Unofficial Coco Coir Growers Thread

[bonecarver_OG]

try with the rockwool plus - the tiny ones - it workes reatfor us

 

[Guest]

I have no problems with seeds in coco. I germinate them in wet paper towel, then use tweezers to put them near the surfaxce of the coco after they crack. Spray the top of the container, and the next day the seed is coming out the surface. I hardly water at all, as the coco has enough moisture in it to sustain the plant. The plant will work harder looking for water which creatwes a stronger plant. When I do water a seedling...it is very little, like maybe 20ml. As they get bigger, they can receive a little more. When the plant starts to really drink, and the container gets light when lifted...I know it's time to start giving a drenching with runoff, as the plant now has a big enough root system to sustain the wetness.

Cheers,
SH

 

[bonecarver_OG]

that works well too - i try to use something as a humidity dome also.

peace

 

[Guest]

thx , interesting replies.and right, it seems overwatering makes seedlings weak and stretchy

 

[Guest]

Here's a couple BOG lifesavers in coco. 5 gal planters w/ about 25% perlite. Top watered w/ organics (blood, bone, kelp meals) mixed in the medium. They're @ 45 days of 12/12 w/ about 5 days or so to go.

 

[Guest]

NICE !

 

[bonecarver_OG]

very nice indeed organic coco growing definetly is intersting too.

bog has nice genetics - ive grown out a bogglegum - veeery yummy

peace

 

[sproutco]

Great thread. Needed a bump.

 

[Guest]

^^I'll 2nd that.

 

[Guest]

third

 

[bonecarver_OG]

if u guys have any questions - we are here to help ya all

peace!

 

[sproutco]

if u guys have any questions - we are here to help ya all

peace!

Let me see. You like to keep the ph at 6? What do you think would happen if the ph got to 6.5? Phosphorus deficiency possibly? Does the nutrients intended for coco have reduced potassium? Thanks so much!!!

 

[bonecarver_OG]

if u have the PH fluctuating between 5,5 to 6,5 u can grow in coco - no problem we keep our nute-water at 6.0 to 6.1

i dont think 6,5 shold give too much P defiancies - but still u should try to keep the PH under 6.5 - it means no more than that!

indeed some brands of coco nutes have reduced levels of potassium. but we allways add PK 13-14 in flowering - just got to keep an eye open for possible salt problems - however only using Canna nutes (including the canna PK) for coco we dont have any problems at all.

peace

 

[sproutco]

I heard in this thread by Lucas that he recommends adding 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salts per gallon of water along with the Canna Coco. Too much potassium (especially when you add ferts like pk 13/14 or naturally in coco) and not enough magnesium. What do you think?

I have heard repeatedly that Canna Aqua, AND Canna Coco produce Mg deficiency if not supplemented with Epsom at the rate of 1/4tsp per gallon...

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=21119

Thanks so much for the answers!!!

 

[bonecarver_OG]

before i started using canna coco nutes i sometimes had troubles with magnesium def because of the high potassium levels. but also at that time i used other brands of PK than canna

best is just trying out experimenting and trying to learn from the misstakes - not all what works for one person works for an other - there is too many factors playing in

peace

 

[cough_cough_eer]

whats a good way to lower the ph in coco? Mine is at about 7 and Im havin lots of problems with my garden right now. I did flush with ph adjusted water and they do look a little better but the ph is back up to 7.And the coco doesn't seem to be drying , as I only water maybe once wvery other week?? I'm sure theres some nute burn too,next time I will use the coco and perlite only and water in the needed nutes..i'll edit in a pic later. Thanks Bonecarver, you answered a lot of questions I didnt know i had..

mix..
60% coco
40 % perlite

...per instructions
marine cusine
kelp
earth wron castings
Mycorrhizae

I hand water into 1 gal buckets with epson salts.


befor flush


after flush ....about 5 days ...top veiw..... casey jones

 

[bonecarver_OG]

looks like u got a bit carried away with the nutes there

i strongly recomend to use coco only nutes and adjust the ph of the water u use watering. its not really necesary to ad perlite to coco at all

when plants are small - use smaler container so u can easier control the humidity level - just go transplanting up to size when necesary - in coco a small container is perfect for starting and makes water easier. big pots can also be used - but then there must be more controll on the watering - making sure the coco does NOT get soaked - to keep it humid is enough better water a little bit at a time - a few times a day if necesary.

peace

 

[gaiusmarius]

cool to see a coco growers thread. i've been hoping for a coco forum since back in the OG days. in fact that's the only thing missing on this forum in my opinion. specially because coco growing breaks quite a few rules of conventional growing. i would also say that it, (coco growing) has to be divided into 2 main categories. the first would be hand watered coco, with either pure coco or mixes containing more then 60% coco. the second would be coco growing with automated watering at least 3 times per lights on phase. i would call these categories; semi hydroponic or fully hydroponic coco growing.

so anyone that is interested in the hand watered coco growing is best off following Bonecarver and Mampi's methods.

but in my opinion for a fully hydroponic growth rate in coco, you need to treat it like a hydroponic medium. a simple water proof table with a tank pump and drippers hooked up to the plants in the coco slabs, can get you great results, with a minimum of work, in a very short time. as you hardly need any veg time in coco and still end up with good size plants.

here's a quick over view of my way of using the coco slabs:

Coco slabs on tables with pre rooted clones in rw cubes placed on the slabs and spiked down with a dripper. 3 to 5 days veg phase is all it takes to get my table full of good size plants full of bud from top to bottom. watering takes place automatically 4 times in the day phase. each time the pump runs for 3 or 4 minutes until a good amount of water comes gushing back to the tank through the table drain. so it's a recirculating system, with a big tank placed directly under the table drain. this way the system is flood proof. the only danger is forgetting that you are filling the tank, lol. for a beginner i would suggest throwing away the return, as it makes things simpler. i normally do a quick flush once a week when my tank needs filling. i fill it up, add the zym, correct the ph and let the pump run for a good 15 minutes. then i add the nutes to what ever ec the strain i'm growing prefers. if you run to waste you don't have to bother flushing every week. but you use a bit more nutes and water if you run to waste.

My Nutrients and supplements:

Canna coco A+B - main ferts
Rhizotonic - bio root and medium stimulator
Hessi Powerzyme - enzyme product to make the slabs reusable, used to get cannazym, but hessi is cheaper lol so i'm testing it with good results so far. but next run will tell the story.
Bioboost as of second week of 12/12
PK 13/14 - as an additional boost. i don't use it every time. works best on nute hungry strains.

 

[bonecarver_OG]

hey gaius nice to see u here

i have used pumps in my setup in the last indoor i had - i only watered about one hour a day using as big pots and plants as i doo normally the results were great - but i bet watering more often would be even better - but since we here live in almost a desert - we try to water only the necesary amount + the spill that we throw (but we should really recycle it to use in a garden or such - most other plants love it).

how often do u adjust the ph, ec and nutes?

peace mate

 

[bonecarver_OG]

when i get an RO filter and move to my new house when its ready - im definetly going to give the slabs a try to get constant buds from a clone grow is tempting what sucks with BIG plants is the wait hehe

peace