MindSoup Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Oh right, yeah they're really just designed for soil and even then they still require a very delicate hand. Seems most people that try them in coco have similar issues, maybe the water sinks through the Coco too fast so the sensors don't have time to react? Can you bottom water Coco? Maybe an aqua valve/autopot might be more straightforward? I'm hoping to move to sub irrigation for my next setup. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inceywinceyspider Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Id replace all the coco for canna terra pro plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 Yeah might be worth swapping the coco for dirt/beanstalk. I do suspect the water from the carrots sinks straight down without diffusing into the coco. I was on the understanding that coco distributed water better, but damp under tray and dry surface would explain otherwise. and I don’t want to water from below, if soil/blumats doesn’t fix it, I may just stay with this easy but inaccurate system. it’s still incredibly lazy, even if I can’t keep the coco wet without runoff.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) I'd be willing to bet you'll have fewer issues swapping over to soil, just remember about the perlite . I can understand the aversion to bottom watering, it's only after seeing earthboxes work so we'll that I've considered it myself. Edited March 12 by MindSoup 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotGoingGoa Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Surprised no one has mentioned BioTabs for ease of use. Suitable for both coco and compost, highly recommend by the grand folk at @Dutch Passion whom I believe to have a vague notion about cannabis cultivation and breeding. I’ve got 4 autos and 4 photos running with these for the first time. So far so good and fucking easy. Just straight un-ph’d council juice start to finish, apart from a feed at week 5. I’m in compost/perlite and currently exploring self watering systems also! Edited March 12 by NotGoingGoa ‘cause I’m baked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I have tried biotabs, didn't have particularly good results, although I never bought their whole system as it would have been prohibitively expensive so maybe that's why. TBF in my eyes beanstalk is also pretty over the top on price, so maybe biotabs would be a good alternative to them. I still think no till wins when it comes to low maintenance and affordability. Start up costs are a bit high, but as far as maintenance goes all I do is keep my mulch layer going which costs nothing (leaf mould from forest, canna/house plant trimmings, comfrey leaves etc) and add a bit of dry ferts here and there, a 10 quid bucket of Life Cycle last me about a year for 4 square feet of growing space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux_Interior Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 @MindSoup I would have thought, incorrectly or not, a dripper system would be best with Coco in this kind of setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Yeah I'd imagine they would, they would require some extra effort over Blumats, not exactly a lot though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 I just looked at those Biotabs. It's organic, nice. But aren't they the same as fbb, bonemeal etc, which are as cheap as chips from B&Q? Does this means I could fertilize the coco with organic material instead of these pellets? Anyone successfully growing in low/no runoff coco using bonemeal, fbb etc? I don't see how it wouldn't work, unless these pellets have some form of ph buffer or similar tech.. I'm maybe just too stoned to think straight, but this would work, wouldn't it? Just enrich the coco with cheap organics and keep damp somehow.. ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 On 12/03/2024 at 23:09, Lux_Interior said: @MindSoup I would have thought, incorrectly or not, a dripper system would be best with Coco in this kind of setup. You mean a pump on timer or is there another gravity drip system I've missed (just checking). I've researched the plethora of solenoid valves, that's a minefield of DIY options. Not many plug and play solenoid valve systems either. Are solenoid valve irrigation systems that rare, if so, why? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux_Interior Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 19 hours ago, Slippy One said: You mean a pump on timer or is there another gravity drip system I've missed (just checking). Yes. I mean a tank and an electric pump on a timer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotGoingGoa Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 On 15/03/2024 at 20:01, Slippy One said: I just looked at those Biotabs. It's organic, nice. But aren't they the same as fbb, bonemeal etc, which are as cheap as chips from B&Q? Does this means I could fertilize the coco with organic material instead of these pellets? Not sure about similarities with fbb etc. sure it is though, also they are slow release and might a pain trying to produce one’s own! but what got me is that one introduces beneficial microbial and mycelial shit into one’s medium oneself,(I’ve been using recycled and some Biobiz light mix) it’s orgasmic AND fucking easy. Average of a tenner a plant doesn’t seem like a lot of money to me either. This is my first run using, plants seem happy enough I’ll see how happy I am over coming weeks. Peace 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 @NotGoingGoaplease document your progress, feel free to tag me, I’m always looking for simple solutions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotGoingGoa Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Slippy One said: @NotGoingGoaplease document your progress, feel free to tag me, I’m always looking for simple solutions As I said to @DutchPassionTony back in October or November when he suggested I get another diary on the go, I can't rally be arsed any more. Last one was an epic and loadsa fun, The Sweet and Delicious one with the link in my sig. I'm 10 years older now, staring down the barrel at 67 for one thing. Wow that is quite a mind fuck ! I'm posting pics now and then some of which have Diary-like comments etc., Do check them out, just put a few up in the wee small hours. Peace. ETA: I'm using compost not coco by the way and switched to BioTabs from Advanced with the auto Northern Dragon Fuels onwards. Nothing wrong with Advanced happy, happy with results, just this so much simpler, I get a good vibe about the Company and the organic side appeals quite a lot too. Boom Shanker Edited March 18 by NotGoingGoa 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 None of us are getting any younger!! Anyway, the only issue I have with using compost, is that I recall you shouldn’t keep compost damp constantly, whereas coco loves it saturated. I might experiment with Blumats/compost outdoors this summer.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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