My res temps kept creeping into the 70s. Before long I had slimy pale brown roots. I had to rip them from the netpots and plant in promix. Damaged roots caused a stunted growth but they turned out delicious.
I thought I could get away with slightly higher temps but not so..they warned me..lol
If ya can handle frequently watering plants coco is a awesome road to go. I think growth in coco is very similar to hydro without having to deal with res temps.
It's pretty easy to hit that 35w per sqft in a small space. I'm running a 480w in a 4x4. That only gives me 30 per sqft but it's doing the job. I got nice solid bud last grow. I really need to add more power to my setup but for now I'm growing my ass off..lol
Have you ever considered organic growing? I started in a 50/50 blend of Peat and Vermiculite amended with dolomitic lime and gypsum. But that requires the following work almost daily:
1) pH the R.O. water you're using to between 5.8 and 6.5
2) Mix liquid nutes into the water according to mfr.'s recipe - consider reducing to 40% strength to start. Adjust strength as needed moving forward.
3) Water to a 10% runoff amd test the EC a pH of that runoff and keep a log of all the data you collect.
4) Fertigate the peat - water daily and to a runoff to avoid salt buildup, which could result in nute lock.
I did all this for 3 grows starting in a 5 gallon pot and eventually moving up to a 7gallon. TH.en I learned that cannabis and virtually all plants are classified as "autotrophs", meaning they feed themselves. "Wait just one stinkin' minute", I said.... if they feed themselves why the heck am I the waiter, chef and busboy to an autotroph? It was at this point that I began studying organic growing and had the good luck to find Coast of Maine's Stonington Blend Grower's Mix, which is specifically designed for cannabis.
I use Stonington exclusively in a 10 gallon pot and one seed now yields 19 ozs of primo dried and cured flower and all I do is water and only occasionally top-dress in a few amendments when the nutes begin to run low.
A 10 gallon pot filled with Stonington is good for 2 months of veg without any amendments needed. At the beginning a grow, the pot will show a 6,000ppm runoff reading. But most of those nutes are not plant available. It's the bacteria, protozoans and fungi that do all the hard work by breaking down the organic material into the proper ionic form that's plant available. I've also read that glomus interacides the endo-michorizal fungi that's added to Stonington is the only endo that pairs with cannabis inside its roots and it specializes in breaking down phosphorous for the plant.
Stonington costs about $35 per bag. It actually changed my life and made it so much easier. I uploaded a pic of my newest seedling: Skywalker OG which germinated 10 days ago. I do not use solo cups...I strongly believe in allowing the tap root to seek out the deepest part of the pot as that will help to develop the biggest root ball possible in a 10 gallon container.
Whatever you're using to grow, I wish you the best of luck for the greatest harvest ever.
I started yesterday in a bag.
things are looking up I think
