First Grow - Looking for coco coir advice.

Jayboy13

Jayboy13

Member
Hey guys first time poster.

I recently acquired some White Widow Fast (feminized) seeds and have decided to attempt my first grow.

I have very little experience with growing but have done a lot of research across the web.

I built a space bucket, with 4 x CFL globes (roughly 100W) and 2 x 120mm computer fans for intake and exhaust run off a timer set for 18 hours of light currently.

Now after reading thread after thread I could not get a proper idea on the ideal growing mediums/nutes/germination methods because everyone seemed to have their own take on it.

I decided to start the germination process with the wet paper towel idea.
I am located in OzLand so the products I was able to purchase varied from the US counterparts.

I bought some "Premium" Coco coir seed raising mix and some perlite potting mix.
I was unsure if the coco I purchased was correct so ill add a photo of the product.
I hydrated the coco coir and mixed it 70/30 with the perlite.

I have average soil temps of 24-25 degrees celcius (75-77 F) a touch higher with the lights going.

Thats where I am up to so far.

A couple questions I have are -

What is the ideal pH for this medium?
How soon/long should I give the plant/seedling nutes?
Ideal nutes? I read calMag is a must.
As far as watering goes is the "2nd knuckle" rule a reliable method of determining when to water?

Any other tips/pointers would be appreciated.

 
ThatSpudGuy

ThatSpudGuy

Well-Known Member
Ph is best at 5.8 for coco.

Calmag is a must because the coco holds on to calcium.

Alot of people mix the coco with the perlite for extra drainage but its upto you.

When your soaking the bricks make sure to ph the water your soaking them in.

You can use the knuckle technique. Coco is very hard to over water in.

Dont let it dry out like soil as it can be bad for your plants.

Youll love coco once you get the hang of it.

Goodluck :smile:
 
Max888888100

Max888888100

Member
Add 5-10% perlite from my experience.

Dont be adding any nutrients yet, as you will murder the little gaphers. Just plain ph’d 5.8-6.2 water with a touch of cal mag. Unless you water from the tap and ph it, the tap water should have a tiny trace of calmag.

Ive learnt to water coco slowly and let it soak up the water, too fast pf watering and it seems to zip passed to the bottom and drain out.

Good luck

Ps, im running Canna coco nutrient line, expensive but awesome stuff. If your able to feel the weight of the plant, try to pick it up to feel dry vs saturated. Dont overwater!!!
 
U

upnsmoke13

Well-Known Member
After you have a tap root, plant your seedlings into Solo cups(plastic party cups). Prepare your cup by cutting slits along the bottom edges, I use two on opposite sides. Fill with coco/perlite & water. Add your cal-mag to the water then ph it, I bubble mine. Start your popped seeds in this, one per cup. It's a lot easier to control the moisture while the roots are getting started. Good luck!

P.s. I'm running Canna A&B plus cal-mag, in Royal Gold Tupur, a coco mix.
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
i've found that it's best to ph coco to 6.1, or i start to get mag issues.
i like to let it dry out pretty good between waterings, but not quite as good as i would soil.
read the label on the block of stuff you bought. if it says it's pre-charged, you can lay off the cal-mag a little. it'll still take some, but not as much. if it isn't charged, i'd add it at 1/4 strength every time you feed.
max is right, don't feed young plants until the cotyledon leaves (the first two one lobed leaves) start to get yellow. they feed the plant for the first few days to a week. the stuff you bought has time released nutes in it, so you probably won't have to feed for the first month or so, anyway.
 
MickFoster

MickFoster

Well-Known Member
Jayboy13 said:
A couple questions I have are -

What is the ideal pH for this medium?
How soon/long should I give the plant/seedling nutes?
Ideal nutes? I read calMag is a must.
As far as watering goes is the "2nd knuckle" rule a reliable method of determining when to water?

Any other tips/pointers would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
- Ideal pH for coco is 6.0 going in and coming out.
- I pre-charge my coco with 1/4 strength bloom nutes and I start feeding 1/4 strength bloom nutes from the beginning of sprout.
- There are plenty of good nutes, just make sure you get coco specific nutes because they contain more calcium and magnesium.
- I use tap water in my nute solution which contains enough calcium and magnesium without the need of cal-mag. If you use r/o water - cal-mag is a must.
- Never let coco dry out. If you're using a 70/30 coco/perlite mix you can feed daily - I feed daily from sprout and twice a day when in flower. Never use plain water and always feed to 20% runoff - it replenishes the nutes, pulls in fresh oxygen to the root zone, and prevents salt build up.
- Good luck, and remember that coco is drain to waste hydroponics, not soil.

These plants are 3 weeks old from sprout and fed daily.
21 days old.JPG
 
Jayboy13

Jayboy13

Member
Hey guys update -

Seed finally looks ready and coco/perlite is sitting at 6.0 pH.

About to plant, just want any input you guys may have to offer?

Also as mentioned above by Roger am I clear to not feed for the first month?

Ive started with 18 hours of light as soon as I’ve planted it is this necessary?




6F54C4A5-26AF-4F4B-B595-5F3D100EB57B.jpeg B97C22D1-D1A2-48DD-9891-91C7CDED6222.jpeg
 
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SmokeyMcChokey

SmokeyMcChokey

Well-Known Member
Question about coco pH. Do you guys check runoff use a soil pH meter or just assume it's taking whatever pH you're putting in since it's inert?
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
it just depends on when to start feeding, look at the little coty leaves, when they start to yellow, it's time to start feeding, but go very light to begin with, the medium you got has time released nutes, you have to give it a little time to use that up, then you can up your feeding
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
SmokeyMcChokey said:
Question about coco pH. Do you guys check runoff use a soil pH meter or just assume it's taking whatever pH you're putting in since it's inert?
Click to expand...
i've never checked run off ph. the only time i would ever bother to would be if i had some kind of significant issue. in coco, i ph to 6.1, with swings up to 6.3, and down to 5.8, but always centering on 6.1, and so far, no major issues
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
wouldn't worry for a few more days. may want to very lightly water, maybe even with a spray bottle, just to keep it moist down to where the seed is.
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
is that a ph meter? i thought that was just one of those moisture meters. yeah, very little point of measuring the ph of coco, but you do want to measure the ph of your feed, coco likes it to go in about 6.1
 
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