Justiceman's Root Health Tutorial

[Cocolores]

@AS

I kept the coco soaking wet even after seeing the yellowing. How do you explain the quick shift to shiny green after raising the EC?
According to you the roots couldnt develop in the wet media, but obviously they did. Why?
Because i watered more than once a day.

I guess even after years of being a mod you learned something today. Congrats.

 

[CannaRed]

How would this work with coco/peat/ perilite mix?

Or what about a straight coco with organic amendments?

Lastly- how would this method work feeding only water soluble organics or teas?
Just trying to learn
Thanks

 

[aceRimmer]

@Justiceman


You say to not 'feed' plain water? Can you elaborate on your reasoning a little? I'm currently germinating some seeds directly in coco. Would it not be better to avoid nutrients and only give them pH'ed plain water for the first few days/week?


Cheers

 

[aceRimmer]

Can't seem to edit:


But to add onto my last post, should we use a light feed with seedlings so as not to throw of the coco ions?

 

[sethimus]

there is a pinned thread about the chemistry in coco, these threads are not there just for fun...

 

[Cocolores]

Wich doesnt mean he is not allowed to ask to the same topic and find someone who is willing to answer.
Its a forum and its not an encyclopedia with a one way communication.

 

[sethimus]

it's also not quora.com

 

[aceRimmer]

My wording could have been different. I'm interested in hearing Justiceman's reasoning for what he wrote, which I won't find in the sticky. I'm new to this and am hearing a lot of conflicting information (as I'm sure you all have at some point) about when to feed while germinating in coco. Some say not to feed at all early on, just water, yet there are obvious concerns about how watering with "plain" water would effect the buffering in coco. My intent was to present this dilemma and hopefully have the OP address it directly. Having someone who evidently is having a lot of success chime in would go a long way to shoring up my confidence. Again my wording could have been different and likely would have if I could have edited my original post. Apologies for the misunderstanding and thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

[Cocolores]

I would saturate the coco in a small pot and set the seed in.
When the first pair of true leaves show up and the coco doesnt seem to be moist enough you should water with a low EC but without drain.
That way the coco remains buffered and fresh disolved oxygen is provided for the roots.
Nothing bad happens if you keep doing this for a week or two depending on the groth inside and outside the pot. After that period do the watering with runoff.
It is helpful to cut the small pot in half from top to bottom and fix it with tape. that allows you to sneak behind the walls.

 

[justiceman]

How would this work with coco/peat/ perilite mix?

Or what about a straight coco with organic amendments?

Lastly- how would this method work feeding only water soluble organics or teas?
Just trying to learn
Thanks

Once you add materials like peatmoss or organic amendments, and teas the amount of air the coco holds on to at full saturation usually lessens. It becomes a part of a soilless medium instead of a standalone hydroponic medium. It's a different approach so the same general rules don't apply. Those kind of mixes do better being treated as soil.

@Justiceman



You say to not 'feed' plain water? Can you elaborate on your reasoning a little? I'm currently germinating some seeds directly in coco. Would it not be better to avoid nutrients and only give them pH'ed plain water for the first few days/week?


Cheers

Can't seem to edit:


But to add onto my last post, should we use a light feed with seedlings so as not to throw of the coco ions?

You got it. Preferably a light feed would be best when the first true leaves show up. Low enough to not really be feeding the plant much at all but high enough to maintain some level of food in the medium that way you don' have to play catch up with loading the coco with some ions once they really start eating. If the pH and ions are off for too long the plants usually get stunted in some way or another.

 

[Dr.NO]

Would a 5 to 10 gallon fabric pot be too much for coco?

 

[Goats]

Would a 5 to 10 gallon fabric pot be too much for coco?

how large do you plan to grow your plants? 5-10g can grow a tree in coco.

 

[Dr.NO]

how large do you plan to grow your plants? 5-10g can grow a tree in coco.

Less than 6 feet would be best.

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Three to five gallons is plenty.

 

[siftedunity]

Plan'ts don't struggle to root because the root system/medium is too wet. They struggle to root when enough oxygen isn't present or else DWC, NFT, Aerocloners etc. would never work. They also struggle to root when nutrition isn't adequate as well.

thing is, you can put a bubbler underneath your plants roots in dwc etc, so not really comparable to coco. if you let a plant sit in wet coco you cant bubble it.

if I put a freshly rooted clone in a big pot of coco and drenched it, and kept it wet, it would take forever to build up the root system,
if you feed it little and often. unless you put it in a little cup which is really hard to overwater, and dries out far more quickly because of the cup size.

the only plants ive even been able to water constantly, in coco with no ill effects is if they are pretty much rootbound. then they love it.
I think its because everyones definition of ''wet'' is slightly different. id say ''moist'' is better than wet. but then fuck ive been growing in coco for years and still changing things up and experimenting.

 

[Cocolores]

You can root a fresh cut in a glas of water without a bubble stone.
You can grow a rooted clone in a one gallon water bucket without a bubble stone til the point where tge plant needs more oxygen in the root zone. Next step could be a bigger bucket still without a bubble stone. Thats the way it is.
When justiceman says keep it wet than he means not keep it moist.
Wet is wet, saturated and sodden.
Everyday a fresh flush is key.

I did it and it works exactly like he describes it since the beginning of this thread.

 

[NormanGunston]

Plan'ts don't struggle to root because the root system/medium is too wet. They struggle to root when enough oxygen isn't present or else DWC, NFT, Aerocloners etc. would never work. They also struggle to root when nutrition isn't adequate as well.

By too wet he clearly means wet to the point where oxygenation is compromised. And he’s right. We can get away with watering the underdeveloped or partially developed root systems of young plants if the container is appropriately sized, as your lovely pictures demonstrate. But I would urge you not to advise noob growers to water everyday without primarily noting the size of their containers.

You absolutely will overwater a seedling in a 2 gallon pot if you water it to runoff everyday or even every second day.

 

[siftedunity]

You can root a fresh cut in a glas of water without a bubble stone.
You can grow a rooted clone in a one gallon water bucket without a bubble stone til the point where tge plant needs more oxygen in the root zone. Next step could be a bigger bucket still without a bubble stone. Thats the way it is.
When justiceman says keep it wet than he means not keep it moist.
Wet is wet, saturated and sodden.
Everyday a fresh flush is key.

I did it and it works exactly like he describes it since the beginning of this thread.

yeah you can root a fresh cut in a bucket of water. whats your point? an unrooted clone has very little demand for water nutrients and oxygen since it has no roots.
plants need to be rootbound or in an undersized pot. do share pics of your plants. lots of things ''work'' but yield and quality are the best indictors of how well.

 

[Cocolores]

yeah you can root a fresh cut in a bucket of water. whats your point? an unrooted clone has very little demand for water nutrients and oxygen since it has no roots.
plants need to be rootbound or in an undersized pot. do share pics of your plants. lots of things ''work'' but yield and quality are the best indictors of how well.

Be a student and learn from Prof. Kratky the Kratky Method.