Coco roots…again ffs

ninja1

Well-Known Member
I don't see an issue with that plant. Like I said stop pulling it out of the pot to look at the roots it's stressing the plant out.

The plant shown above is large enough for that pot that it needs to be fed to runoff every single day. Coco is supposed to stay wet. If you aren't feeding that plant daily then that's your problem. No need to pay for a taxi for your buddy to come over.
I am gonna not pull out these next lot. I think your right as well with the issue being more under watering than over watering. In the past I was packing my coco down so much. That I’d have to let it get bone dry before I’d water it again Or else it’ll go over watered. Not packing the coco down I lost the fear of over watering, then though I was a bit too keen. I watered daily till run off from the start and that gave me shit roots, it even killed a plant..31B46BAC-6FA9-41F7-B0B0-64BB834C6316.png

I am gonna water them sooner than I have been. The way the roots ended up looking did make me lean more towards them being on the drier side. The fact they looked more thin and overall less happy. Not being funny but I always have decent roots when I use the Wilma system and that has the drippers feeding daily. Also most of the roots seem to be at the bottom of the pot where the coco was staying moist longer so that’s probably a sign I should be watering more often right?

I will stick a diary up I think.
 

Wattzzup

Well-Known Member
You’re not watering often enough. Stop over thinking it and feed everyday. Even the two that look good need a bump up in EC. Stop using the term over watered. They aren’t and you really can’t do it with coco. I use canna as well (only I add perlite) All I do is feed everyday and adjust the EC according to the plant.

stop with the term over watered and “packing down the coco” neither of these are your problem.
 

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
Looks like you're letting the coco get too dry. I say that because your roots are chasing the bottom of the container.

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Here's a good article on Coco Dry-back and a little science on how it works.

This plant has only been in the cube from a root riot for 8 days.
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ninja1

Well-Known Member
You’re not watering often enough. Stop over thinking it and feed everyday. Even the two that look good need a bump up in EC. Stop using the term over watered. They aren’t and you really can’t do it with coco. I use canna as well (only I add perlite) All I do is feed everyday and adjust the EC according to the plant.

stop with the term over watered and “packing down the coco” neither of these are your problem.
those plants are from a previous grow that had poor roots. I watered those daily from day1 hence the dead plant from over watering. You can over water coco flooding it daily before the roots are established.thats why the plant next to the two ended up dead.
packing down the coco was also 100% a problem, I was pressing the coco down way to much for some reason. With that if I watered any time other than the pot being bone dry they’d go over watered. I stopped doing that of course.

like I say I’ll pop some new seeds and try water more often.



@calvin.m16 thanks for the reply, yeah I notice better roots at the bottom of the pot too. So yeah I’m gonna be watering the pots sooner and hopefully it’ll be good.
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
those plants are from a previous grow that had poor roots. I watered those daily from day1 hence the dead plant from over watering. You can over water coco flooding it daily before the roots are established.thats why the plant next to the two ended up dead.
packing down the coco was also 100% a problem, I was pressing the coco down way to much for some reason. With that if I watered any time other than the pot being bone dry they’d go over watered. I stopped doing that of course.

like I say I’ll pop some new seeds and try water more often.



@calvin.m16 thanks for the reply, yeah I notice better roots at the bottom of the pot too. So yeah I’m gonna be watering the pots sooner and hopefully it’ll be good.
14 days from sprout. Fed daily. The coco was always wet. 100% coco, no perlite. Your issue isn't from overwatering.
PXL_20210712_220953683.jpg

You'd have to really pack the coco down hard to create issues. I've found the best way to prep coco is by doing the following.

Take you container and completely full it to the top with coco. Press down very lightly until you have maybe 1/2 inch of space from the coco to the top of the container. Mix a very low dose of nutrients and flush the coco. The act of pouring tons of low EC nutrient solution through the coco is naturally going to compact the coco. That's fine. If you need to add more coco add some and run a little more solution through the coco.

This will ensure the coco is naturally compacted from fertigation and also at the proper starting EC.
 
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Wattzzup

Well-Known Member
those plants are from a previous grow that had poor roots. I watered those daily from day1 hence the dead plant from over watering. You can over water coco flooding it daily before the roots are established.thats why the plant next to the two ended up dead.
packing down the coco was also 100% a problem, I was pressing the coco down way to much for some reason. With that if I watered any time other than the pot being bone dry they’d go over watered. I stopped doing that of course.

like I say I’ll pop some new seeds and try water more often.



@calvin.m16 thanks for the reply, yeah I notice better roots at the bottom of the pot too. So yeah I’m gonna be watering the pots sooner and hopefully it’ll be good.
You need to read about growing in coco. “Packing down coco” LOL good luck
 

Danja-83

Well-Known Member
Coco has a CEC cation exchange capacity to synthesise, if its dry , it fails to operate and uptake Nutrients for its building blocks. Adding Nutrients and resetting the cation exchange is needed on a regular basis , or things tend to cease. It operates like a charged battery - adding fertigation is the charge for its power.
 

ninja1

Well-Known Member
Got some new seeds in the first pots today from the jiffy’s. Only 3 and one looks a mutant but hopefully pulls through. currently under the 250w cfl. Gonna pot them up into 1litre pots and then stick the hps on them in about a weeks time. Will stick some photos up. One of them I’m gonna water sooner than I usually would and see if the plant and roots look better for it. Hopefully they will and can finally crack on without any issues. Wasted enough fucking time.
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
Got some new seeds in the first pots today from the jiffy’s. Only 3 and one looks a mutant but hopefully pulls through. currently under the 250w cfl. Gonna pot them up into 1litre pots and then stick the hps on them in about a weeks time. Will stick some photos up. One of them I’m gonna water sooner than I usually would and see if the plant and roots look better for it. Hopefully they will and can finally crack on without any issues. Wasted enough fucking time.
Pics?

Hopefully you are feeding them.
 

ninja1

Well-Known Member
Yeah feed every time with coco mate. Will get some pics up over the weekend. Plants themselves tend to look fine anyway it’s the roots I need to improve. Ain’t gonna be taking them out the pots to check though. From these small pots they’ll go into 1 litre pots. Will see the roots then but only been a day so far.
 

ninja1

Well-Known Member
well the weird mutant didn’t make it, grew weird from the start so no surprise. The other two I’ve got, I watered them both with a bit more weight than I usually would tbh. Know I said I was gonna let one go as light as I was previously but I know that ain’t right way to go about it. So watered them both, one was bit heavier than the other. no sign of an over watered plant. Know you can’t over water coco anyway once some roots are there. And both look quite happy, one looks very happy lol weird so say a plants happy I know. Not going to check the roots until I pot them up, probably give them one more watering then do that. Hopefully see some good looking roots. But yeah plants are looking happy and that’s even before a dark period. Usually notice the growth and perk once the lights come back on.
 

Roadblock007

Well-Known Member
Id be looking at your airflow through the grow space, if you're on the edge of adequate they can start out great but as they get bigger problems start, if the weather is mild the temps don't cause problems they can go along ok but as soon as the temps go up or more lights go on the demand increases on the root system and the plant's root zone starts to lack oxygen, from here root rot might set in or if you're not feeding until the medium is dry then they have water issues and thready roots, then they can flower out giving reduced yields, and being stressed they are inviting to bugs and pathogens. If you're " on the edge " with air exchange it can be worse than if it was really bad, on the edge can be like a rattle in your car and you destroyed and rebuilt the car to find a marble in the ashtray.

Your plants look fine by the pics and should be able to handle and thrive with daily feeding, if the air exchange is not enough they cant breathe and will stall, I had all the above and it was my air exchange, I found some air leaks so fixed those and raised the room exchange from once every 6minutes to once every minute and all my problems went away.
 

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
I use two types of coco for their different properties, canna Imo is a little wet for seedlings and clones but ideal once plants are established.

The brick coconut has more air in it and is much better suited to seedlings and clones.
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I put equal amounts on the sieve you see canna falls straight through and the bricks fibrous texture is reluctant to pass through it.

Using canna I only wet the pot at the start I wouldn't start run off until 10-12 days.

Both work but imo need a slightly different approach for optimal results.
 

ninja1

Well-Known Member
I have two seedlings that I’m trying to get things improved with. Both are looking really happy and growing completely different. to be honest I probably won’t even flower these plants. They was just some cheap freebies I had laying about. I watered both till run off and had some roots poking through the bottom of the pot. I then watered both slightly heavier than I usually would have. Simply as the roots in mine imo appeared more to be from under watering. Can only be under or over and i wasn’t watering daily Plus the roots looked better under cfl which was keeping the coco wet longer as it’s a weaker light.

Anyway I watered both sooner and both looked happy for it, lovely perky leaves. today would be the second day since watered and I just watered one now. Was heavier than I usually would, but how I usually would clearly hasn’t worked in the past. The other I’m gonna wait until the lights come on tomorrow. letting that one get a little lighter just so I can compare the two when I pot them up. Even that one though I ain’t letting get as light as in the past.

i haven’t checked the roots but watering sooner saw the plants looking happy before even a dark period. I’m hoping the plants looking happy means I’ve got happy roots too. Was gonna pot up after this watering but I’ll probably give them one more seeing as they are drinking quicker then I imagined now I’m watering them sooner. Fingers crossed this is it sorted.
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
I have two seedlings that I’m trying to get things improved with. Both are looking really happy and growing completely different. to be honest I probably won’t even flower these plants. They was just some cheap freebies I had laying about. I watered both till run off and had some roots poking through the bottom of the pot. I then watered both slightly heavier than I usually would have. Simply as the roots in mine imo appeared more to be from under watering. Can only be under or over and i wasn’t watering daily Plus the roots looked better under cfl which was keeping the coco wet longer as it’s a weaker light.

Anyway I watered both sooner and both looked happy for it, lovely perky leaves. today would be the second day since watered and I just watered one now. Was heavier than I usually would, but how I usually would clearly hasn’t worked in the past. The other I’m gonna wait until the lights come on tomorrow. letting that one get a little lighter just so I can compare the two when I pot them up. Even that one though I ain’t letting get as light as in the past.

i haven’t checked the roots but watering sooner saw the plants looking happy before even a dark period. I’m hoping the plants looking happy means I’ve got happy roots too. Was gonna pot up after this watering but I’ll probably give them one more seeing as they are drinking quicker then I imagined now I’m watering them sooner. Fingers crossed this is it sorted.
As long as your nutrient solution is aerated with an air stone or the like then each time you feed they are getting fresh nutrients and oxygen.

As long as you have established roots you can't overwater coco.

Good luck.
 

ninja1

Well-Known Member
As long as your nutrient solution is aerated with an air stone or the like then each time you feed they are getting fresh nutrients and oxygen.

As long as you have established roots you can't overwater coco.

Good luck.
yeah not using an air stone, I think I have still got one somewhere though. I used it when I was using a Wilma system but not for hand watering.

you hit the nail on the head anyway you can’t overwater coco once you’ve got established roots. I packed the coco in way to tight and removed its ability to hold air. I dunno why but I used to really push the coco down hard when potting up. Stopped doing that and had no fear of overwatering then as read you can’t. Trouble is I did because I didn’t let the roots get established.
I think doing that two grows ago, the last one …which I posted where the roots started to look worse. I think I was letting the pots get to light. through the fear of overwatering because I’d done that even though was my own fault and not coco.

These currently are still in the first pots and I haven’t seen the roots yet. Plants have always looked healthy but these current ones look far happier. So I’m hoping that means underneath is looking happy too. I have been watering a lot sooner than the previous grow. Even with a weak cfl on and no fans they are drinking every second day. I’m gonna give one more watering then pot them up. Will just go into one litre pots as don’t plan on finishing these but I’ll put them under a 250w hps then. if this is things sorted then despite the time wasted I’ll be over the moon tbh
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
yeah not using an air stone, I think I have still got one somewhere though. I used it when I was using a Wilma system but not for hand watering.

you hit the nail on the head anyway you can’t overwater coco once you’ve got established roots. I packed the coco in way to tight and removed its ability to hold air. I dunno why but I used to really push the coco down hard when potting up. Stopped doing that and had no fear of overwatering then as read you can’t. Trouble is I did because I didn’t let the roots get established.
I think doing that two grows ago, the last one …which I posted where the roots started to look worse. I think I was letting the pots get to light. through the fear of overwatering because I’d done that even though was my own fault and not coco.

These currently are still in the first pots and I haven’t seen the roots yet. Plants have always looked healthy but these current ones look far happier. So I’m hoping that means underneath is looking happy too. I have been watering a lot sooner than the previous grow. Even with a weak cfl on and no fans they are drinking every second day. I’m gonna give one more watering then pot them up. Will just go into one litre pots as don’t plan on finishing these but I’ll put them under a 250w hps then. if this is things sorted then despite the time wasted I’ll be over the moon tbh
My plants have been fed daily after like the first 7 days from sprout. Coco was soaked when the seeds were planted and never had an issue. Aerated nutrient solution introduces fresh oxygen every feed.
 
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