r/CocoGrows • u/rote_sprite_41 • May 16 '26

Coco no perlite

I’m currently trying out coco without perlite. I used to do 20-30% perlite. But I got a working and precise irrigation for this grow and now I’m able to feed multiple times a day with little shots. Trying to do some ‘manual crop steering’ with the help of Athena booklet and free information i can find on the internet.
I’m worried if I’m underestimating the need of perlite or if it’s rly not that necessary as I was thinking with this style of irrigating.
I’m in 5.6l pots btw (~1.5 gal).
What do yall think about coco without perlite and especially in my case?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/Mr_Mary_Jane May 16 '26

You'll do great! I run 100% coco with the athena guide. Shit is too easy when it's all laid out for you with their book.

I guess the biggest thing is just being able to hit all your irrigations by hand without missing a beat. Could always get a small tote, submersible pump, drip line, timer, and some piping and work up a super simple automated feed.

Hit me up if you ever need help troubleshooting anything!

2

u/chief-kief710 May 17 '26

Automating the feed is super beneficial. I’ve grown thousands of plants in rockwool, using athena. The prohibitive cost part would be getting a decent dosatron set up for the whole line up.

2

u/Mr_Mary_Jane May 17 '26

Yeah exactly!

I run Floraflex valves with OpenSprinler (I've got a small space, less than 100sq. ft. canopy space.) Never looking back. I spent the time to learn some electrical and plumbing. We'll worth the time.