Hey folks. I'm growing 3 plants in Coco with Gaia green Amendments. I'm currently just into week 5 of flower and the last few days I have 1 plant that is showing symptoms of nutrient burn. Yellow tips, claw leaves. The problem is the soil hasnt been amended with fertilizer since I transplant 5 weeks ago before I flipped to flower. I recently got a blue lab soil ph tester and tried it out on the medium of the plant that's showing nutrient burn. The pH was 4.1 the other 2 plants were 5.8 not where I'd like to be in coco with slow release fert. I pH my water to 6.2 I checked my ph meter with another one and it was way off. I also flushed my medium a day ago hoping to maybe flush out extra nutes that might be causing the burn. Now my question is do I flush again with proper ph water or wait for the medium the dry out a bit? I dont want to over water like crazy and potentially get root rot from drowning my plant.
Coco pH out of wack. What to do?
- Thread starter Cammabis
- Start date
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
IMO. Enuff flush.
Better to feed them nutes @ 6.2 until heavy runoff.
Same very feeding. Never plain water.
Watering Coco - How to Water Cannabis Plants in Coco Coir - Coco For Cannabis
Coco Watering Guide. How to water cannabis in coco for maximum growth. Includes guidelines for coco watering frequency and a coco watering schedule.
www.cocoforcannabis.com
Just concerned that the water I flushed with had ph that was really low. The medium is now saturated with water at pH 4.1
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
The sooner with nutes @ 6.2 the better.
I only grow in coco. But I have no experience with gaia or slow release methods.
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
Ph out of whack = nutrients locked out.
Plant no can absorb ca or mg when ph too low.
Plant no can absorb ca or mg when ph too low.
I dont mean to be indecisive. I've always only watered when they were dry and the pot felt light. In a normal situation I would be soaking the pots with proper ph'd water but now I'm hesitant because the medium is already saturated and I'm afraid of drowning the roots. I guess i should just flush again. It's either wait and deal with the lockout our soak and hope I dont get root rot. 50/50 chance right. Lol
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
What size are the pots? fabric?
I'm not trying to convert you away from your current grow method. The methods used on this site are what I use.
Daily multi-feeding of plants in coco is very common, in fact it's recommended.
Mixing nutes.
Cannabis Nutrients - How to Mix Nutrient Solutions - Coco For Cannabis
Article and Video Tutorial for mixing nutrient solutions correctly. Explains order, ratio, strength (EC), and pH. Based on General Hydroponics Flora series
www.cocoforcannabis.com
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
The Air to Water Ratio
Plant roots require both oxygen and water. If the roots are starved of oxygen, they will turn brown and die. Soil based growing media become oxygen depleted when they are saturated with water. This means that the roots are unable to get enough air for some time after each watering. Growers need to wait for soil to dry out before watering again because otherwise the roots will not get enough oxygen and they will die.
One of the miraculous things about coco coir, especially when its mixed with perlite, is that it is nearly impossible to over-water it. Unlike soil, coco maintains sufficient oxygen in the root zone even when it is at field capacity (completely saturated with water). This is due to the physical shape and characteristics of the coco fibers which retain air even when the media is saturated with water. As a result, we can keep the coco wet and not worry that we are drowning the plant roots. Indeed, in coco, when the media is wet, the air to water ratio is ideal.
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
Coco is Not Soil
The fact that coco retains enough oxygen when it is saturated largely eliminates the risk of over-watering. Because of this, coco is far easier to manage for new growers than many assume. In soil, it takes experience to know when to water. Plants in soil are moving between being oxygen starved after a watering and being water deprived as the soil dries between events. In coco, on the other hand, plants never need to suffer, and growers don’t need to worry about over-watering. All you need to do is water frequently to maintain the perfect ratio of air to water all the time.
Principle #2: Always Add Fertilizers to the Water
Many guides recommend alternating nutrient solution with “plain”, “pHed”, or “CalMag” water. Although this may help prevent over-ambitious growers from burning their plants, it is not the correct practice to follow in a carefully managed grow. For a variety of reasons, it is much better to fertigate with the appropriate ratio and strength of nutrition at every irrigation event.
The fact that coco retains enough oxygen when it is saturated largely eliminates the risk of over-watering. Because of this, coco is far easier to manage for new growers than many assume. In soil, it takes experience to know when to water. Plants in soil are moving between being oxygen starved after a watering and being water deprived as the soil dries between events. In coco, on the other hand, plants never need to suffer, and growers don’t need to worry about over-watering. All you need to do is water frequently to maintain the perfect ratio of air to water all the time.
Principle #2: Always Add Fertilizers to the Water
Many guides recommend alternating nutrient solution with “plain”, “pHed”, or “CalMag” water. Although this may help prevent over-ambitious growers from burning their plants, it is not the correct practice to follow in a carefully managed grow. For a variety of reasons, it is much better to fertigate with the appropriate ratio and strength of nutrition at every irrigation event.
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
Do Not Let Your Coco Get Dry
Many guides suggest that coco can be managed just like soil and that you can feed and water only once or twice per week. This is bad advice when you are fertigating. Infrequent fertigations starve the plant of water in two ways. For one, plants have less water because there is less water being added. However, the more dangerous aspect of infrequent irrigation is that the EC within media will spike.
Allowing the coco to get dry after fertigation creates significant problems for the plant. The EC of the water suspended in the media is always going up between fertigation events. This is because of transpiration and evaporation, which remove water faster than the plant can absorb the nutrient salts. As a result, when the coco gets dry the plant has a harder and harder time getting water that is increasingly scarce and salty.
Dry Coco Leads to High EC and “Nutrient Burn”
The increased salinity that occurs as the coco dries is a cause of the wilting and burned tips that are often known as “nutrient burn” or “nute burn”. The plant has a harder time getting water through osmosis because the EC is high. This produces symptoms associated with water stress such as wilting. In addition, the concentration of salts in the media can lead to a high concentration of ions in the leaves which can cause the common “tip burn”.
Growers are often confused how their plants can suffer from “nute burn” if the nutrient solution that they add (inflow) is not too strong. However, the EC of the inflow is only one factor that determines the salinity of the water that is available to the plant. Even if you have good targets for the EC of the nutrient solution that you provide, allowing the coco to dry out will cause the EC in the root zone to rise to unhealthy levels.
Awesome info thank you for taking the time to help me out. I think I'll give the plant a drink.
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
Do you have nutes to mix up?
Calimagic?
Calimagic?
I have calimagic yes
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
Example..
Here I'm using Jacks nutes.
(Calimagic added to water first.)
Here I'm using Jacks nutes.
(Calimagic added to water first.)
TintEastwood
Well-Known Member
Thank you. Glad to help. I know it's alot of info and coco crap to come up to speed on.
Hoping your grow is fruitful.
If possible - find a Gaia/Coco guru out there on the interwebs. Sorry that's all foreign to me. I can't even grow in soil!
I drown the roots!Great thank you, just going through the article you sent me now. Lots of stuff I didnt know.Thank you. Glad to help. I know it's alot of info and coco crap to come up to speed on.
Hoping your grow is fruitful.
If possible - find a Gaia/Coco guru out there on the interwebs. Sorry that's all foreign to me. I can't even grow in soil!