growing in coco
- Thread starter tiggat
- Start date
jondamon
Well-Known Member
yes.
i even germinate in coco and clone in coco.
Remember to use coco specific nutes and test your nutes strength.
Make sure you achieve 20% runoff each time.
If you compare nute strength IN versus nute strength OUT you can monitor how your plants are feeding.
If your 20% runoff is higher in strength then reduce strength next feed.
If your 20% runoff is lower in strength then increase strength next feed .
J
i even germinate in coco and clone in coco.
Remember to use coco specific nutes and test your nutes strength.
Make sure you achieve 20% runoff each time.
If you compare nute strength IN versus nute strength OUT you can monitor how your plants are feeding.
If your 20% runoff is higher in strength then reduce strength next feed.
If your 20% runoff is lower in strength then increase strength next feed .
J
Snow Crash
Well-Known Member
Coco is a science unto itself. Kinda like soil. Kinda like hydro. But not really like both.
Keep a very watchful eye on your Calcium and Potassium levels. Once the Calcium buffer is filled an excess of these elements can create issues.
What I suggest is a weekly feeding at your personal "full" strength, and then watering with a very mild 20% strength solution between feedings.
Knowing your ppm levels is going to help a ton. You can watch the run off to see how the plant is reacting, but just know that it isn't really an accurate readout of what is in the coco. Run off is really important with coco, excess sodium in your nutrients can build up over time and cause all kind of issues, so you'll want to be sure you get a good washing of the coco each time.
Keep a very watchful eye on your Calcium and Potassium levels. Once the Calcium buffer is filled an excess of these elements can create issues.
What I suggest is a weekly feeding at your personal "full" strength, and then watering with a very mild 20% strength solution between feedings.
Knowing your ppm levels is going to help a ton. You can watch the run off to see how the plant is reacting, but just know that it isn't really an accurate readout of what is in the coco. Run off is really important with coco, excess sodium in your nutrients can build up over time and cause all kind of issues, so you'll want to be sure you get a good washing of the coco each time.
can i not use hydroponic nutrients? like vitalink max bloom and grow?
jondamon
Well-Known Member
Yes you can but they usually dont contain the extra Cal/Mag for use in coco which means you have to supplement .
In response to SNOW i can say from experience that by monitoring IN vs OUT EC levels i have found this to work very effectively, i generally catch my initial runoff and test this to gauge my next feeding level or until i am happy with growth and bloom etc. I have done extensive research about COCO since choosing the medium back at Xmas09, all my growing mag's say to catch the runoff and test it to have a good gauge to how your plants are feeding. By testing the runoff you can prevent a salt build up problem before it translocates to the plants.
J
MisterCannabi
Active Member
problem i always have with coco and i think jondamon has helped me with this before is drainage. I usualy do 50/50 perlite/coir and still it stays wet for days. Be careful when applying water.
Snow Crash
Well-Known Member
I've used Botanicare CocoGro, General Hydroponics CocoTek, and Canna Coco.
Of them all the Botanicare is the cleanest. The CocoTek has a VERY high EC out of the box and you absolutely need to flush it. The Canna has the most foreign crap in it. I found little nuts, trash, big sticks, and some white fly in the last 3 bags I got from them.
I expand a large brick of Botanicare with 5 gallons of solution in an 18 gallon rubbermaid.
The solution is 5.5pH and contains 45ml of Cal-Mag Plus, 40ml of Canna Coco A+B each, and 50ml Canna Rhizotonic and is under 1000ppm.
This takes the ppms of the expanded coco media to around 1500 (I've estimated).
The first 3 waterings are basically just Rhizotonic, scaling from 30ml per gallon to 20ml per gallon to 10ml per gallon. Allowing the coco to almost dry out is okay at this point but you want a lot of run off each time you water. This gradually balances out the CEC of the media with the .6-.2-.6 Rhizotonic and a good starting calcium buffer. The roots will fill you small starting container (hopefully just a few ounces of coco in a party cup) and then you'll be ready to transplant to a 1-2 gallon container. You can go into a 2 gallon and actually finish the plant in that container around 16" tall or so on the average at harvest.
You're now transplanting into that pre-expanded coco which has a good level of nutrients for the more mature seedling. I like to start watering at about 2/3rd strength of my maximum at this point, focusing on building a good base of Calcium and Nitrogen but without completely ignoring Potassium. Directly after transplant I wait for the coco to dry out a little before feeding the first time. Then I wait as long as possible to feed again. This has helped my root systems develop.
At that point you can begin running a full strength system. I try to run something that balances out to around 750ppm total, 6-3-7 with 5 Ca and 2 Mg. I'll feed this once a week. Between feedings, every other day, I'll water with a solution that is about 250ppm total. That way I can keep an eye on the ppm run off. If I see it drop too low (beneath 700ppm) then I know I need to feed at full strength a little earlier.
I think the healthy run off range with coco is somewhere between 700ppm and 1500ppm. I've had a plant that did fine in a 3000+ppm run off... so you'll need to always pay more attention to your plant than the run off, but it will definitely give you a base line you can then work off of. It takes time, and a meter, to figure this stuff out right. If you have the right plan of attack and execute it right then you don't really need the meter, but beware that there are some people who have a great deal of trouble over feeding during flowering. Run off is key, as well as focusing on building the largest root system possible. If you can get those two things accomplished you'll be in great shape.
Of them all the Botanicare is the cleanest. The CocoTek has a VERY high EC out of the box and you absolutely need to flush it. The Canna has the most foreign crap in it. I found little nuts, trash, big sticks, and some white fly in the last 3 bags I got from them.
I expand a large brick of Botanicare with 5 gallons of solution in an 18 gallon rubbermaid.
The solution is 5.5pH and contains 45ml of Cal-Mag Plus, 40ml of Canna Coco A+B each, and 50ml Canna Rhizotonic and is under 1000ppm.
This takes the ppms of the expanded coco media to around 1500 (I've estimated).
The first 3 waterings are basically just Rhizotonic, scaling from 30ml per gallon to 20ml per gallon to 10ml per gallon. Allowing the coco to almost dry out is okay at this point but you want a lot of run off each time you water. This gradually balances out the CEC of the media with the .6-.2-.6 Rhizotonic and a good starting calcium buffer. The roots will fill you small starting container (hopefully just a few ounces of coco in a party cup) and then you'll be ready to transplant to a 1-2 gallon container. You can go into a 2 gallon and actually finish the plant in that container around 16" tall or so on the average at harvest.
You're now transplanting into that pre-expanded coco which has a good level of nutrients for the more mature seedling. I like to start watering at about 2/3rd strength of my maximum at this point, focusing on building a good base of Calcium and Nitrogen but without completely ignoring Potassium. Directly after transplant I wait for the coco to dry out a little before feeding the first time. Then I wait as long as possible to feed again. This has helped my root systems develop.
At that point you can begin running a full strength system. I try to run something that balances out to around 750ppm total, 6-3-7 with 5 Ca and 2 Mg. I'll feed this once a week. Between feedings, every other day, I'll water with a solution that is about 250ppm total. That way I can keep an eye on the ppm run off. If I see it drop too low (beneath 700ppm) then I know I need to feed at full strength a little earlier.
I think the healthy run off range with coco is somewhere between 700ppm and 1500ppm. I've had a plant that did fine in a 3000+ppm run off... so you'll need to always pay more attention to your plant than the run off, but it will definitely give you a base line you can then work off of. It takes time, and a meter, to figure this stuff out right. If you have the right plan of attack and execute it right then you don't really need the meter, but beware that there are some people who have a great deal of trouble over feeding during flowering. Run off is key, as well as focusing on building the largest root system possible. If you can get those two things accomplished you'll be in great shape.