Fast Buds Hans' FastBuds LED Coco Autopot Grow - Blackberry / Girl Scout Cookies

[pop22]

I ditched peat for coco blended soil over a year ago. It works well, in fact, I like it much better than peat based soils. And coco is a renewable resource, peat isn't. It takes hundreds of years to form a peat bog. I've had very good results. I've even posted my simple soil mix on the forum.

I wonder if a coco based soil mix will outperform a peat based, or regular organic mix. It'd be interesting to see the differences.

 

[kcmoxtractor]

i've gotten better results from a coco based mix, it has a few properties that set it apart
from peat. here are a few i can think of off the top of my head-

First, it wicks moisture MUCH better than peat. you can bottom water coco and it will
sponge the moisture up to the top of the pot in no time. because of that, it dries out much
more evenly and you can take less time watering.

Second, the air filled porosity of good coco coir is nearly perfect for a standalone medium.
that's why folks use it DTW with such success. General Hydroponics 5kg cocotek brick is right
around 30% AFP. Adding some compost then more porous material to get it back to approximately
that AFP means you have a soil that maintains a proper air/moisture ratio throughout the entire
medium. It's hard to have an anaerobic spot because of that. You would basically have to leave
huge chunks of compost unmixed and over-water the hell out of it.

Third, it is available in bricks. While that may seem silly, if stealth is an issue it can be very
handy to be able to conceal your growing materials in a storage tote, backpack, or laundry
basket when bringing them into the house.

Now on to the negative. It is a picky bastard about calcium, I recommend adding azomite and/or
local quarry dust high in calcium and magnesium. If you can't find a rock dust with high levels of
magnesium, you can always add epsom salts in your water.

Breaking up the bricks can be a pain in the ass, but they are cheaper than the bags of loose coir.

 

[pop22]

"Now on to the negative. It is a picky bastard about calcium, I recommend adding azomite and/or
local quarry dust high in calcium and magnesium. If you can't find a rock dust with high levels of
magnesium, you can always add epsom salts in your water.
Breaking up the bricks can be a pain in the ass, but they are cheaper than the bags of loose coir."

I've not had one issue with soil, mixed at 30% coir the rest organic soil/top soil, and amendments. I think because I always add lime and usually epsom salts, plus because I have to use RO water, I add a little cal/mag anyway. Proper organic soil should always be amended this way anyway. I've also tried adding perlite to the mix, and decided it was totally unnecessary. And the soil doesn't compact as much as that mixed with peat.

I soak my bricks in a 20 gallon tote and leave the unused portion in the tote. For those without this option, use the smaller bricks that only make 5 gallons of coir, you can store the dried left over coir in a bucket

 

[Hansbricks]

Man! Those look yummy. :drool: Very nice indeed. Sorry I missed most of the grow.( family illness) Can't wait to see what's next.

Here's a well deserved

Happy Growing

Cheers bro, no worries been absent myself lately... The finish is the best part anyway
Thanks for stopping by and for the rep.

My lord those nugs are so amazing, I can't say I'm not jealous

Thanks dude, they smell pretty amazing too Already have a sweet berry smell to them... should be really nice after a good cure.
I'll have final weights and some more bud porn up next week.

 

[Hansbricks]

Update: GSC - Day 86
Alright been a few weeks since last update on this one so it's actually just about ready to harvest now... I've been flushing it since I chopped the Blackberry last weekend so really it's ready to come down any time next week. The buds on this one are really quite impressive, both in size/density and trich coverage. I'd put it up there with the Tyrone I did as far as frostiness... and actually the smell is just about as powerful as that one was, it's pretty much stinking up both floors of my house so not exactly a good stealth strain lol... Haven't been able to have any family over for the last month because of it Some of the best buds are usually some of the stinkiest though so I'll put up with it for this kind of quality. :smoking:

Here's the pics from yesterday.

 

[MeefChief]

When flushing, you just fill your reservoir with water and or flushing solution?

 

[Hansbricks]

When flushing, you just fill your reservoir with water and or flushing solution?

Yeah I just fill it with straight RO water, haven't ever used any flushing products.

 

[A-Train]

Awesome my man. Congrats

 

[MediScrogs]

Excellent looking buds, Hans, well done. Get us a good pic before you chop, she probably deserves a nom for next month's BOM.

 

[Hansbricks]

Awesome my man. Congrats

Thanks bro, definitely some of the dankest buds I've had... can't wait to try some

Excellent looking buds, Hans, well done. Get us a good pic before you chop, she probably deserves a nom for next month's BOM.

Thanks Medi. Yeah I'll get her stripped down and get some good pics before I chop