Personally I don't put perlite in my coco as it provides plenty of oxygen. This is the roots of a 21 day old plant that was transplanted from a solo cup about a week before. The plant turned male so I went ahead and took some pics of the roots. Why would someone want to put perlite into coco? Also to note this was grow with coco, miracle-gro 12-4-8, and superthive. Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk
Perlite is for drainage as well as other things... That bad boy was getting a little root bound huh Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk
Different strokes my friend - there are many ways to be successful. I have always felt the more oxygen the better. Only 14 days from sprout in a 50/50 coco/perlite mix.
Yes I agree their is always more then one way to skin a cat. Thanks for input, was curious. Ya I was about to transplant that plant again to a 5 gallon bucket but it turned male without even switching the lights to 12/12. Was 1 seed from a oz of bud my girlfriends had bought. Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk
Honestly this is only my second grow. My first one I did with CFLs and bagseed lol they all hermed unsure if it was a lightleak issue or whatever. This grow I went with pure coco, air pruning pots, LED, and jock horror autos from Nirvana. Here is my current grow in progress in link if you want to have a look. https://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?threads/1460431/ Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk
I think some people underestimate what perlite is capable of. Coco has amazing properties but so does perlite. Mixing the two gives you a little of the best benefits of each medium. Also many long time growers are used to mixing generous amounts of perlite over the years with all other mediums so I think the people that transitioned to coco just brought along that habit. I know that coco is similar but one of the best things about perlite that goes with it's resistance to compaction from being so lite of a particle is that it stores water, allows the rest to drain away, and promotes air penetration in the medium while at the same time slowly releasing the water it has stored to feed the plant.
So maybe my next grow I will do half coco perlite and other half pure coco. Be interesting to see side by side. If there is any difference in quality of the grow and difference. Will be same strain when I do it. Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk