i am about to transplant and grow in coir for the first time. I am NOT growing hydroponically, i intend,simply, to hand water and feed, but Ive read over and over again (at the beginning of this thread even) not to treat it like soil. what is meant by this?? dont water and feed like i would if it were soil?
dont treat coco like soil??
- Thread starter Thread starter snickers
- Start date Start date
You can hand water hydroponics. That's what handwatered coco is. You don't use soil amendments or use soil ferts, you use hydro ferts, and you use hydro PH ranges.
Welcome to hydro!
B
Bud Bug
This could have been just a fluke but this was my first full coco grow (Botanicare) and I watered it exactly like peat (Pro Mix) Just had to add calmag. I also kept the PH at 6.2-6.4
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=159978
I'm about to start my new grow and will go full coco hand watering once again.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=159978
I'm about to start my new grow and will go full coco hand watering once again.
To be clear, you used hydro ferts. I'm guessing you meant in regards to frequency? Most handwater coco grows I've seen do a once a day watering. How frequently did you water?
6.2 - 6.4 PH was probably why you needed calcium. In Hydroponics, it starts locking out at around 6. Drop it to 5.8 the next round and you'll be much happier.
L
Lord Humungus
when they say 'dont treat coco like dirt' i interpret that to mean 'its okay to keep the coco medium moist in flower' rather than water only when the container is dry... in fact its reccomended to keep flowering containers of coco moist.
in veg i have found letting them dry out in between feeding helped them grow faster.. but in flower, they like being damp in my experience. if you can achieve 10% runoff daily in flower your stoked... thats what i found anyways
coco is rad, small containers can support huge plants... they just might need a lil more nutes to stay damp. good luck its the poop.
and ph 6.0 is not bad at all.... easy to shoot for though i do aim for 5.8...
in veg i have found letting them dry out in between feeding helped them grow faster.. but in flower, they like being damp in my experience. if you can achieve 10% runoff daily in flower your stoked... thats what i found anyways
coco is rad, small containers can support huge plants... they just might need a lil more nutes to stay damp. good luck its the poop.
and ph 6.0 is not bad at all.... easy to shoot for though i do aim for 5.8...
B
Bud Bug
Even in the 3/4 gallon pots I only watered on the the third day. So day 1 water/food - day 2 no water/food - day 3 water/food The pots were basically bone dry by the third day. I put in roughly 250-300ml of water/food per each pot.
Actually they go greener when I moved the ph from 5.9.-6 to 6.2-6.4 Just like it shows on this chart
So you were watering every other day, as compared to every day? I know a few guys who use that schedule, and it works well for them 
That chart is for soil PH by the way, not hydro. For hydro, 5.8 - 6.0 is considered optimal, but anywhere from 5.5-6.5 will work, although you'll start to notice the start of some lockouts once you get near or above 6.5.
Here's a chart that compares proper Soil PH to proper Hydro PH. Hope it helps!
That chart is for soil PH by the way, not hydro. For hydro, 5.8 - 6.0 is considered optimal, but anywhere from 5.5-6.5 will work, although you'll start to notice the start of some lockouts once you get near or above 6.5.
Here's a chart that compares proper Soil PH to proper Hydro PH. Hope it helps!
shishkebab
Member
I water every other day, i let it dry out just a bit and it works like a charm.
This is not true.
Ideally in coco you need to be 5.6-5.8 the whole range is from 5.2-6.2 in coco. And if you are using Canna coco(very well prepared coco) it doesnt matter if you let it dry out, it wont dry out as fast as soil and holds alot more water and air so is harder to over water. coco produces excellent results and very high quality herb. Good Luck
maybe someone can chime in on my plan
i bought royal gold coco (says it's washed and stable?)
my plan is to use dolomite lime (prob 1 tsp to gal) w/ ea feeding every other day
nutes will be EWC tea for seedling, horse or bunny manure tea for veg, bat guano (hi-P) for flower
i figure i'll go to str8 water (all rain BTW) for late flower
oh! daily water alternate feedings
i bought royal gold coco (says it's washed and stable?)
my plan is to use dolomite lime (prob 1 tsp to gal) w/ ea feeding every other day
nutes will be EWC tea for seedling, horse or bunny manure tea for veg, bat guano (hi-P) for flower
i figure i'll go to str8 water (all rain BTW) for late flower
oh! daily water alternate feedings
Certainly you aren't saying hydro inherently out performs soil?
G
Guywithoutajeep
Treat coco like coco
You can use coco specific nutes or don't, whatever. More experienced growers will probably venture away from coco specific nutes at some time, but I'd tell a person whose new to coco learn about Canna, H&G, Hesi etc. coco based nutes. It's important to create a good foundation with this system. Hand water first, then move on to other watering options like drips.
Coco is like soil and it can also be used like a hydro system. Coco is what it is.
You can use coco specific nutes or don't, whatever. More experienced growers will probably venture away from coco specific nutes at some time, but I'd tell a person whose new to coco learn about Canna, H&G, Hesi etc. coco based nutes. It's important to create a good foundation with this system. Hand water first, then move on to other watering options like drips.
Coco is like soil and it can also be used like a hydro system. Coco is what it is.
B
Bud Bug
Man you should send your resume to AN.
Seriously how the hell would I get double the amount of weight if I did a drip/e&f system with coco instead of hand watering? You can't possibly tell me I would get 180oz/100W wet instead of the 90/1000W I got my last grow by doing hydro style system using coco.
G
Guywithoutajeep
Yes master!!!
We will all abide by your new pH rule which negates several years of conclusive evidence regarding the proper pH of hydro mediums.
I was confused after reading hundreds of articles, threads, and grow reports claiming 5.8 was the correct pH. Thank you thank you for clearing it all up.
Everyone go 6.4 gogogogogogogogogogo
