Newbie help starting a coco grow

[tuna]

I've read through the coco growing guide thread, but I still have some unanswered questions.

My friends and I bought 10 seeds online a while ago and have them and we just ordered a HO fluorescent lighting rig from htgsupply.com to start growing seedlings with. My friends are trying to keep things as simple and cheap as possible, and one of my friends who has attempted growing a couple times thinks we should just use soil and regular soil nutrients we can buy at home depot. They got really opposed to the idea of any sort of hydroponic setup when I told them that we would have to buy ph and TDS meters at the cost of a couple hundred dollars.

But I'm trying to convince them to support growing in coco.

So first of all and most importantly, do I need a TDS meter or can I rely on how the directions say to mix with water? I'm assuming I would still need a PH meter, is there any way to get an accurate one for under $50?

What are reliable websites for getting cheap, name-brand (eg Canna and/or B'Cuzz) coco products in the US?

How do you start seeds in coco? Just fill solo cups with coco, water the coco, and plant the germinated seed as you normally would? What kind of water/nutrient mix would I use for that? From the guide I understand that I should be mixing 50/50 tap/distilled water when the plants are grown, but do I need completely distilled water for seedlings (and clones)?

Basically, I'm looking for a resource that goes very in depth as to how to start a grow in coco, preferably on a budget.

thanks in advance

 

[Sharp_Pain]

I'll be honest and say if your new to growing go ahead and start a few grows in Soil. Hydro ultimately will give you a better yield, but like anything else experience is very important. IMHO Soil is alot more forgiving than hydro. I coco if a pump goes out you risk killing all your plants.

Also the fact your trying to keep cost down makes me say go with soil. Nutes can get really expensive and depending on the type hydro setup may not be smart expense-wise.

I would start them in small cups and once root bound slowly move into slightly bigger pots.

My Vote = SOIL

What type lamp will you flower under?

 

[tuna]

i have a 400w hps available but would consider buying a CMH bulb considering all the attention its been getting and its only ~$50

 

[gdawg]

get the meters and go coco bro. you won't regret it. a pump is less than 20 bucks and ya ain't got a barnfull dependin on it. coco is way more forgiving than soil. and nutes for a 400 run will cost ya around 30 bucks maybe cheaper and have nutes left over. definately get the meters and that will take alot of hassles and worries away. the 12 buck concrete mixin tubs at lowes, sittin on a 5 dollar rubbermaid drippin sounds good.

 

[BillowingBudMkr]

Guys, I'm using canna coco. Before transplanting RW cube into coco should I soak the coco with a diluted nutrient solution?

 

[Guest]

Guys, I'm using canna coco. Before transplanting RW cube into coco should I soak the coco with a diluted nutrient solution?

Short answer, No.

Long answer, at this point the plants don't need anything to speak of. If you've got anything like Canna Rhizotonic, you can use that to feed with. It's very mild in the way of nutrients. But right now, really they don't need a thing. You even need to back the light off of them till they get really rooted. Using fluorescent lighting, put the bulbs about 6-8" from the seedlings. Give them about 5-7 days of just plain tap water. They're still using energy stored by the seed itself.

Once you've given them the 5-7 days to get rooted, mix your nutrients at like one tenth strength. Example: recommended dosage 5mL/L, you mix 0.5mL/L.

Point is, it's better to err on the conservative side. If you give them too much at once, they'll go belly-up on you.

I use Canna A&B and the first dose of nutrients I give is at 1mL/gal. That's 0,25mL/L. The plants love starting out slowly. Giving them too much the first feeding is like trying to stuff a thanksgiving ham down a newborn's throat. He's probably gonna puke.

Peace

 

[BillowingBudMkr]

Short answer, No.

Long answer, at this point the plants don't need anything to speak of. If you've got anything like Canna Rhizotonic, you can use that to feed with. It's very mild in the way of nutrients. But right now, really they don't need a thing. You even need to back the light off of them till they get really rooted. Using fluorescent lighting, put the bulbs about 6-8" from the seedlings. Give them about 5-7 days of just plain tap water. They're still using energy stored by the seed itself.

Once you've given them the 5-7 days to get rooted, mix your nutrients at like one tenth strength. Example: recommended dosage 5mL/L, you mix 0.5mL/L.

Point is, it's better to err on the conservative side. If you give them too much at once, they'll go belly-up on you.

I use Canna A&B and the first dose of nutrients I give is at 1mL/gal. That's 0,25mL/L. The plants love starting out slowly. Giving them too much the first feeding is like trying to stuff a thanksgiving ham down a newborn's throat. He's probably gonna puke.

Peace

Thanks, I need to be a little more specific. I have fully rooted rockwool cubes that I will be placing on top an slightly in the coco mix. Water is just fine?

 

[Guest]

BTW, gdog's right. An investment now will save you tons, staring right now with this grow. There are some really talented folks that grow in coco and don't use anything to check either pH or ppm but sadly, I'm not that good, hehe.

There are three options to checking your pH and ec as I see it:

1. Buy the little test kit for $6.95. It comes with tiny dropper bottle full of reagent which is a chemical that causes a predictable and measurable reaction against another chemical, normally in solution. This is what I did when I started because I'm an old fart who doesn't want to believe that simpler isn't always better, lmfao. Well in this case, it wasn't for me. My pH got off and I couldn't even tell it. I mean the differences in colors were too subtle for me. Like the difference between mauve and vomit. They look the same to me, hehe.

2. Invest in the meter. Here's what it could save you from.

#Entire grows = $$$.$$

#Stressed plants = (lower yields, hermaphrodites -which if not caught bye bye sensemilla) = $$$.$$/gm

#Worry! = Damn was that spot there from the start - pH or ec? Is that another one - ditto?? Is a leaf supposed to twist like that - pH or ec??? Why do I have burned leaf tips - pH or ec???? Weird yellowing of the margins on some leaves - pH or ec????? Once you begin to be able to read the plants, you'll depend less and less on the stick and meter. Till then, it's the best money you'll spend. Doesn't matter how premo the lighting, climate control and nutrients are, if the nutes are locked out long enough by out of range pH, the grow's gonna tank on ya.

Peace of mind = Priceless, lmfao. But true!

3. Buy neither and go with your gut. If you do this, divide the day up between you and your buddies and take turns worrying, hehehe.

I hope this helps somebody and the above's just my opinion. But it's opinion based on lessons learned through pain, hehe. I'm neither the best grower here nor the worst but I've brought all my plants to harvest, my yields appear to be above normal, I sleep at night - when I cut back on the Aderall, caffeine, and sativa, not necessarily in any order or logical pattern at all, lmfao, and finally most important, I owe it to all the very special folks who in my opinion are the best coco growers in these forums. Folks like bonecarver_OG, h3ad and the mrs, and foremost gaiusmarius - who chose to ride out my entire first coco grow with me. I learned tons from all these folks around here. Enough that I absolutely couldn't believe the results of my first grow. It could've gone the other direction! I was blessed!!!

I just try to give back a little peace of mind to those standing where I just stepped from.

I do post a lot, when I post don't I?

Use what ya want of this and don't do anything foolish to pay for the equipment. If you can't get it right now, buy the inexpensive kit. Better to lose a few plants than to lose your freedom - and who knows God may smile on you and bless you with the "touch." Seriously.

If you think it'll make you feel better, only pop half the seeds per grow. That gives you a safety net of sorts. That's what I did. Have to talk myself out of doing it and haven't been able to so far. A couple of reasons really but for the most part because I'm conservative in my grows, what can I say. Like I said, an old fart who likes things kept simple. hehe.

Look, I've been smoking F-13 tester buds all fukking night and I don't know how to stop writing so PM me if I've run amok and defaced your thread.


Peace, for real.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I need to be a little more specific. I have fully rooted rockwool cubes that I will be placing on top an slightly in the coco mix. Water is just fine?

Thanks for clarifying but I kinda took that into consideration. It shouldn't matter that the plants are well rooted in rockwool, they're still going to have to root into the coco. Am I right or am I still misunderstanding you? That happens with me from time to time, sometimes from hour to hour, hehe.

Peace

 

[gdawg]

great post mojo! i can't imagine the yeild and quality i wasted for my first few runs when i didn't have any meters and really, not a ****in clue what i was doin. and no internet access for the first year too. but tuna ya got half the battle won by bein on icmag and havin members to help ya. dude i just got a ph meter off the bay for 25 bucks includin shippin. go ahead and spend a couple bucks on meters, you'll get it back off the first run. mojo i used to test my ph the same way and it drove me nuts and the girls suffered. peace tuna i'll be checkin back in on your thread.

 

[Guest]

great post mojo! i can't imagine the yeild and quality i wasted for my first few runs when i didn't have any meters and really, not a ****in clue what i was doin. and no internet access for the first year too. but tuna ya got half the battle won by bein on icmag and havin members to help ya. dude i just got a ph meter off the bay for 25 bucks includin shippin. go ahead and spend a couple bucks on meters, you'll get it back off the first run. mojo i used to test my ph the same way and it drove me nuts and the girls suffered. peace tuna i'll be checkin back in on your thread.

Sorry I misspelled the name gdawg, hehe. I've got a Hanna meter and love it. It was more than $25 bucks though. Props for getting such a good deal. Yeah, the drops aren't accurate enough for me. Shades of colors don't work for me. I mean the difference between red and slightly orange. I smoke weed. I don't do color spectrums but I'm looking for a strain of weed that'll do em for me, hehehehe.

Peace

 

[gdawg]

ha your funny mojo! which hanna do you use? i had the hanna champ model and it lasted a year, just like the guy told me. only 50 bucks, i would of went back with the same model but i was in a tight so ordered the cheaper one. i use a truncheon meter and i love that thing. if i lost either one i would have a panic attack even though i still got the shitty drops. tuna what ya gonna do man?