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I hand water Canna Coco from two 75ltr ressies, they have standard garden hoses from them with a simple tap and I let gravity do the rest. Feed once per day with minimum runoff,(around 100ml runoff). Runoff goes straight onto the concrete,(no drain holes), with 2400watts and a bigass fan run'n 24/7, the runoff evaporates in minutes. Once a fortnight I will feed with 75% runoff.
The strain is a well guarded local hybrid called White Dutchmans Skunk,(don't ask.LMAO), took me 2yrs of trying to get 5 seeds, have cloned it for the last 2yrs since. The lights off pics are at day 28 approx.
Hey guys I also posted this in the infirmary. But am hoping to get some help from my fellow coco growers.
I am using Canna Cocco A+B nutrients. Just fed them on Saturday and woke up today and saw some discoloration on the lower bottom leaves. From looking at the topic for sick plants, I'm still not sure what deficientcy it has.
The plants are in a 50% coco /50% perlite substrate. Fed with ro water, canna cocoo nutes, at a ec of 1.0 (.5 converions scale). The ph is at a steady 6.0. The run off is the same.
Just dumping in a few pictures to show you how the grow turns out.
Homebox just before I'm starting the bloom.
In the slab at the left there are 3 Phoenix Haze X Sour Bubble clones, and the three others carry 5 Sour Bubble clones each.
The open space at the right side is for larger potted plants. I'm groming a few in pure coco using Canna coco nutes, and 2 plants all organic in coco ammended with EWC, PreMix, Dolomite Lime, and a cut with a little potting soil and perlite.
Here the canopy has filled in and the plants ae just done with about 20 days of 12/12[/url]
Got a few quick questions for you coco experts out there. First, I have been scanning through this thred, and almost everyone says coco should be watered in a run to waste setup. Is it possible to use a recirculating drip system using coco? Second, has anyone out there ever used this type of coir made by sunleaves? It is very coarse, and I was told it would work great in a recirculating system. Also, has anyone had any experience using Monkey Juice from Advanced Nutrients. My local grow shop gave me the stuff to try out, and wanted to get some feedback on it. This will be my first attempt with coco, and I want to make sure i have all my ducks in a line. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
wow that shit is coarse eh? i really can't tell you if it works or not. give it a try. as to your question about recirculating the nutrient solution. yes you can recirculate in a drip fed setup. it's just easier to run to waste. but personally i know my coco inside and out and i recirculate my nutrient solution, till the last 5 days when i only run ph corrected water through the system, at this time i throw the run off away.
the reason canna doesn't recommend it, is because the run off can influence the tank ec and ph levels. in fact it will influence the tank, but if you are not allowing too much run off and you regularly check and adjust your tank ph/ec, then recirculating works. you just might need to do a flush some where half way through 12/12. but thats a good idea if you run to waste as well.
So I started having problems and I thought it was my nutrient solution and then overwatering. Now I think it must be salty coir. How can I correct this problem now that they are planted without losing them? They are in an ebb and flow table and I am using flora nova nutes.
Hey gaiusmarius. Thanks for that info. I only plan to veg for a week, and then they will be transplanted into 2 gallon containers with that coco as the medium. Every week I will change out the nutrient solution, and refresh it with new stuff, so hopefully I can avoid too much buildup in my medium. How often would you feed using something similar to this? I was thinking of starting with 2 feedings a day, and as they progress, stepping it up to 4. Thanks again for the great info.
I know alot of you use drip systems so hopefully someone can help. what size pump would you use for 18 plants?i have the 185 but it isnt putting out an equal amount of water.
jimjay For 18 plants you would need a 500gph to do the job right,....get some 1/2 inch and run it in a loop,..then T off with 1/4 inch drip line...
dont use any drip emitters or adjustables,...they are inconsistant and clog up..
Hey Mo Budz, i would start off with 3 or 4 waterings a day and stick to that right the way through. the only thing you change is the legnth of time the pump runs for each watering. so start with 3 times 1 minute and slowly increase it as the plants need more. the plants like a regular feeding rithim. as you will recirculate, you should make sure the pump runs only long enough for a bit of run off to occur. it also works to run the pump 7 times a day and having loads of run off each time. it's up to you, the coco is very flexible and plants will do well either way. i preffer to use the former way. the important thing is to chose one way and stick with it. no watering 2 times a day one week and 5 times the next.
hey jimjay
you really don't have to worry if the drippers don't all run exactly the same amount of water. as long as they are all running your plants will do fine. just let the pump run long enough each time to get run off every where. maybe a one way valve would help you create even pressure on your drippers? but don't let it worry you, as long as they are all running then the plants will prosper.
Hey thanks for that info man. I wasnt sure if the little ones needed that many waterings, but I will definentally give it a go. How do you feel about a 15 minute on time. Right now I dont have a timer that will do anything under 15 minutes. If the shorter watering time is critical, then I will definentally go get me a timer that I can adjust down to lower times. I have been a soil grower for many years, and have always wanted to try some hydro. I now have plenty of space for experimenting, and I really appreciate all the help. Thanks.
I'm in a bit of a predicament. I fed these plants some 1.2 EC coco feed on Saturday night, they've got progressivly worse since then. I don't know if they are hungry or if they've had too much water. I've dug out some of the coco from deep down and it's not waterlogged, if I squeeze a handful of coco it gives off a little water but not much.
So I'm stuck with the prospect of feeding them some nutes and adding to the potential overwatering, or letting them dry out and adding to their hunger. Any advice would be much appreciated.
well 15 minutes of time is a bit long, but in the end it shouldn't matter. i would say that 2 waterings a day are enough if you let the pump run for 15 minutes each time.
ideally though i'd get a digital timer and have it run 4 times 3 minutes. that way not so much of your nutrient solution is geting pumped through the medium. this helps to keep the tank ec and ph stable. to get that full hydro effect in coco, you need to water at least 3 times a day better 4 times.
bramski your plants look like one of two things is happening.
either your ph is too high,...or your coco is really salty.
Ive had experience with both,...did you flush the coco?,....what brand are you using?
just an fyi,
botanicare has readings as high as 200ppm,...where as canna is in the 50-80 ppm range.
I'm using Neemcoir Hydrojunkie. I know the coco is good because I've had some really good results before using this same neem coir (drip fed) and I have a good few plants at the moment that are very much thriving in it, so It's unlikely that it's salt content of the coco.
I did however flush a lot of the buckets in my tap water before putting the plants in. The tap water is very soft, good quality. It doesn't register on my NZ truncheon meter so it must be below 140ppm and the PH of it comes out at 7.2 so it could be that theres a high ph in the coco but they pots have had about 2.5 litres each of 1.2ec 6.0ph since they've gone in.
It's irritating because I have some older plants that are doing good and I've used the same routine with these but these seem to be going to hell in a hand basket.
So its your ph eh?,....last time I used some coco that had a ph of 7.5-8 my plants had the same symptoms as yours.
I watered with 6.0 nutes and it took almost 2 weeks for the problem to correct itself...
you may want to water with a ph or 5.6-5.8 and your ph will end up around 6.3 with one to two waterings...
Sounds like its the PH then, I'll give them a watering with 5.6 and see how they go. just a pity this happened just as they go into flower as it will hit me hard in the yield dept.
looks like you have been treating the coco like earth? letting it get dry in between waterings is not good for the plants in coco. at least one watering per day till some run off, is essential. i know one guy who runs his water once every two days. his plants look healthy and everything, but he yields about half what i do with watering 4 times a day. even if the pot feels heavy and the coco looks wet, it still benefits from watering, as it causes an exchange of air in the root zone. that's why multiple waterings works so well in coco, because each watering causes the old air to get forced out, to be replaced by new fresh air as the waters drains off again. under those conditions the plants make hydroponic roots. if you feed once a day or even every 2 days, your plants will make normal earth roots. so decide on a system and stick to it and the plants will recover in no time.
if the return ec is above 1.8, then a good flush with phed tap water is in order, after which you should give them a normal watering with nutes.
gaiusmarius speaks of the truth,....ive witnessed increased yields/growth from watering more frequently than once every 2 or 3 days,.... the only time I dont water daily is in early veg,....but in bloom once a day should be the minimum as gaiusmarius has stated...