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Got this in an email from Ethos.
No matter what stage of growth you’re in, there are certain things you can always lean into for improvement.
Porosity can be the determining factor.
If your media is too dense, plants can struggle.
This means smaller root balls, slower growth, and lower overall performance from the plant.
And if you’re phenohunting, you might attribute that underperformer to genetics, when it’s really the substrate you’ve planted in.
Right now, we’re doing hyper-cull pheno hunts.
The mix is not perfectly equal no matter how well you blend it. Some pots will have slightly more perlite, some will lean more into coco, some will have dense pockets that didn’t get broken up. All of this impacts the performance of the plants in that pot, and how they perform compared to the same plants in neighboring pots in the same grow conditions.
Could be a substrate issue holding those few back.
For seeds especially, the first few weeks is crucial, allowing the plant to get established and begin to uptake what’s needed to thrive.
Maybe its the porosity of the mix.
Maybe that’s affecting dry downs.
Maybe you slightly overwatered and the porosity of the mix affected dry down to the point the plant underperformed.
It’s important as a grower to explore the biases that we operate within, one of which is that we tend to blame underperformers on the genetics, rather than examining the growing conditions more intently.
The least we can do is try to minimize the amount of plants culled that shouldn’t have been culled.
But we can help them along as well.
In our experience, these 4 tricks make a noticeable impact:
Add everything together on a tarp or in a large container and mix well rather than scooping ingredients individually into pots.
Instead, once you’ve mixed your substrate dry, add water to sufficiently wet the mix (let sit for 20 minutes or so), then fill your pots, re-aerating that mix once more as you scoop and fill.
Larger pots require heavier feedings and longer dry-backs.
Transplanting allows you to use a higher porosity, fluffier mix that leans into coco and perlite as the seed starts to establish, and gradually transition into the final substrate mix.
Dense mixes are not as porous, and stifle growth. It’s why seedling mixes are high porosity and fluffier than potting soil mixes.
If you’re starting in your final pot, I like to use the top few inches of coco-only as my “starting mix.”
Try to fluff it up as best you can, but remember, larger pots will settle more as they retain more moisture, and are getting heavier waterings than small pots.
Hopes this helps someone out.
No matter what stage of growth you’re in, there are certain things you can always lean into for improvement.
One of those constants is substrate porosity.
Whether you’re transplanting, planting seeds, or in the middle of veg, your substrate porosity has an understated impact on how your grow goes.Porosity can be the determining factor.
If your media is too dense, plants can struggle.
This means smaller root balls, slower growth, and lower overall performance from the plant.
And if you’re phenohunting, you might attribute that underperformer to genetics, when it’s really the substrate you’ve planted in.
Right now, we’re doing hyper-cull pheno hunts.
Through this process, I started to notice something:
Seeds in the same pot tend to grow the same, even if they performed differently overall than the same seeds in the pot next to them.
The difference wasn’t the quality of seed stock, it’s the slight differences in substrate from pot to pot.The mix is not perfectly equal no matter how well you blend it. Some pots will have slightly more perlite, some will lean more into coco, some will have dense pockets that didn’t get broken up. All of this impacts the performance of the plants in that pot, and how they perform compared to the same plants in neighboring pots in the same grow conditions.
And it’s something we see with clones as well.
Have you ever had a few clones from the same plant, all equally strong and healthy, but for some reason, a handful of them lacked behind, were shorter or less vigorous?Could be a substrate issue holding those few back.
For seeds especially, the first few weeks is crucial, allowing the plant to get established and begin to uptake what’s needed to thrive.
If you’re phenohunting one plant per pot, the weakness you perceive in these first few weeks might be unrelated to the genetics, and rather a result of porosity variance.
Maybe it’s not the genetics.Maybe its the porosity of the mix.
Maybe that’s affecting dry downs.
Maybe you slightly overwatered and the porosity of the mix affected dry down to the point the plant underperformed.
It’s important as a grower to explore the biases that we operate within, one of which is that we tend to blame underperformers on the genetics, rather than examining the growing conditions more intently.
The least we can do is try to minimize the amount of plants culled that shouldn’t have been culled.
4 Ways To Avoid Porosity Issues in Your Substrate
Let’s start by saying that most plants will grow out of these issues if given the proper time and environment to do so.But we can help them along as well.
In our experience, these 4 tricks make a noticeable impact:
#1: Mix everything BEFORE you fill your pots.
Mixing your entire batch before filling helps avoid inconsistencies.Add everything together on a tarp or in a large container and mix well rather than scooping ingredients individually into pots.
#2: Wet it BEFORE you fill your pots.
Top-feeding your containers will affect substrate porosity and density as the mix settles.Instead, once you’ve mixed your substrate dry, add water to sufficiently wet the mix (let sit for 20 minutes or so), then fill your pots, re-aerating that mix once more as you scoop and fill.
#3: Start small and transplant.
Gradually up-planting helps avoid dense pockets and overwatering.Larger pots require heavier feedings and longer dry-backs.
Transplanting allows you to use a higher porosity, fluffier mix that leans into coco and perlite as the seed starts to establish, and gradually transition into the final substrate mix.
#4 Stay away from overly dense mixes (it’s ok to customize).
The more sensitive the plant (baby seeds or fresh transplants), the more density matters.Dense mixes are not as porous, and stifle growth. It’s why seedling mixes are high porosity and fluffier than potting soil mixes.
If you’re starting in your final pot, I like to use the top few inches of coco-only as my “starting mix.”
Try to fluff it up as best you can, but remember, larger pots will settle more as they retain more moisture, and are getting heavier waterings than small pots.
Hopes this helps someone out.