On the fence about upcoming hunt.

[Gentlemancorpse]

Another question...Normally I use HF with Megacrop as a nutrient then worm castings, forest humus, mycos and a few other amendments to build soil. This really seems to help my crops but Im thinking to hunt for a pheno I probably dont need much more than my HF and Megacrop. That other stuff I'd think would be best saved for the final grow of my favorite phenos clones. Am I thinking right? Does phenohunting use the ole K.I.S.S. method?

It's very much personal preference but my view is yes, super soils are kind of wasted on phenohunts. I've never done super well with super soils to begin with honestly, but I think part of the reason is my propensity to grow in small containers. You lose a lot of nutrients when you water that often. Plus I think your more likely to get hot spots and such when you have such a small area for the roots. These days I'm starting to phenohunt in coco with just dry nutrients mostly because of the quicker growth with a shorter veg time.

 

[Buckeyetoker]

It's very much personal preference but my view is yes, super soils are kind of wasted on phenohunts. I've never done super well with super soils to begin with honestly, but I think part of the reason is my propensity to grow in small containers. You lose a lot of nutrients when you water that often. Plus I think your more likely to get hot spots and such when you have such a small area for the roots. These days I'm starting to phenohunt in coco with just dry nutrients mostly because of the quicker growth with a shorter veg time.

My overall growing experience did a 180 when I gave up small pots and coco and went to 7 galloners of HF and fed Megacrop with amendments. Im not sure how many Megacrop growers are here but man it's been the berries for me and my style. I make a concentrate and measure out a certain amount depending on the stage of the grow into a gallon water jug and thats it. No ph'ing no metering, just measure and feed.

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

My overall growing experience did a 180 when I gave up small pots and coco and went to 7 galloners of HF and fed Megacrop with amendments. Im not sure how many Megacrop growers are here but man it's been the berries for me and my style. I make a concentrate and measure out a certain amount depending on the stage of the grow into a gallon water jug and thats it. No ph'ing no metering, just measure and feed.

Lots of Megacroppers here. I used to use it as well and only stopped because it was hard to get for a while. I hate ordering things off the internet if I can avoid it (seeds are the obvious exception here) so I switched to Veg+Bloom, which is similar except I can buy it at the local hydro shop. The nice thing with Veg + Bloom is you buy the mix for your water/medium type and it self adjusts pH. I don't even pH balance my jute mix for coco grows anymore. Just mix the nutes into the water and go.

But I only do coco for hunting now. I like the results better from soil for my head stash. I just have so little space mixing super soils is too much hassle and I pony up for the premixed bags. Usually don't have to feed until flower and then it's just some V+B Dirty, Recharge and Moab.

 

[Buckeyetoker]

Lots of Megacroppers here. I used to use it as well and only stopped because it was hard to get for a while. I hate ordering things off the internet if I can avoid it (seeds are the obvious exception here) so I switched to Veg+Bloom, which is similar except I can buy it at the local hydro shop. The nice thing with Veg + Bloom is you buy the mix for your water/medium type and it self adjusts pH. I don't even pH balance my jute mix for coco grows anymore. Just mix the nutes into the water and go.

But I only do coco for hunting now. I like the results better from soil for my head stash. I just have so little space mixing super soils is too much hassle and I pony up for the premixed bags. Usually don't have to feed until flower and then it's just some V+B Dirty, Recharge and Moab.

Hell yeah! Rock on Brotha! If we all did it the same we'd have the same ole boring shit!

 

[Buckeyetoker]

@Gentlemancorpse, do you notice much of a difference in the pheno you chose after growing out in soil from coco? Ive read hours of material about how environment is 50% of the phenotypes character. Im sure it's much better taste and buzz, but what about growth habits. Did a phenotype completely change from coco to soil?

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

@Gentlemancorpse, do you notice much of a difference in the pheno you chose after growing out in soil from coco? Ive read hours of material about how environment is 50% of the phenotypes character. Im sure it's much better taste and buzz, but what about growth habits. Did a phenotype completely change from coco to soil?

Not in my experience. I actually don't think phenotype changes that much based on environment. In my experience it's more like 80% genetics and 20% environment (to throw what are honestly fairly arbitrary numbers on it). Things like frost, color expressions, flavors, flowering time can be enhanced or reduced by altering your environment but the fundamentals of the plant don't change that much. Structure, flavor, development time, potency, the base for all of these are in the plants DNA. For example, the plant that flowers quickest in coco will likely still flower the quickest in soil. The actual number of days may change, but it will still flower faster than the other plants I compare it too. Often times improvements in a strain are more about being dialed in than the medium from what I've seen, and I've tried a lot of mediums at this point.

So since I have limited space for phenohunting I'm trialing coco for speed and space (I'm running 12/12 from seed for the first time under the theory that the accelerated veg time in hydroponics and inert mediums is beneficial for this light cycle), and because I don't need to see perfect plants to see the hints I'm looking for to pick a keeper. So if I like what I see in a particular plant I can reveg it, take cuts, then grow it in my preferred environment and try to dial it in and maximize its potential.