Going to try Coco... some advice please

[NiteTiger]

Ok, so Gaius finally convinced me. I've been doing cheap, no nute Topsoil, watered with a hydro formula, and have decided to go full hydro. So far, I'm not real pleased with my DWC attempt, as I've developed a root rot I can't seem to shake, although the plant doesn't seem to mind too much.

So, I'm going to do Coco, see if I can get some hydro yields while using a medium and method that seems near to what I'm used to.

I got some coco bricks, and some chunky perlite. The plan is to flush the coco with 5 times the volume using PHed R/O water. Then I'll transplant the Brain Warps I have going in soil cups to 1 gallon pots with the coco/perlite mixture, washing the soil from the roots.

Now, I know that coco likes to stay moist, so I'm wondering about feeding schedule. I check on my plants at least once a day, although I do have the option of being in the garden about every two to three hours. Would a once a day watering be sufficient, or will I need to water more frequently? Even though I can be down there frequently, I'm really not wanting to make more work for myself.

Any comments, or suggestions?

 

[SEEDYNONO]

plants grow fast in coco and container size can be hard to judge in relation to watering frequency that can be provided i am finding.

you just have to see how much the plants are going to dry out the container and make sure they never get too dry..

 

[-VT-]

Coco cut with perlite stays moist longer, and is more forgiving of irregular watering intervals....

hollaback

 

[NiteTiger]

Good deal!

See any other potential problems with my plan?

 

[stevr59]

glad to see ya switching over to coco. i am glad i did this is my first run it in and so far its doing better than i hoped. looks like this will be my last run with a swc getting tired of trying to keep the rez cool and had root rot my last run, as of now i am using GH flornova and it doing great so far but i may switch to canna coco later. would love to do a side by side grow one with floranova and the other canna and see which one does the best.

 

[Guest]

I have some plants flowering in 1 gals right now, coco and perlite mix about 75/25. I am ok with once a day waterings, but any longer and the 1 gallons start to get unhappy ( 12 sq feet, 600 W, 35-41 RH, 73-78 F) . My 2 gallon pots can go almost 2 days in my room, but i prefer to do them once a day as it seems to be 50/50 with them, ie half the time they are ok after 2 days and half the time i open the door to a bunch of pissed off women!

What kind of nutes are you going to be feeding? I am using canna A and B, Rhizo for veg and the first few weeks of flower, cannazym, very small amounts of pk 13/14 and a product called 'Banana Manna'. Development has been faster than in my previous soil runs and the stink has become a bit of a problem this time around. I could take my soil plants out, water them all at once, etc.. no worries. My coco plants get taken out one at a time, watered in a makeshift sink that is still as close to my scrubber and cab as possible and then they go back into the cab ASAP once the run off ceases. Otherwise the whole floor above me starts to stink right away!

I would research the R/O water thing, for me, my tap water works alot better than r/o, but it would depend on what your tap is like. I recently started bubbling my water for 24 hrs or so before using it and have noticed happier plants as well. I put a shallow layer of hydroton in the bottom of my pots so that i don't get coco running off during watering and making a mess.

Overall I am really happy with the switch from promix/perlite/ewc. The most important things I have learned from the Coco are that PH needs to be kept stable (I do 5.8, every watering, every time) and you get the happiest plants when your waterings are nice and rythmic, ie roughly the same time, each day.

Another thing to think about is how you want to start your seeds. I germ mine in paper towels and then plant them directly into my coco/perlite mix in little cups. I water them with a spray bottle, 2-3 times a day by misting the surface heavily. After a week or two I move them into 3" square pots. Some people lose seedlings by putting them into coco right away, so far I have only lost about 3 out of 60-70. I can't say for sure, but I think the frequent light watering with the spray bottle keeps it just moist enough for them to be happy without having them fall over dead on me.

Good luck with the switch! I think you'll like it, I was a bit of a compulsive over water'er in dirt, but now I'm a half decent gardener in Coco, go figure

 

[EddieShoestring]

alright NTiger

i've switched from hydro to coco and was advised to treat coco more like a hydro medium than a soil/compost thing-ie keep wet at all times and the more frequent watering/feed the better-after 2 coco grows i recon this is good advice

cheers and good luck with the coco-it is excellent
eddie

 

[NiteTiger]

Thanks for all the input guys!

I'll start her off heavy anyway (with the flushing, the medium will be water heavy to start with), and see how quickly she dries out, checking three to four times a day. That should give me a good baseline.

I'll be running SWT13 clones, BrainWarps, and Mississippi Muds if all goes as well as I anticipate.

Quick question - I've got a 390 gph pump - would it be worth it for me to put these on 1 gph drippers? I've got everything except the dripper heads themselves. Do most drip systems like that run to waste, or can they be recirculating?

 

[Guest]

Run to waste seems to cause less problems for people. I have seen Gaiusmarius recommend that if you are going to re-circulate, the bigger the res the better to keep your PH and EC more constant, and make sure you have a filter on the return as it'll have coco bits in it.

 

[tngreen]

hell yeah NT! glad to hear ya switchin. i did swc my first run and am likin this a lot better! with your space, i would highly recommend a drip setup. i get some salt buildup if i dont get to em rather frequently which is hard sometimes. a drip setup would just make it so much easier.

 

[NiteTiger]

So, let me see if I'm doing this math correctly.

If I had 4 plants on a run to waste drip, I'd be using 4 gallons per hour. So I'd go through 96 gallons a day? Yipes.

I just don't know if it'll be worth the trouble to set up a dripper system for what will be, at the most, 4 plants. Probably less.

Meh, we'll stick with hand watering - maybe I'll just use the pump as a watering tool

 

[Protostele]

Your math is overlooking the fact that you would only have your pump running long enough to get enough runoff to rinse the coco medium. It is suggested that about 10% runoff is plenty. A timer that can be adjusted to the minute would be recommended.

Set the timer so it will come on several times a day just long enough to get the runoff. I, personally, don't worry about getting runoff each time, since I handwater once a day as well and ensure I get the runoff then.

The reason I handwater along with using the drippers is to ensure the entire surface of my pots get flushed and not rely on capilliary action to wet the surface which can cause salt buildup.

Protostele

 

[NiteTiger]

Ah, I've got ya, the drip system isn't running continuously.

Hmmm.

So, just put a timer on it, and do, say, 15 minute waterings every 6 hours?

 

[Protostele]

What I did was handwater and note how much I had to apply till runoff. Then I ran the drippers and collected the drip from one of the drippers to see how long it took for my pump to push out the required amount. I don't think you have to run the pump for 15 minutes with just one gallon pots.

In my case, using pots that hold close to one gallon, I found I get runoff after applying 250 ml. My pump will supply that much using .5 gallon drippers in 12 minutes.

I can only suggest you experiment like I did by measuring with your particular setup. Every pump will provide different pressure so the rate of drip will vary. I don't remember what the gph is for mine but the rated head the pump will lift water is the more important measurement. Mine will lift the water 6 feet according to the spec sheet.

The more often you water, the less will be required to get runoff as well so some adjustment may be required after your initial experiment.

Good luck.

Protostele

 

[Guest]

I think the guys running drippers like to run them once during lights out and 2-3 times during lights on. However, I have not seen too many threads on here with people running drippers in anything bigger than small square pots. What size of pots are you thinking of using? I vaugely recall seeing someone around here using drippers in bigger pots, I think they had a couple drippers setup per pot just to make sure the entire surface was wet evenly.

 

[dusto2k3]

i use 8"x8" square pots. I made little drip rings to go around the stalks using the barbed-T's then drilling 1/16" holed, 8 of them in each ring. I get a LOT of runoff, but i run a reirculating system, so I'm no wasting anyhing. I drip for 20 mins 4 times a day. I see great growth.

 

[EddieShoestring]

So, just put a timer on it, and do, say, 15 minute waterings every 6 hours?

yeah put them on a timer but the times depend on how much flow-the size of the container-temp of the room -size of plants etc-. I'm just finding my way with drippers-but have them on 3 times a day for 1hour-during that time they drip about 8L.

hope this helps
eddie

 

[NiteTiger]

Okay, another quick question -

I keep seeing people saying 'Use ONLY Coco specific nutes!".

Why is that? Is it going to be a problem using FloraNova Bloom as my base nute?

 

[stevr59]

floranova grow has been working great for me as of now its growing 2" a day out doors, i am not saying floranova is better than canna nutes but i can say it works well so far i have had no problems give me a few and i will post a pic to prove it.

 

[-VT-]

My 2 cents on "coco specific nutes"

My 2 cents on "coco specific nutes"

I keep seeing people saying 'Use ONLY Coco specific nutes!".

Why is that?

Because it is easier to get dialed in for some folks using these specific nutes....they have specific feeding programs and all that...so the guessing work is eliminated I've read....but...

better get that answer from folks that have used coco specific nutes...'cause I never have


Personally, I've used three different nutes in coco....
1. Vegged with GH 3 part
2.. Have vegged and Bloomed with PBP hydro organic
3. Have vegged and bloomed with CNS17

I had varying levels of success with all three.....I have seen folks have success in coco in at least 5 different non coco specific nutes....perhaps all purpose nutes are a better value for the price.
coco specific nutes are kinda pricy....not everyone profits from MJ....there are low income growers who really must watch the budget...(believe it or not)....as they (all-purpose nutes) can be used in multiple applications...and not limited to coco (good selling point for "all purpose nutes" )

Is it going to be a problem using FloraNova Bloom as my base nute?

Consider this quote from the stickied "Coco Grower's Thread"

FloraNova bloom and PBP have higher amounts NPKMG as opposed to your coco nutes... do the math and you will find that cannas coconutes for example is nothing but a 33% dilution of about 8ml of floranovabloom...