I'm a new grower, have only ever used soil and have heard a lot of people saying once they've moved from soil to coco, they've never looked back. So, out of curiosity and fun, I've done a side by side grow of Basil from seed, comparing PM Oldtimer against Poundland CoCo nutes. Setup was as follows:
Lighting: 250w red spectrum CFL on an 18/6 cycle.
Pots: 0.5 litre seedling pots
Seeds: Thompson & Morgan Sweet Green Basil (3 per pot)
Watering: Manual, whenever the top soil or coco become dry.
Grow Period: six weeks.
Soil Grow
- John Innes No.1 Soil (70%) with 15% Perlite and 15% Vermiculate
- Plant Magic Organic Granules
- Plant Magic Oldtimer 'Grow'
Coco Grow
- Poundland Coco
- Poundland Hydro Coco 'Grow'
Both grows were kept side-by-side for 6-weeks, under the same light, watered manually when the top surface was dry.
Results
The soil seemed to have a much better start at early seedling level, but the coco grow soon overtook.
Plant Health - Poundland is healthier.
Height - Poundland is higher
Leaf Size - Poundland wins.
Smell - Poundland is a punchier richer smell.
Taste - They both taste crap, I'm not a fan of Basil!
Flowering - The coco grow had flowers at 5-weeks, the soil grow has a hint of buds after 6-weeks.
Nutrient Costs - £1 for the Poundland nutes Vs. £27 for the Plant Magic (albeit a larger quantity)
Photos (soil on left, coco on right)....
To be honest, the results have surprised me, but I keep telling myself it's only Basil and wasn't particularly scientific! I'm interested to hear what others think and whether they're surprised by my results?
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