Coco Growers Unite!

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snail240

Well-Known Member
jberry said:
I have heard many bad reports of recycling coco nutrient water, but some still do it with some success....

I dont recycle coco nutes, i prefer drain to waste.
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I have had ph problems recycling in a drip set up but im sure its my coco quality isnt all there.

Im about to start hand watering because it holds water pretty well. I would say if your gonna recycle buy the best coco you can find for less problems.

I will be running better quality coir next time to see how it goes sence the chips I bought where very dirty couldnt get them clean seemed like a lost cause. They are alive but slowly growing we will see if crappy coco works I guess.
 
ZEN MASTER

ZEN MASTER

Well-Known Member
marcraiderfan said:
OK I have a question about my drainage. I am going to use coir as my medium in 10 gallon smart pots. I haven't decided if I will use individual trays under the pots or the 4'x4' trays with 6 pots in each. The advantage of the individual trays would be that I can arrange the pots with a little more seperation. I am wondering how I will deal with theexcess water when feeding. I have a few ideas, but would love some input from you guys to help me decide or even use something I haven't thought of yet.

1) I just use the individual round plastic catch trays. I use a shop vac an hour after feeding and suck up the excess water. Not sure how I would flush with this system.

2) I use the 4'x4' trays and set them on 2x4s to raise them up a couple inches..cut a hole in the bottom and run a drain line.

3) I use the 4'x4' trays with the 2x4s under and a submersable pump in each that I run after feeding and pump to a drain.

4) ( this what I had in my head) do #3 but pump into a reservior and re-use food for a week. I could also set up another pump to water the plants with.

I think the main qustion is how much excess water is there when useing coir as a medium? I know a lot of soil growers just put he pots on the floor.
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you're making it harder than it should be dude. first off if you are using loose coco it's straight drain to waste, point blank no exception. you could make you a ramp, or get the trays you are talking about, find or make a stand to hold it, and put a drain hole in it with a bucket under the hole. also i've never flushed and i've never had any problems with taste, harshness, or smell. but that's just me though. I'm gonna tell you something, i cant wait to see your set-up cause it sounds nice. anyway i'm out, hoped that helped a little.

also honestly in my opinion, a 10gal pot is very large, and that is a lot of coco dude,$$$$$. me personally i use 3gal regular plastic pots, and the only time they tend to get root bound is when i veg and flower in the same 3gal pot.


PEACE!!!
-ZEN-
 
jberry

jberry

Well-Known Member
marcraiderfan said:
I have about a max of 5' hight without getting to close to the lights. If I had more height I would lift up the trays and put a reservoir under.
Maybe I am way off base here, but I thought big pots meant big plants.. I also didn't know that coco in pots was considered hydro..( sounds like I ready to grow huh..lol) I have to stay under 12 plants per script so I want to get the most out of my plants. I have read a lot of journals and it does seem that coco gets pretty decent yeilds in smaller pots that 10 gal... I guess I just figured the bigger the pot the biggger the plant.
To answer your question, 6 plants per tray per 1000w light.
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im sure you will figure a way to drain, go to home depot ect.. and look for something shallow that you can fit under your trays (cement tray, shower basin, under the bed storage tote ect...)

my advise is to use the big pots (maybe 7 gal.?), but start in a small ones and work your way up 2-3 times to assure a proper root structure.(maybe start in 1/2 gallons, then move to 2 gallons, and then your final size 7 gal. pot... but try to be done transplanting by the time your plants are flowering.

growing large plants indoors can be tricky, so i wouldnt go too big since you are new to this. remember that most plants double or even triple in size once you switch the light cycle to 12/12....

to avoid problems, buy the correct gear and stick to your feeding chart and dont recycle the nutes.

i would try to top the hell out of them while in veg, and remove the bottom 1/3 of the branches and tie them down if you can. You want round bushes, not tall xmas trees.

i highly recommend Canna Coco and their coco nutes.
 
M

marcraiderfan

Active Member
jberry said:
im sure you will figure a way to drain, go to home depot ect.. and look for something shallow that you can fit under your trays (cement tray, shower basin, under the bed storage tote ect...)

my advise is to use the big pots (maybe 7 gal.?), but start in a small ones and work your way up 2-3 times to assure a proper root structure.(maybe start in 1/2 gallons, then move to 2 gallons, and then your final size 7 gal. pot... but try to be done transplanting by the time your plants are flowering.

growing large plants indoors can be tricky, so i wouldnt go too big since you are new to this. remember that most plants double or even triple in size once you switch the light cycle to 12/12....

to avoid problems, buy the correct gear and stick to your feeding chart and dont recycle the nutes.

i would try to top the hell out of them while in veg, and remove the bottom 1/3 of the branches and tie them down if you can. You want round bushes, not tall xmas trees.

i highly recommend Canna Coco and their coco nutes.
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I almost have it all figured out. I bought the 4'x4' trays today and just used some landscaping blocks under them and put in drains. I am going to run the drain line out of the room..now I am not sure what to do with the end of the drain..just let it run under the house or tie it into the sewer line( which I am afraid I might get gases back into the room if I do)
Anyway here are some pics of what I got today and some pics of my drainage location.

Pic 1 - The pressed coco is for the trays, the bad is for the pots, you can see I went with 5 gal smart pots, and the rest is the nutes
pic2 - is the tub set up
pic 3- is the wall that I will be running the drain hose trough
pic 4 - is a pic of the wall so you can see what is on the other side
pic 5- is more of the drain area I can use including the sewer drain I could tie into
pic 6- is a pic from outside the room..I haven't put the door up yet

I spent 2 hours with my friend a the hydro store today and this is the plan- fill the tubs with about 4" of coco and inset 5 gallon smart pots with the premium coco..the roots are supposed to grow through the smart pots and spread through the tubs. I re-measured the height with the tubs set up and I have about 55" to the highest light positioning..the hoods will be vented with glass so I should be able to get about a max of 48 inches of plant.

This room is under my house..my house is bult into a hill so there is a lot of space unde there.
I am thinking I will just drain under the house for now .. it should just soak into the dirt under the house

Let me know what you think
 

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marcraiderfan

Active Member
marcraiderfan said:
I almost have it all figured out. I bought the 4'x4' trays today and just used some landscaping blocks under them and put in drains. I am going to run the drain line out of the room..now I am not sure what to do with the end of the drain..just let it run under the house or tie it into the sewer line( which I am afraid I might get gases back into the room if I do)
Anyway here are some pics of what I got today and some pics of my drainage location.

Pic 1 - The pressed coco is for the trays, the bad is for the pots, you can see I went with 5 gal smart pots, and the rest is the nutes
pic2 - is the tub set up
pic 3- is the wall that I will be running the drain hose trough
pic 4 - is a pic of the wall so you can see what is on the other side
pic 5- is more of the drain area I can use including the sewer drain I could tie into
pic 6- is a pic from outside the room..I haven't put the door up yet

I spent 2 hours with my friend a the hydro store today and this is the plan- fill the tubs with about 4" of coco and inset 5 gallon smart pots with the premium coco..the roots are supposed to grow through the smart pots and spread through the tubs. I re-measured the height with the tubs set up and I have about 55" to the highest light positioning..the hoods will be vented with glass so I should be able to get about a max of 48 inches of plant.

This room is under my house..my house is bult into a hill so there is a lot of space unde there.
I am thinking I will just drain under the house for now .. it should just soak into the dirt under the house

Let me know what you think
Click to expand...

Damn pics didn't load ..let me try again
 

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marcraiderfan

Active Member
marcraiderfan said:
Damn pics didn't load ..let me try again
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I forgot the most important one..

Hey I have a question.. my friend at the hydro store said the roots will grow through the smart pot..I can still change to a round plastic pot with a grate like bottom for the roots to grow through...I have read a lot on smart pots, but haven't found anything that says roots actually grow through the pot which is what I want..anyone know the answer?
 

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MzDankity

Member
Corwin said:
You can look at the differences for yourself in the containers.

I think the plants liked the added air that drying out more frequently provided for them. To that end I am going to a smaller container(watered more often) next cycle. The next cycle will be in 3.75" pots even closer together.

Ok here are the plants.
A lineup of 5 the one on the right is the 2 gal pot. Much smaller cola, less density.


I would guess that it weighs half of what the others do. And of course this is not exactly scientific as they were all grown from seed. But both seeds grown in large pots were smaller. As a matter of fact the roots never tried to escape the net pots using this method.
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You stated you are growin in 6" net pots. Are they like these http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/images/NetPots.L.gif. If so, are you growing inside of any kind of container or the net pots just sitting on what they're on now, or some sort of tray?
 
Corwin

Corwin

Active Member
MzDankity said:
You stated you are growin in 6" net pots. Are they like these http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/images/NetPots.L.gif. If so, are you growing inside of any kind of container or the net pots just sitting on what they're on now, or some sort of tray?
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Yes that is the pot. I do sit in a Rubbermaid type of container. I see nothing wrong with sitting them in your 4x4 tray though. They also make a 6" square pot that works well in a 4x4 up to 64 plants if you are going with a short SOG type of setup.
 
Corwin

Corwin

Active Member
On the nute end of things I highly recommend cannazym and rhyzotonic or something similar for good healthy root system.
I may switch to House and Garden brand not sure yet.
 
jberry

jberry

Well-Known Member
marcraiderfan said:
I forgot the most important one..

Hey I have a question.. my friend at the hydro store said the roots will grow through the smart pot..I can still change to a round plastic pot with a grate like bottom for the roots to grow through...I have read a lot on smart pots, but haven't found anything that says roots actually grow through the pot which is what I want..anyone know the answer?
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i wouldnt listen to that guy at the hydro store...

honestly, i think the layer of coco in the tray for the roots to grow into is a really bad idea.... its going to dry out at a totally different rate than your pots, and getting your 10-20% run off is going to be hell... and how would the water drain out of the tray if it was full of coco? plus you wont be able to lift , move, or rotate your pots.

Coco is not soil, if you want to do what your thinking, then u should use soil and ditch the pots all together, and just grow in a bed of soil.

but to answer your question.... yes the roots WILL grow through the smart pots.

trust me, if you are new to this than just keep it simple.

you got some good nutes though, just follow your house and garden feeding chart and dont add any extra crap that isnt on your chart, but i would dip your clones in a mitacide for sure and keep on top of the recommended applications.
 
jberry

jberry

Well-Known Member
also marc, since you bought house and garden you need pretty clean water (0-100 ppm) if your water is higher than 100 ppm than i would suggest buying a R/O machine or you can use Canna nutes which are designed for tap water with a ppm of 200-250.
 
M

marcraiderfan

Active Member
jberry said:
i wouldnt listen to that guy at the hydro store...

honestly, i think the layer of coco in the tray for the roots to grow into is a really bad idea.... its going to dry out at a totally different rate than your pots, and getting your 10-20% run off is going to be hell... and how would the water drain out of the tray if it was full of coco? plus you wont be able to lift , move, or rotate your pots.

Coco is not soil, if you want to do what your thinking, then u should use soil and ditch the pots all together, and just grow in a bed of soil.

but to answer your question.... yes the roots WILL grow through the smart pots.

trust me, if you are new to this than just keep it simple.

you got some good nutes though, just follow your house and garden feeding chart and dont add any extra crap that isnt on your chart, but i would dip your clones in a mitacide for sure and keep on top of the recommended applications.
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JBerry..thanks man for the advice... I feel like I keep making this to complicated..you are right on about the soil in the bed..I am going to scratch that part... I like the idea of being able to move the pots.. my friend owns the hydro shop, but she hasn't tried the coco in the tray herself she does grow with the smart pots and coco and has a scrog set-up. I wanted the coco cana, but she isn't a dealer so I went with what she had. As for my water, I am planning on putting a 50 gallon container in back of my house(wich is higher than the room and plan on setting up a gravity system..just running a line to the room and hand watering at first( I might set up some type of auto system later). I wll let the water sit over night before the first feeding to let the clorine evaporate. I would mix the nutes in the containers.

I am on county water and the treatment plant is only about 1/2 mile from my house..I don't know if that is good or bad. What do you think of my watering idea?
Also I am curious about transplanting the clones into the coco..should I put the soil in with them?
Do you thnk there will be enough runoff water to worry about where it goes under the house?

I really appreciate the tips..I know I am going to mess something up on my first grow, but I will learn.
 
jberry

jberry

Well-Known Member
your watering plan seems fine, and with 12 plants you should be able to just let the run off drain under your house with out problem (it will only be a gallon or so at a time)

dont tie into the sewer line !

H&G make great nutes but they are designed for pure water, not tap.

your hydro store should be able to test a sample of water for you or you can buy your own meter.... take a sample (in a clean dry cup) from the faucet that you will be using:
over 300 ppm is bad and under 150 ppm's is great....
if it is over 300 ppm than you may run into some problems unless you cut back the suggested amount of nutrients.

oh, and dont worry about the soil that comes with your clones, its not ideal, but it will be just fine.
and try to add your nutes one at a time straight to your 5o gallon rez.
 
M

marcraiderfan

Active Member
jberry said:
your watering plan seems fine, and with 12 plants you should be able to just let the run off drain under your house with out problem (it will only be a gallon or so at a time)

dont tie into the sewer line !

H&G make great nutes but they are designed for pure water, not tap.

your hydro store should be able to test a sample of water for you or you can buy your own meter.... take a sample (in a clean dry cup) from the faucet that you will be using:
over 300 ppm is bad and under 150 ppm's is great....
if it is over 300 ppm than you may run into some problems unless you cut back the suggested amount of nutrients.

oh, and dont worry about the soil that comes with your clones, its not ideal, but it will be just fine.
and try to add your nutes one at a time straight to your 5o gallon rez.
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Cool, I will take a sample in tomorrow and see if they can test it. So you think I should grab some smaller pots to start with too while I am there? I was planning on just setting the clones into the 5 gal coco.
 
jberry

jberry

Well-Known Member
you could go straight into the 5 gallons but you will get a better root structure if you "pot up"... but it isnt a must do....

i personally would put the clone into a one or two gallon first, then move up to the 5.
 
S

snail240

Well-Known Member
My roots have never grown threw my smart pots unless they are outdoors they may grow threw the bottom. If indoors on hard floor roots will not go threw smart pots they air prune makes the roots turn around other then growing up the side of the pot. You are loosing half or each root when they grow up agianst the side of a plastic pot because only half the root can grow hairs because the other half is up agianst the pot.

Air pruning is the same as when you see a tree growing on the side of a cliff and you see the roots have turned around and the tree still flurishing. If you have a tree growing next to a foundation big slabs of rock and such its growth is slower because it has to work its roots around or threw the rock feeding less in the process.
 
jberry

jberry

Well-Known Member
snail240 said:
My roots have never grown threw my smart pots unless they are outdoors they may grow threw the bottom. If indoors on hard floor roots will not go threw smart pots they air prune makes the roots turn around other then growing up the side of the pot. You are loosing half or each root when they grow up agianst the side of a plastic pot because only half the root can grow hairs because the other half is up agianst the pot.

Air pruning is the same as when you see a tree growing on the side of a cliff and you see the roots have turned around and the tree still flurishing. If you have a tree growing next to a foundation big slabs of rock and such its growth is slower because it has to work its roots around or threw the rock feeding less in the process.
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they only grow threw if dirt is on the other side.
 
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