Organic Coco Possible?

[SpanglyBoovus]

I think everyone who says that coir is not suited for guanos or worm castings is completely misinformed. Im growing 100% organic in coir and using castings and guanos as well as other usual organic ammendments (dolomite, kelp, blood, bone, greensand, etc) and I am having AWESOME results.

Coir holds its pH level WAY more efficiently than peat could ever hope to, and the only problems ive run into so far is calcum/mg deficiencies, so I simply added more dolomite lime to my mix and all is well...

I encourage all of you who say coir doesnt work with castings and guanos to actually try it before giving out advice that could steer a young organic grower in the wrong direction.

 

[gaiusmarius]

people are confusing a coco grow using coco or mostly coco, or coco mixed with another inert medium. with a soilless grow using coco as an additive and all the organic additives you can add to soil. the first method is using coco as a hydroponic medium. the second way is using coco like earth. both ways allow you to grow out healthy plants. it's only when you compare yields that you see the light. mind you i know a grower who doesn't care about yield a much as he does about 100% organic buds, and he does it like earth, but still adding 40% coco to the normal earth ingredients of guano, perlit etc. and his liquid organic supplements to keep up with the fert use after the initial earth reserves are gone.

what will not work is mixing your coco with just guano and expecting to feed with water only. i can't wait till we have a few finished grows posted up of different methods to achieve our desires with coco as our medium. California kid is giving us a ebb and flow coco show, which will be our first in this coco forum. who's gonna be the first to documents a fully organic soilless mix using coco? or a organic hydro with coco grow? i think i will post up a slab run from start to finish, just to do my bit. i actually didn't want to post anymore grow threads from start to finish, as i have posted quite a few over the years, mind you the og ones should be lost i suppose, lol.

 

[nandro]

who's gonna be the first to documents a fully organic soilless mix using coco? or a organic hydro with coco grow?

Done and Done. Over @ B r e e d b a y.

I've done containers and dwc. Mixed, straight-up, 50/50, guanos, EWCs, teas, chunky perlite, regular perlite, hydroton, etc...etc...etc...you name it.

Just wish I could'a gotten those pix to work in that 'show yer coco grow' thread. Damnit.

Can't wait to showcase future coco runs. It's all I do.
Peace,
Nandro

 

[Guest]

What effect does coco added at say say 50% to a regular soiless mix as far as watering frequency? Would it lighten up the mix and need more frequent waterings? Do the benifits of coco come through as far as speeding up growth?

 

[SpanglyBoovus]

heres the pics you requested of my organic coco coir grow..

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=49319

Basically I jsut added reverse osmosis water only, and then in the last half of flowering I gave them molasses with their RO water..

not bad results eh?

Those ones were grown with layers and spikes in their 3 gallon pot.

 

[Guest]

Done and Done. Over @ B r e e d b a y.

I've done containers and dwc. Mixed, straight-up, 50/50, guanos, EWCs, teas, chunky perlite, regular perlite, hydroton, etc...etc...etc...you name it.

Just wish I could'a gotten those pix to work in that 'show yer coco grow' thread. Damnit.

Can't wait to showcase future coco runs. It's all I do.
Peace,
Nandro

What yields the best while providing the best flavors/aromas? In your opinion?

I'm loving the aromas/flavors off of 25% Moonshine Man Mix / 50% Perlite(regular) / 25% Coco. But the yields aren't staggering like they should be.

Thanks!

 

[nandro]

What yields the best while providing the best flavors/aromas? In your opinion?

I'm loving the aromas/flavors off of 25% Moonshine Man Mix / 50% Perlite(regular) / 25% Coco. But the yields aren't staggering like they should be.

Thanks!

MSM mix is great, I too was mixing all that up at one point in time!! haha That shit is a nice rich mix. Great aromas and flavs, as stated for sure.

Man dude, yields are excellent in straight coco cut with like 40-50% perlite [chunky or regular], fed-to-waste in containers. In hydro setups, it's downright gnarly.

Lemme know what works for you mang
Nandro

 

[Guest]

MSM mix is great, I too was mixing all that up at one point in time!! haha That shit is a nice rich mix. Great aromas and flavs, as stated for sure.

Man dude, yields are excellent in straight coco cut with like 40-50% perlite [chunky or regular], fed-to-waste in containers. In hydro setups, it's downright gnarly.

Lemme know what works for you mang
Nandro

Yeah it does make a nice smoke. I'm gonna go 50/50 coco/perlite after I run out of dirt. I use PBP for soil, Sensizyme, molasses, and maybe a bloom booster. Think that will still work - or will I lock something up? Oh yeah, hand water 5 gallon buckets. PITA I know, but hey, I love my bitches.

 

[nandro]

Yeah it does make a nice smoke. I'm gonna go 50/50 coco/perlite after I run out of dirt. I use PBP for soil, Sensizyme, molasses, and maybe a bloom booster. Think that will still work - or will I lock something up? Oh yeah, hand water 5 gallon buckets. PITA I know, but hey, I love my bitches.

Shit man no that sounds GREAT. You got it, just no fear man you'll be all gravy.

When in doubt, flush those bitches out.

Hand-water Five gals, my kinda cat. Do it to it and get back at us.
Peace
Nandro

 

[mig]

i am using a coco mix with guanos and the results are very nice. i use the nigh n and the high p guanos respectively. i do not liek to use the seabird guanos offered as i cannot control the ratio of n to p. but all in al i have great results. i also add rare earth (silicates, humates), algamin (kelp meal), worm castings and a liquid micronute that i add to the watering sched. I am very pleased and recommend trying this method out to anyone who is interested. experimentation is key. I learned that coco immobilizes nitrogen as time progresses, and I am seeing this in my ladies which are 3 weeks into flower, so keep in mind a high nitrogen fert is prob best. good luck to all

 

[Ziggy420]

I haven't been able to find much info on or people who have used TerraCycle ProFusion.
Never one to run away from a challenge and /or breaking new ground I'm screwing up and learning along the way.
I have one each of an unknown strain from bag seed with heavy sativa traits.
DWC-Bubbler(cat litter bucket 4 gal?) - 6' net pot with pure compressed.
Terra Cycle Pro Fusion
Fish Emulsion
Super Thrive
Molasses
Epsom
Flushed the compressed coco with tap and then RO water and did just about everything else right but I forgot to remove the net from the Jiffy Pellet. It's really stunted due to nute difficiency and aggressive bonzai training. Perkin up real good now that I freed up the roots. Hope I have a good mother in a few weeks.

Accept for the Epsom I'm all organic. I'll be watching the iron, cal, mag and K close.

See what happens. Pictures soon.

 

[MCMC]

I have an expiriment going

I have an expiriment going

I had been reasearching ideas to get some organic nutes in with my coco mix without taking away from the good properties like the water retention and drainage.
I saw a diagram showing the top layer of roots are different structured than the longer roots that are to get to deep wet soil to supply water. This got me thinking if I could use the top of the pot to feed with the bottom to be for water.
came across somebody using pots of neutral medium over a table filled with water. The pots would be watered with a fertilizer soulution wich would nourish the entire plant. Meanwhile, the resivoir beneath the pots was kept with clean water so the plants have a constant supply of liquid.
I couldn't find out any yeild info or any other than the way the setup worked.
Instead of going to extreme lengths, I decided to use the top half of the pot to have added some soil, about 20% Fox Farm Ocean Forest to my 70%coco / 30%perlite mix.
I figured around 20% dirt at the top layer which decreases to none 3/4 of the way down the pots. I wan't the top roots will be feader roots while the lower half of the pot holds more water, like a reserve. I also added a layer of dirt to the top of the soil for mulch.
I am hoping to add some organic goodness to coco grown buds!

 

[Ziggy420]

Yeah MCMC, I've been toying with the theory myself. I saw a post on here last month but forgot who it was. He had a modified DWC going for his mother which was in a large pot with holes drill through the bottom. The pot was sitting on/in plywood, to support the weight, on top of a large res. The res got pure water and the pot got nutes. Don't remember the medium mix or nutes. He stated that the large thick roots are better suited for taking up water and the smaller roots in the root ball better for nutes. Seems he put it all together and his mum literally did a "Jack In the Bean Stalk".
I'm still looking cus some of use should get our heads together on this...seems to be some real potential.

 

[fortragni]

While not entirely organic, just to show how other people use coco..
I use it as part of my medium. 70% coir, 15% light warrior 15% perlite.. used PBPro veg during veg cycle and first week flower, then earth juice bloom during bloom cycle.. only supplements epsom salts. plants have been fine, great really, but i read they are light feeders (northern light by fms)

 

[jolene]

With the above mix how often would you water/feed? Would you feed a very weak feed with every watering? I have been inspired to have a go at an organic coir grow from this.
I am growing ultra haze #1 which I find quite a light feeder so according to fortragni above this sounds like a good strain to try it with.

 

[fortragni]

Hi. I'm a total newb, but you asked, so here goes. I fed every watering, working my way up 1/4, 1/2 then full dose of the veg and then the bloom ferts, respectively. i did have a few problems in early flower with nute burn, but i flushed and eased up and they've been happy ever since. first 5 or 6 weeks of Bloom i fed/watered every other day, but the last week or so (it's week 7+) it's been every day, though now i'm giving water only.

 

[jolene]

Nice one, I will have a go at that - though I guess a full-on sativa like mine will maybe like a bit less food. Cheers

 

[fortragni]

hey, awesome , best of luck to ya, remember it's all about what works for you, your grow area and your plant. I think that aside from the coir-only growing method, using coir as an ingredient in a soilless mix has great potential for us hybrid kinda growers

 

[MCMC]

Why not Organic? from the PBP?

Why not Organic? from the PBP?

Sorry to hijack!

While not entirely organic, just to show how other people use coco..
I use it as part of my medium. 70% coir, 15% light warrior 15% perlite.. used PBPro veg during veg cycle and first week flower, then earth juice bloom during bloom cycle.. only supplements epsom salts. plants have been fine, great really, but i read they are light feeders (northern light by fms)

With the above mix how often would you water/feed? Would you feed a very weak feed with every watering? I have been inspired to have a go at an organic coir grow from this.
I am growing ultra haze #1 which I find quite a light feeder so according to fortragni above this sounds like a good strain to try it with.

Hi. I'm a total newb, but you asked, so here goes. I fed every watering, working my way up 1/4, 1/2 then full dose of the veg and then the bloom ferts, respectively. i did have a few problems in early flower with nute burn, but i flushed and eased up and they've been happy ever since. first 5 or 6 weeks of Bloom i fed/watered every other day, but the last week or so (it's week 7+) it's been every day, though now i'm giving water only.

My method of using Fox Farm ocean forest in the top layer of the coco mix has drastically reduced my needs to fertilize. It seems that the roots didn't mind the switch to some organic soil. The FF Ocean Forest has a month worth of food. I was hoping to use my liquid fertilizers with the soil to extend the availability of organic nutes from the dirt.
I think it would be a waste of time for me to tell you how much food to use on your plants! Unless I am using the same method with the same strain, It will most definitely be different!
Start with LOW PPM, or 1/5 strength fertilizer. I don't have a PPM meter, I just guestimate. After I see the speed of the growth pick up I start to feed more. From 1/5 to 1/4 to 1/3 to 2/5. I started seeing signs of overfertilization when I tried stepping up to 1/2 strength B.C. Bloom. The leaves got leathery and the tips dried out.
I would feed every other day with watering in between. That's only if your going to use coco. I am just seeing signs of too much nutrients. Now that I have the soil in my mix, I am not use to it!
The big leaves are showing dark green leathery skin while the new growth isn't affected. I am going to give water for a few days and let them soak up all the fertilizers in the mix.
Look at all the peoples methods on this board and you'll quickly find that there isn't 1 way of doing Anything! Especially with high people!
One of the most IMPORTANT things is to give plain water for the last while!!!
Some say 2 weeks, some say 3 days. I recommend from the beginning of week 7(for fast strains), Unless you have a "Final Flush" product to leach out everything from the plant. I don't have any experience with plants that go for more than 10 weeks. The finished buds will be free from harsh chemical tastes.

 

[fortragni]

Hi MCMC,
I read about your experiment/tech and i think it's worth a shot! How long have you grown in coir/perlite, with the FFOF top layer? it's a really good idea! as long as the drainage/water retention is consistant throughout the pots/grobags/whatever. have you noticed any specific advantages to this tek as opposed to using just straight coco/perlite and liquid nutes?? also i figure with this method you could do away with the need for Veg nutes, since the FFOF supplies that, and then all you would really have to worry about would be Bloom nutes and micros or other supplements.