Easiest growing media for perpetual grow?

Hey guys,

Just setting up my current grow room, and I have 3 tents to work with: a 5x5 for flowering, 3x3 for early veg, and 2x4 for mothers/seedlings (with an auto shoved in every once in a while)

I have the space all figured out, and the concept, but I've yet to settle on a media. I've bounced back and forth between all sorts of ideas, soil, coco, dwc, rdwc, and I can't seem to land on solid ground. I work full time, so I have an hour to tend here and there per day, but I don't have several per day to invest.

Soil: easiest? less yield, bugs?

Coco: bigger yield, more work, measuring different nute solutions for different stages of life? (1k+ ppm flower, less for veg, less for mothers and seeds, twice a day watering sometimes.) (potential auto drip rings for 3 different tents? seems excessive??)

DWC: lots of the same issues with coco, more difficult to run perpetually?

RDWC: Easier to maintain, but potential to lose whole runs with mistakes?

I guess I'm looking for the best in-between, where juggling plants at different stages of their life cycle at the same time doesn't become a headache. Anyone with perpetual grow experience have any insight?

In door raised bed with a no-till practice and coots style soil mix. Ez sustainable and can use the beds for years with proper practices.

flipwon said:

Hey guys,

Just setting up my current grow room, and I have 3 tents to work with: a 5x5 for flowering, 3x3 for early veg, and 2x4 for mothers/seedlings (with an auto shoved in every once in a while)

I have the space all figured out, and the concept, but I've yet to settle on a media. I've bounced back and forth between all sorts of ideas, soil, coco, dwc, rdwc, and I can't seem to land on solid ground. I work full time, so I have an hour to tend here and there per day, but I don't have several per day to invest.

Soil: easiest? less yield, bugs?

Coco: bigger yield, more work, measuring different nute solutions for different stages of life? (1k+ ppm flower, less for veg, less for mothers and seeds, twice a day watering sometimes.) (potential auto drip rings for 3 different tents? seems excessive??)

DWC: lots of the same issues with coco, more difficult to run perpetually?

RDWC: Easier to maintain, but potential to lose whole runs with mistakes?

I guess I'm looking for the best in-between, where juggling plants at different stages of their life cycle at the same time doesn't become a headache. Anyone with perpetual grow experience have any insight?

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Any soiless medium should work, l prefer peat mix but dont have experience with much else, Promix hp m, the hp is high porosity and m is for mychorhyzae. Its a clean slate as only other ingrediant is lime. No nutes at all.

Pro mix
Simple one part dry fert
Tap water

Southernontariogrower said:

Any soiless medium should work, l prefer peat mix but dont have experience with much else, Promix hp m, the hp is high porosity and m is for mychorhyzae. Its a clean slate as only other ingrediant is lime. No nutes at all.

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What do you use to feed/amend? What kind of schedule does this run?

I've been looking into this and dry amendments, as I would only need to top dress weekly it seems?

Can't over water and if you automate the feed/drainage systems it basically takes care of itself.

I run two small tents and a 4 x 4 flower perpetual . I just run 100% Perlite. Pretty simple- like me.

I stay away from peat mixes because it's nonrenewable.
I stay away from dirt because I fear bugs
I stay away from recirculating hydro (nft rails) because I fear water leaks and being 1 pump failure away from devastation

I've never run DWC or rDWC so you'll have to try that for yourself.

I think the cheapest and most flexible way to start is soil. If you go soilless (like I am) you start adding pH and TDS(EC) meter etc... Indoors you want to spend your most money on quality lights.

I use 50/50 coco pith/xlg perlite drain to waste because it suits my needs. Pick one style and try it. You'll find your comfort level. These plants are relatively easy to grow and amenable to many growing styles.

curious2garden said:

I stay away from peat mixes because it's nonrenewable.
I stay away from dirt because I fear bugs
I stay away from recirculating hydro (nft rails) because I fear water leaks and being 1 pump failure away from devastation

I've never run DWC or rDWC so you'll have to try that for yourself.

I think the cheapest and most flexible way to start is soil. If you go soilless (like I am) you start adding pH and TDS(EC) meter etc... Indoors you want to spend your most money on quality lights.

I use 50/50 coco pith/xlg perlite drain to waste because it suits my needs. Pick one style and try it. You'll find your comfort level. These plants are relatively easy to grow and amenable to many growing styles.

Click to expand...

Your thought pattern is similar to the path that lead me to coco. My only issue is wrapping my head around mixing nutes for 3 stages of life as often as I'd need to.

With a flower tent, veg tent and mother tent needing 3 different tds level of water it may get overwhelming when the outside world comes knocking.

Lucky Luke said:

I run two small tents and a 4 x 4 flower perpetual . I just run 100% Perlite. Pretty simple- like me.

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Got any pics of this??? I been looking at trying 100% perlite. But everyone says that mad??? How are you doing? Hempy?

flipwon said:

Your thought pattern is similar to the path that lead me to coco. My only issue is wrapping my head around mixing nutes for 3 stages of life as often as I'd need to.

With a flower tent, veg tent and mother tent needing 3 different tds level of water it may get overwhelming when the outside world comes knocking.

Click to expand...

I have two reservoirs a veg reservoir whose mix never changes and a flower res that I use three different mixes during flower. When I have clones or seedlings I use a 1 gallon pitcher and mix a separate solution for them. It only takes minutes to do that and I don't wait for the carbonates to blow off the water I use it immediately. If I have leftovers the next day I just use it and don't worry about pH as I usually have a .3 rise from release of carbonates and I consistently pH down to 5.6 or 5.7 initially which allows the rise to be absorbed and uptake of nutrients continue.

It's important to remember you usually start with a few seedlings and the complexity grows from there. Very few of us start with clones, seedlings, flowering and vegging plants. The hobby sort of grows on one.

I could go on and on but it's simpler in soil. I hesitate to say easier because I kill almost anything I put in soil and I began my cannabis journey in homebuilt NFT rails. I was a great lab student I was detailed and observant. I didn't do well with sort of undefined nebulous handful of this and keep an eye on it.

Soil is simpler for some. As for me I have a Kaffir lime tree in coco/perlite under my first test LED doing fine after I had to rescue it from the soil I put it in and almost killed it.

Whatever you choose there's always people here who can help.

MidnightSun72 said:

Got any pics of this??? I been looking at trying 100% perlite. But everyone says that mad??? How are you doing? Hempy?

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It doesn't really matter what inert substrate you use in Hydro. Here's a pic of @tyler.durden 's grow he grows in perlite and does a fabulous job of it.

flipwon said:

Hey guys,

Just setting up my current grow room, and I have 3 tents to work with: a 5x5 for flowering, 3x3 for early veg, and 2x4 for mothers/seedlings (with an auto shoved in every once in a while)

I have the space all figured out, and the concept, but I've yet to settle on a media. I've bounced back and forth between all sorts of ideas, soil, coco, dwc, rdwc, and I can't seem to land on solid ground. I work full time, so I have an hour to tend here and there per day, but I don't have several per day to invest.

Soil: easiest? less yield, bugs?

Coco: bigger yield, more work, measuring different nute solutions for different stages of life? (1k+ ppm flower, less for veg, less for mothers and seeds, twice a day watering sometimes.) (potential auto drip rings for 3 different tents? seems excessive??)

DWC: lots of the same issues with coco, more difficult to run perpetually?

RDWC: Easier to maintain, but potential to lose whole runs with mistakes?

I guess I'm looking for the best in-between, where juggling plants at different stages of their life cycle at the same time doesn't become a headache. Anyone with perpetual grow experience have any insight?

Click to expand...

All automated systems are gimmicks by name, they take allot of work to keep clean along with water temps and root issues where you will lose entire crops for mistakes. Don't be fooled into thinking it's low maintenance set and forget, it isn't. It takes a lot of work upfront, then a period of hands off, other than res changes and line checks.

Organic takes a lot of knowledge and trial and error while it will still likely fall short of coco yield for most. Organic is not as economical or friendly on the environment, not unless you make your own soil from personal local resources. Coco can be re-used a few times, and it will prove more economical in every way over shiped in organics. Even if you buy it at a local store, it was shipped or transported there from somewhere.

You don't have to water twice a day in coco, where ever you read that, the person was using a pot that was too small. You can water once every other day in coco, with a larger pot, and not notice a yield hit over manual feeding every day. The work load involved with coco manual feeding is constant but small amounts, it is more reliable long term due to less parts. Automated coco is great when you get it all set up, but a lot of cleaning between runs, along with constantly checking lines for blocks. It is nice to be able to leave it be for a few days, but that also comes with the constant risk of a flood. If you don't account for that, the time it takes you to clean up a flood (along with potential dead plants) counteracts the ''free'' feeding of that entire grow. I would assume you've never had to clean up 50-100L of water before?, and then have to refil and reset everything. All the worse if you've just gotten home from a long days work.

MidnightSun72 said:

Got any pics of this??? I been looking at trying 100% perlite. But everyone says that mad??? How are you doing? Hempy?

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Yep. Hempy drain to waste.
Pic from last night but I have a grow journal in my signature.