Or should I keep it in to help with aeration as I've done w/ soil?

2) I've got a 2x4x6' tent and a 2x2x6' tent so I'm planning to run 3 plants. Is 7 gallon overkill with the blumats? I want to increase yield from what I've been getting in 5 gal fabric pots with soil, but don't want to outgrow the tent. I've been doing a ton of LST and scrogging so i usually have the canopy flattened out to fill tent around 10" to grow up from there.

3) I still have some Fox Farms Grow Big, Tiger Bloom, calMag and Cha Ching left - has anyone run this through a reservoir system? Will it stay dissolved? I asked both guys at the grow store in Minneapolis and they told me opposite things. My gut says that as long as i don't use the Big Bloom with all the guano and kelp in it, my lines may stay clear?

4) What do you recommend using in reservoirs to help minimize algae/blocked lines?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
1. Careful with perlite around the carrot, it can mess with it though I haven't experienced it.

2. You can often times get the same size plants in amended soils as coco in smaller coco pots. Most people I think when switching to coco go down in size. Someone else would be better to answer than me.

3 & 4. I've learned to not use organics in the tub, for obvious reasons. I've done some light salts in my tank when doing small pots as the small pots wouldn't be able to withstand a full flower on its own. You can use Hyclean to help make sure everything stays clean. Great product.
 
I have never ran blumat carrots but from what I have read and think I understand they are similar to running Coco DTW????

If this is the case IMO I would try 1 plant per square foot in 1 gallon pots.

The soil growers probably will disagree but again IMO when running COCO more plants smaller pots will get you a better yield in less time. You shouldn’t ever be waiting on veg plants to have 1 plant per sqft for the Bloom room when you only need 12 inch veglings.

However no matter how you decide to grow or which style. The genetics, dialed environment, and proper lights are more important than almost everything!
 
The first issue the comes to mind is blumats just keep your medium a consistent moisture that from my understanding is good in a living soil situation. In coco you want dry backs but also you need to get some run off with the salts. Otherwise you’ll be stacking the ec.

I have no personal experience but again it’s just my understanding that generally folks are using only water through the blumats and should they need to feed they top feed. The way the carrots work with the surface tension they do not call for any water so the medium is staying they same moisture level regardless of the added top feed.
 
Demonsofdirt said:
The first issue the comes to mind is blumats just keep your medium a consistent moisture that from my understanding is good in a living soil situation. In coco you want dry backs but also you need to get some run off with the salts. Otherwise you’ll be stacking the ec.

I have no personal experience but again it’s just my understanding that generally folks are using only water through the blumats and should they need to feed they top feed. The way the carrots work with the surface tension they do not call for any water so the medium is staying they same moisture level regardless of the added top feed.
Click to expand...
I 100% agree! The dry back is the most important factor that many growers overlook!

Coco will only perform to its best potential with proper multi fertigation, proper dry backs, and proper runoff to push excess salts out.

I didn’t understand how blumats worked but after reading your comment IMO they probably will not work when using DTW techniques and small pots.
 
LJFarming said:
I have never ran blumat carrots but from what I have read and think I understand they are similar to running Coco DTW????

If this is the case IMO I would try 1 plant per square foot in 1 gallon pots.

The soil growers probably will disagree but again IMO when running COCO more plants smaller pots will get you a better yield in less time. You shouldn’t ever be waiting on veg plants to have 1 plant per sqft for the Bloom room when you only need 12 inch veglings.

However no matter how you decide to grow or which style. The genetics, dialed environment, and proper lights are more important than almost
Click to expand...
Thanks everyone for helpful comments! I am only allowed 4 flowering plants so can’t go too small with pots but I take the point that I may not need 7gal unless running living soil and water only. Could do 3 instead of 4 in the 2x4 I suppose to max my count.

Sounds like I can keep my perlite to a minimum to avoid perlite issues. May experiment with some soil in one pot too just to see how it differs.

As for drybacks, I’ve understood most people who run them to keep them moist at all times to prevent air blockages. We’ll see how it goes!
 
IF you are running coco with blu mats and nutrients you can use 1 gal and fill the whole 2 by 4 easy. your lines wont clog as long as your dont put anything weird in it nutrients are fine. run lower ppm flush it with water every few weeks. the ec doesnt get out of control because its never going to dry back. Still best to do the flush every now and then.

I would run 3 1 gal or 2 gal max im telling you plants in coco blow the fuck up and get huge fast.

for the res i use a air stone no algae keeps it all super clean. Ive read that people have problems with ph rise but i dont ever have issues with that and jacks 321


the drips can clog though if you dont keep the res topped off and shit goes dry the drips will clog I dont even fuck with the drippers just run the 3mm tube that works great in a 2 gals. Run two carrots if you want one is good though.
 
Last edited:
Frankslan is absolutely correct!

However if you want to stay legal beagle and can run 4 plants I would run 4 instead of 3. As well as probably run 1 1/2 or 2 gallon pots but definitely not any bigger. Reason being that you should be able to veg a few days less if you run 4 plants instead of 3. If you run 3 plants You will definitely need to veg longer because it takes longer for 3 plants vs 4 plants to fill a grow space correctly! I run 16 per light/1 per square foot and typically have to prune the hell outta the plants if I veg more than 2 weeks. My terrible thought process and decisions is that I run 96 plants/6 lights so I want 96 plants at least 12 inches tall to fill the bloom room the minute I get done chopping and cleaning the room. Anything under 100 in Cali is a $500 ticket. I know the risk and only want 96x2 for the least amount of time possible! The 2 weeks when I have 96x2 causes me more stress than I like but loosing 2 grows per year because of 2 weeks of veging in the bloom room instead of having the next 96 RTG is worth it IMO and I guess I like being somewhat of an outlaw. It keeps me on my toes I guess!

whatever you decide make damn sure the plants have great roots before you start giving them unlimited feed/water. Once a plant in any size pot in coco has enough roots it’s virtually impossible to overwater them and this is when coco incredibly out performs soil.

As always this is my opinion and works for me and I’m definitely not saying it’s the best way!
 
Damnit sorry I forgot this but Calcium is incredibly important when running coco! You ALMOST can’t give the ladies too much.
 
Whether you have one over the 6 plant limit or 99 it’s a $500 ticket. However the way I understand it and know from a couple people that have been bust if you have 100 or more there is a good chance the Feds get called in and you are in deep shit!
 
well, when autofeeding in coco, you can use much smaller pots. I did an auto watering system using the .8 gallon Air pots.



they work great but you have to veg long enough for the plant to fill the pot with roots. Personally, I would hand feed until the pot is full then just autowater in flower (timer kicks on 2x per day) and use the Blumats for your dirt plants or moms. Get a timer, make some drips rings

I woiuld also use nutrients that are more hydro compatible. Fox Farms isnt necessarily the most hydro friendly nutes. pH said nutes for coco, 6.0
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top