Perlite layered airgap in coco anyone tried?

[Grower2020]

Has anyone ever done layering with perlite in coco? Not just in the bottom for drainage like actually a couple of inches under where you plant your seed so that there is a nice air gap for the roots to grow through and provide tonnes of oxygen to the plants at a young age when roots are easily overwatered ?
So what I mean is putting a light layer of hydroton on the bottom for drainage and then say a 80 20 mix of coco perlite for 2 thirds of the rest of the pot and then about an inch layer of perlite and then fill the rest of the pot with 80/20 to the top. Should have the same principal as dwc shouldn't it ? Every time you water it should replace the oxygen in the perlite air gap and constantly provide air to the roots even if the coco is soaking in a big pot with a small seedling in it? Thoughts please

 

[ppm Charlie]

Why not just mix in more perlite into the coco if you need more "air"? If you want more oxygen to the roots just get an aquarium pump and place a circular bubblier tube in the bottom of the pot. That type of setup may provide more oxygen to the roots. Other ways people provide more oxygen to the roots is with "air-pots" (Shop Superoots - Air Pots | HTG Supply). You can also make your own DYI air-pot by simple drilling a bunch of holes in the sides/bottom of a pot or using materials or "baskets-like" containers (like this:

, and this:

). Some nurseries and other sellers also sell pots made for orchids that have slits in the sides of the pots (Amazon.com : Orchid Pots). Hope this helps.

 

[Grower2020]

Why not just mix in more perlite into the coco if you need more "air"? If you want more oxygen to the roots just get an aquarium pump and place a circular bubblier tube in the bottom of the pot. That type of setup may provide more oxygen to the roots. Other ways people provide more oxygen to the roots is with "air-pots" (Shop Superoots - Air Pots | HTG Supply). You can also make your own DYI air-pot by simple drilling a bunch of holes in the sides/bottom of a pot or using materials or "baskets-like" containers (like this:

, and this:

). Some nurseries and other sellers also sell pots made for orchids that have slits in the sides of the pots (Amazon.com : Orchid Pots). Hope this helps.

Hey man thanks for your input , I'm thinking of specifically strategically putting a layer of perlite at about half way up the solo cup when transplanting and have the lower roots in solo cup in moist coco but the air gap at half way up the solo cup so there are air roots and water roots just like in a dwc. This is when I'm transplanting from solo into 23L or 6 gal fabric pots so I can water the whole pot instead of doing small waterings and therefore not overwatering with a solo going into a huge pot.
I think the even layer of perlite carefully placed at the right depth in the big pot would be even better than air pots as they are mostly designed to light prune the roots once the roots hit the outsides of the pots. Where as the coco layer will provide a direct air pocket to the small plant right at the root base allowing the feeders to delve deep into the wet coco and allow for more frequent waterings without overwatering.
Makes sense to me in my weird out the box mind but dunno about others ?

 

[ppm Charlie]

Maybe you could upload a diagram? My foggy mind has a hard time visualizing.

 

[Grower2020]

Best I can do

 

[Grower2020]

@013 @Growings @Bill284 @skunksa opinions please

 

[ppm Charlie]

A very, very interesting concept. I would experiment with it and see what comes of it. Make sure there are plenty of holes in the sides and bottom of the solo cup for air to enter. Who knows, you could be on to something important.

 

[013]

Funny you should ask, I’m trying a soil air layer now with a seedling in net pot…. she’s 1 day old so no personal experience yet…

as you top feed your girl the upper coco layer will settle into the perlite below. In soil grows a layer of rocks or perlite on the bottom actually works funky and it will raise the water table to become a perched water table. I’d love to hear @Emilya jump in

ditto on ppm Charlie, I’ve added air stones & air rings into my soil grows before….

 

[013]

For what it’s worth - I think it’s cool as a moose but all who experiment must be willing to lose beans.

now to add total effing confusion what if perlite layer was 2 inches thick and you put landscape fabric on top of perlite to slow sedimentation of the coco down into the perlite?

 

[Grower2020]

A very, very interesting concept. I would experiment with it and see what comes of it. Make sure there are plenty of holes in the sides and bottom of the solo cup for air to enter. Who knows, you could be on to something important.

Oh I don't mean leave it in the solo cup . Sorry I just wrote that to highlight where the transplanted seedling that "was " in the solo cup is. Before transplanted. Definitely removing the solo cup from the seedling before transplanting into the 23l pot

 

[ppm Charlie]

Ahhhh. I wondered about that...

 

[Grower2020]

Ahhhh. I wondered about that...

Sorry dude I did notice it might confuse people after i drew it but thought you'd know I would remove it so didn't rewrite it all good man

 

[Roy Growin]

Hi Mate - yes I've done similar coco/perlite over clay pebbles and it works very well, you end up with a thick matting of root around the pebbles
You still have to be careful to keep the pebbles moist though without over watering the rest of the pot, so maybe mix a handful of coco in with the hydroton to hold a bit more moisture
That way you can give a little water from the bottom and it will be soaked up by capillary action, without drenching the rest of the soil, kind of NFT principle
Not convinced what the layer of perlite will achieve but it won't do any harm, so play away

 

[ppm Charlie]

Live and learn.

 

[Grower2020]

For what it’s worth - I think it’s cool as a moose but all who experiment must be willing to lose beans.

now to add total effing confusion what if perlite layer was 2 inches thick and you put landscape fabric on top of perlite to slow sedimentation of the coco down into the perlite?

I had the exact thought but I wondered if it may slow down root penetration to the deeper part of the pot ?
I suppose all I can do is try it out with one pot

 

[bluter]

you can run it hempy with hard sides and hydroton in the res.

to air layer with the perlite in a soft bucket you would have to source the big chunky stuff. #3 or #4. which gets pricey for what it's gonna add. regular perlite will just mix right through. and the hydroton wouldn't help so much in that scenario.

kinda leaves you with hard sides. negating the air layer.
in hard sides straight perlite breathes about the same as coco anyway.

Hi Mate - yes I've done similar coco/perlite over clay pebbles and it works very well, you end up with a thick matting of root around the pebbles
You still have to be careful to keep the pebbles moist though without over watering the rest of the pot, so maybe mix a handful of coco in with the hydroton to hold a bit more moisture
That way you can give a little water from the bottom and it will be soaked up by capillary action, without drenching the rest of the soil, kind of NFT principle
Not convinced what the layer of perlite will achieve but it won't do any harm, so play away

were you in soft sides ? would like to see how that worked.

 

[Grower2020]

Hi Mate - yes I've done similar coco/perlite over clay pebbles and it works very well, you end up with a thick matting of root around the pebbles
You still have to be careful to keep the pebbles moist though without over watering the rest of the pot, so maybe mix a handful of coco in with the hydroton to hold a bit more moisture
That way you can give a little water from the bottom and it will be soaked up by capillary action, without drenching the rest of the soil, kind of NFT principle
Not convinced what the layer of perlite will achieve but it won't do any harm, so play away

I am hoping to just create an abundance of air passing right through the pot so there is just an abundance in the pocket and have the roots grow right through it into the medium below it so there is an air gap just like in dwc, and since I'm watering every day there shouldn't be any problems with keeping it moist enough

 

[Roy Growin]

you can run it hempy with hard sides and hydroton in the res.

to air layer with the perlite in a soft bucket you would have to source the big chunky stuff. #3 or #4. which gets pricey for what it's gonna add. regular perlite will just mix right through. and the hydroton wouldn't help so much in that scenario.

kinda leaves you with hard sides. negating the air layer.
in hard sides straight perlite breathes about the same as coco anyway.





were you in soft sides ? would like to see how that worked.

No, I just drilled a load of 5mm holes at the bottom of the plastic pot

 

[TorturedSoul]

an air gap just like in dwc,

You don't actually need an "air gap" in a DWC setup. Some people grow plants on rafts that barely even keep the stems out of the nutrient solution (although generally types of plants that are small enough to not require support).

I am definitely no cico coir expert, and haven't used it for years. But when I did, if I added perlite, I mixed it evenly throughout the coco.

There are enough people who use 100% coco coir from seed to harvest, that I feel it's unnecessary to adulterate it. YMMV, of course.

 

[Roy Growin]

You don't actually need an "air gap" in a DWC setup. Some people grow plants on rafts that barely even keep the stems out of the nutrient solution (although generally types of plants that are small enough to not require support).

I am definitely no cico coir expert, and haven't used it for years. But when I did, if I added perlite, I mixed it evenly throughout the coco.

There are enough people who use 100% coco coir from seed to harvest, that I feel it's unnecessary to adulterate it. YMMV, of course.

Sorry, Roy's in dim mode today - what does YMMV mean TS?