At it again with an overall long road to cultivating in Growpito Sim Mix. Apologies for anyone that has discomfort using the blogs but I do not get enough comments or activity on my threads to do them. Anyways...
I have been cultivating in GSM for two years solidly and it has been a wonderful learning experience. I initially began growing in soil then coco coir until the CEO of Growpito offered me samples to test. Switching from Coco to Growpito was not the easiest as I was not equipped to run sub irrigation compared to my custom drip system for Coco. The CEO informed me of GSM's qualities and that it would save water but also fertilizer so I felt inclined to at least try it as I was going through 25 gallons a week in flower. I did a few test with it but getting a flood table changed the game while also forcing me to really dial in everything. I eventually became hooked with the impressive root structures and all of the other benefits enough so that I fully switched. My water consumption weekly during flower dropped from 25 a week to 10 per week.
Growpito Sim Mix is a stonewool(not to be confused with Rockwool) that has 86% air holding capacity while retaining and insane amount of water. It is compared of many small fibers that are hollow and also contains cubes which help house microbiological populations. It is probably the most expensive medium I have found at $55 for a 5 gallon pot or $140 for 20 gallons though it pays for itself over time as it doesn't degrade quickly and is reusable. If you're considering this medium there are some points to be aware of
- This has to be bottom fed for best results otherwise algae builds up and top watering methods do not distribute the water well at all
- It is expensive
- Works well for 3-5 gallon pots
- Check your tap water before using or use reverse osmosis - low ppm(180 or less)
- Reusable
- Needs to soak for a few hours to a few days to build microbiology and get water into fibers well
- Can use organics
- Recycled
- Uses low EC sub 1.5 for cannabis and 5.5-6.2pH
- Watering frequency is between 3-5 days unless you have something like autopots
Currently I'm in the process of reviving my mother tent that suffered from a long time fungus Gnats problem that was corrected with beneficial nematodes. Everything is small for now but I have four new cultivars growing to eventually take cuts but also clones, vegetables, and herbs in the GSM. There will be a lot going on as I am a SOG grower in the making with a tight schedule to ideally meet.
This blog will detail preparing Growpito, propagating cuttings, tending mothers, and flowering which are all very simple with GSM. I will explain my fertilizers, foliar, and overall setup. Check the other pages as I add updates as frequently as possible.
- Next page: How I Grow and What I Use
