Hempy Bucket - Coco or Perlite/Vermiculite?

What are pros/cons of Coco vs Perlite/Vermiculite in hempy buckets? Would bennies be more effective in one medium vs the other? Would there be any preference for keeping mothers? My understanding is you need to run cal/mag with coco, but that's about the only difference I know.

We are starting a couple small hempy buckets and can use either mediums.

We went with perlite/vermiculite.

I think the hrmpys r to b perlite vermiculite. Im sure you could design a coco hempy, im sure someone already has and posted it here. Prob just coco and perlite. I think you just need a layer of perlite on top if the coco is going to b wet all yhe time

You can use a variety of different mediums in a hempy bucket, they are quite flexible.

I've seen slightly better results using coco vs perlite. But perlite is easier to maintain, in that you don't have to chase the cal/mag equilibrium.

If you are using coco coir, you will need to use a different medium in the rez area, because the weight & density of the saturated coir is tough on roots. Perlite has been the general choice for some time, but it's been documented that the roots will stop at the coir to perlite transition, this reduces the volume for rooting, but the plants still grow great. I and others have been trying different rez mediums, I've been mixing coco chunk (mulch) with the coir and filling the bucket top to bottom, with really good results, and most likely the winner is Gordon's grow stones in the rez, (it just small rock wool cubes). Which I'll be trying here soon.

Perlite IMO is easier to use, the verm is used to help retain water above the rez level. I don't use it anymore, but I do put a soil cap (top 1 1/2 to 2 inches) which keeps the perlite from floating when watering, keeps the light out of the perlite, and acts like a moisture sponge which helps with the wicking action of the perlite.

Hope this helps.

I have been using perlite/vermiculite for the past few years. One reason I like it is because it can be recycled.

I have however started using Fox Farm for my clones. I think this will give the plant more stability, when transplanted from Dixie cups into my three gallon hempy buckets.

I still use Cal-Mag at 5 ml per gallon.

Check my journal. Hope you have great success with your hempy extravaganza.

sourpuss said:

I think the hrmpys r to b perlite vermiculite. Im sure you could design a coco hempy, im sure someone already has and posted it here. Prob just coco and perlite. I think you just need a layer of perlite on top if the coco is going to b wet all yhe time

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They have indeed been designed! I run coco/perlite hempy buckets pretty much just like this:

http://www.stonerhaven.com/topic/384-how-to-coco-hempy/

With coco the only problem were a few nutrient deficiency's but other than that coco is great.. But it has no nutrients so you must feed often

As for as perlite or vermiculite.. i use both but perlite seems to work the best that and it stands out from the soil..and is good for drainage.. but you need to be careful when you pouring it... there will be a ton of smoke from the bag..

spartacus420 said:

With coco the only problem were a few nutrient deficiency's but other than that coco is great.. But it has no nutrients so you must feed often

As for as perlite or vermiculite.. i use both but perlite seems to work the best that and it stands out from the soil..and is good for drainage.. but you need to be careful when you pouring it... there will be a ton of smoke from the bag..

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You know sparticus420, I used to get a lot of dust, but I think it has been so humid here lately, I haven't been getting any lately.

BUT IF YOU DO get dust while mixing your perlite and vermiculite, please use a dust mask!!!

Silicosis is a lung disease caused from breathing in too many silica particles. Silica is the most common mineral in the earths' crust. Silicosis will turn your lungs lining into a leathery substance, and not a pleasant way to die.

Think about it the next time your working in a "dusty" environment.

Dont remember where I read it, but if the perlite/vermiculite is in bags, cut some holes in the bottom, and spray with a showerhead/other thing, and end of problem. The holes in the bottom is for drainage..

Perlite can be dusty. I try and dump mine into water, instead of dumping water into the perlite. This seems to help somewhat, but not too much.

We are in week 4 of bloom, the perlite/vermiculite is doing great. Very low maintenance.... ph stable; no deficiencies really, maybe a little nute burn @420 ppm.

This is old... week 2 Grapefruit fem freebie. My girlfriend has been taking care of them watering with 420ppm dynagro bloom every 2-3 days. We have given them Heisenberg tea a couple times. We had a free Blueberry Headband from emerald triangle that was a fem and ended up straight up male at 12/12. It had a beautiful white rootball.

And yea, I pretty much inhaled all the perlite dust like a fuckin champ.

Malevolence said:

We are in week 4 of bloom, the perlite/vermiculite is doing great. Very low maintenance.... ph stable; no deficiencies really, maybe a little nute burn @420 ppm.

This is old... week 2 Grapefruit fem freebie. My girlfriend has been taking care of them watering with 420ppm dynagro bloom every 2-3 days. We have given them Heisenberg tea a couple times. We had a free Blueberry Headband from emerald triangle that was a fem and ended up straight up male at 12/12. It had a beautiful white rootball.

And yea, I pretty much inhaled all the perlite dust like a fuckin champ.

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First off, beauty of a job there, those plants are perfectly fed.

Secondly, just crack the top of the perilite bag big enoug to put a hose into, poke a few small holes in the bottom of the bag, stick it in the shower with the water from the showerhead going int the top 'till the run off is clear, then agitate it by picking it up and shaking it around, then do this again a couple 'times 'till it comes out clear, then poor it all in a big tupperware tub and dry it out there, then when you want to use it just wet the top layer enough so that you can deal with it and not breath the dust. The dust is no joke, I worked for a pool company that used a type of sand that had only a fractional percentage of this stuff in it for the pool filter and I breathed it in for two years cause I was too stupid to read the lable. My lungs are fucked now. I have smokers cough without smoking cigarettes. ANY dust or mold makes me cough like crazy, I attribute a large part of it to this. Dont' fuck around. They're your lungs, you can't buy new ones (Not legally).

If you're still rockin the Hempy's hit me back I could use some advice from someone with experience with them, thanks!

PS, all the sharp nasty looking shit In the left third of the photo here is perilite under a microscope, it's why bugs aren't a huge fan of fresh perilite, or roots that are young don't like it when the perilite moves around with them in it , note the scale which makes your pores of your skin look like craters, do you want this soaking in your skin and lungs? For reference a human hair is 50-100micrometers wide, that entire image is about 8.