New Grower Tangie’matic, Ripley’s OG, Stilton Special

[Froot n Fuel]

I can help you out there, from what I've seen 3gal SPs are perfect for the smaller closets, especially the squared shape 11L smart pots with Coco as they have less tendency to run out of the sides.

Im only just getting on the 5 gals now that I've upgraded to the 4x4 and will be keeping the 3gals stictly in the 2x2s in future

I think you’re right. I’d be foolish to put a 5gal HubbaBubbaSmelloscope in my cupboard.

did you see the Ripley’s on the previous page? she’s nearly a meter tall now. apparently HBSS gets big too.

I’ll look at better perlite! Mine was just an Amazon jobby. it’s not so much it looks/feels dusty, but my fan gets it in the grill and gives my ladies dandruff on occasion haha

 

[NiceOption]

Little tip bro if you buy a higher grade perlite it shouldn't be dusty, only the crappy stuff is normally. I never knew that as had always used the cheaper grade but discovered the last time all my hydro shop had was the more expensive grade and was actually a bit annoyed until I opened the bag and didn't choke to death

Mine was dear (like £6 10l £10 20l or around) but it doesnt just break apart in the scoop and even if it does it remains a granule like consistency which is fine to mix in whereas the dust does bupkis and a 10l bag turns to 8l. Don't have to use as much either!

Still clay pebbles would be nice but I've found them both harder to source and perlite is fine really

super helpful information, thank you so much.
I suspect I don’t really need to gas my tap water either, and as I move in to coco I’ll be using more water than before so cutting that process down to just allowing the temperature to come up will be nice. hopefully not long until I switch to RO anyway.

eeeek transplanting hey? that’s a new one for me too! those small solo cups any good or too small do you think? would I have to worry about it drying out during the day?

I think my shopping list is;

Fabric Pot — my cupboard is slim, I’m thinking I should go 3 gallon for my space...but I know you use 5 gallon. Plant width is really the big restriction in the cupboard, 55cm approximately. thoughts?
Clay pebbles - anything I need to know before buying the cheapest I can find?
Great White - I don’t think I have a question for this
Small container to start - see my Q above

in theory I could water/feed twice a day, if I mixed up the feed in the evenings ready to drop in the pots before work...I’m thinking coco will take the fluid more effectively than a pot of soil that’s been drying for a day of two.

Transplanting isn't as daunting as people make it seem. It seems to really help things along in the early days. I just used the pots that herbs from the supermarket came in. They only cost around £1 and you get a bunch of corriander or whatever else you want too.

3 gallons is plenty, mine are 15L, so 3.2 gallons. I don't totally fill them either as i like to fold over the lid to give a little more anchor for the tie downs. The brand is smart pot, but they're all the same thing from what i can tell. Some of them have little sleeves on the outer corners which allows you to slide stakes in without shoving it into the roots. Quite neat. I can't imagine there's much difference between them.

I use Plant!T perlite, it's just what they have at my local hydro store. It's ok but mixing it is a rather dusty affair. Once it's done, it's done though, it's fine, it's perlite.

I use VitaLink clay pebbles, but again i can't really imagine there's much difference between brands. A 10L bag is about a fiver.

Basically all the consumables i use are just what my local hydro has as it's the easiest thing to get hold of. I don't love ordering too many grow supplies online, bought an autopot system online once and the delivery guy left it outside the door with very conspicuous branding all over the box for anyone to see.
I mean...

 

[Vicent Van Grow]

I was really worried about the same things the first time I gave it a go, but had no problems. I'd be more cautious in soil but I don't think much as much transference happens with coco and the ecosystem seems far less delicate. Whilst writing this I thought it might be worth soaking them afterwards in PHd water, I guess that would be the ideal scenario but I've never bothered. I might do that next time!

Looks like we have come up with a perfect solution there. I will definitely be using this method from now on. I do love sharing ideas

that describes our Tangie taster on Saturday rather well mate...i think she'll have to dose it very lightly if she wants an uplifting/creative sativa effect from this lady. i have managed to resist the urge to pinch another bud and will try my best just to wait now - final countdown.

i was planning on 1 part perlite to 3 parts coco as i already have a bag of perlite kicking around. long term i'm thinking clay pebbles would be nice as the perlite creates more dust than you'd think it would. hopefully that's help avoid over watering, but honestly i suffer with under watering if anything...which will be a problem in coco i know.

your water - do you let it stand out to "gas off" the chlorine? if not then do you allow it to rise to room temperature? do you use a specific brand of coco? i'm looking at Canna Coco Professional Plus at the moment. then i need to prime it with goodies before i pop a germ'd bean in there?

Yeah you resist and im sure the girl will pay you back handsomely :smoking:

That sounds good to me, I have mixed perlite myself before and it definitely ain't a great time. I think you are supposed to wet it first but I could never be bothered if i'm honest. Yeah for straight coco I always used the canna prof plus, If you switch to a clay pebble mix I would highly recommend Gold label 60/40.

I do my mix let it stand for 5 mins and then feed, I use a mix of cold and hot water and use my hand to judge if it is the right temp. I have checked how accurate my hand is at judging 20c with a probe and I am pretty accurate.

Everything is looking good on your end mate, coming along nicely

 

[NiceOption]

It's also worth mentioning that I don't mix the clay pebbles in, they're just in the base of the pot to provide drainage and a little water retention. I don't really think it's needed but its not hurt them and someone told me to do it once, so i just blindly followed and have done since. Perlite is better in the mix.

All of this said, and to further confuse matters; plenty of people do well with straight coco. Try a few mixes and see which you like best.

 

[Vicent Van Grow]

It's also worth mentioning that I don't mix the clay pebbles in, they're just in the base of the pot to provide drainage and a little water retention. I don't really think it's needed but its not hurt them and someone told me to do it once, so i just blindly followed and have done since. Perlite is better in the mix.

All of this said, and to further confuse matters; plenty of people do well with straight coco. Try a few mixes and see which you like best.

I will add to the confusion too, why not eh?

I remember reading an article on drainage because I used to do the same thing with clay pebbles, layer the bottom of the pot to help with drainage. I can't remember exactly what the terminology was but they suggested that what it actually did was increase the water retention volume of the pot and take up valuable growing space, creating a situation where more water logging could occur. I'm sure i watched a video on it too where they had some nice graphics. I will try to find a link.

I know plenty of people who do great with straight coco too, in fact I used to be one of them and then something happened. Maybe it was when I switched nutrients, if only I knew i'd be much wiser.

@Froot n Fuel A white stomper you say?? I will admit i'm slightly jealous

 

[NiceOption]

I will add to the confusion too, why not eh?

I remember reading an article on drainage because I used to do the same thing with clay pebbles, layer the bottom of the pot to help with drainage. I can't remember exactly what the terminology was but they suggested that what it actually did was increase the water retention volume of the pot and take up valuable growing space, creating a situation where more water logging could occur. I'm sure i watched a video on it too where they had some nice graphics. I will try to find a link.

I know plenty of people who do great with straight coco too, in fact I used to be one of them and then something happened. Maybe it was when I switched nutrients, if only I knew i'd be much wiser.

@Froot n Fuel A white stomper you say?? I will admit i'm slightly jealous

It certainly hangs on to water more than perlite does so yeah, quite possibly. It's pretty handy if you have a bottom fed autosystem as it will draw the water and nutes through in a way that perlite doesn't. That's a whole other issue though.

The main thing to remember IMO is that it's not a question of clay or perlite, they behave very differently and bring different pros and cons i guess.

 

[Froot n Fuel]

All of this said, and to further confuse matters

I will add to the confusion too, why not eh?

i am more than capable of confusing myself lads


alright i think i have a plan for this coco adventure!

medium is due for delivery today.

HubbaBubbaSmelloscope bean dropped in to a glass of water on my way out the door this morning.

starting in a smaller pot (i need to find one of those still or make one) in my usual lightmix for approx' 10 days.

i'm coming around to the idea of transplanting. so far i have grown straight in to final 12L pots, and i don't like watering a seedling in a great big pot so at least i can avoid that now.

@YourMumsNewFella so no "gassing off" chlorine by leaving your tap water out for 24 hours? cold water straight out the tap, topped up with hot water out of the tap until you're happy with the temperature?
starting to think i'm causing more harm than good letting my water sit around - all it does is raise the PH from something workable around 7.0, up to around 8.1 on average. then i have to pull it back down again.

and yes! White Stomper! Walter White, Mephisto's breeding with "The White", crossed with Sour Stomper (Sour Crack x Grapestomper OG...i think)
a quick Google showed me some mighty fine examples from capable growers - divide their results by half and that might be an idea of what it'll look like haha.
I've been eyeing up a Walter White cross as i know it's our Archie's favourite stuff and he's sampled many a Mephisto now. super excited to try this one and will be the next bean started, 2-3 weeks after the HBSS.

thanks @NiceOption @YourMumsNewFella for the coco tips

 

[Froot n Fuel]

took a few pics

Stilton Special smells now - there's a creamy quality coming through that really made my eyes pop last night. shoved the Tangie in the corner more to make some more space for this girl...i may have underestimated her potential. Nice sprinkle of frost. And i bent that main cola over after watering; thanks @STILLSMOKIN

some random Tangie shots - hopefully they show the purples that have really developed in the past 48 hours. heavy fading, big calcium def' now - hasn't been fed for pushing a week now. just Flawless Finish until i can't justify her cupboard space anymore...and by then perhaps i'll figure out where i'm gonna hang this girl to dry.

the second shot is of some of her lowers that i kind of trained in to a bit of a mini scrog i guess. you can see they have developed nicely as these were on the fluffy side a week or so ago.

 

[EyeWood]

That Tangie looks so good!!! Well done man!!!

 

[Froot n Fuel]

thanks bro @EyeWood
can’t wait to get her in jars. the stink is wonderful. really knocks me back when I open the cupboard doors now.
very intense orange honey is my best description right now.
she looks like a train wreck but I’m actually really happy with how she seems to be turning out. if the results are as good as anticipated in the final product I will be itching to pop my other Tangies too.
love a good bit of orange bud

I forgot to say she’s 75 days today