Grow Mediums Watering coco question

[carl brutananadilewski]

So ive been told you can water coco daily with nutrients but my soil isn't drying out can i still water it?

 

[Wile e Peyote]

So ive been told you can water coco daily with nutrients but my soil isn't drying out can i still water it?

that all depends how old your plant is mine never dry out I water 6 times a day on a drip if they are over 3 weeks old you would find it ever so hard to drown them saying that some coco growers do a wet dry (let them dry out for a day and lift the pot it should feel light then water till you get a bit of runoff then feel the weight of your pots they will be heavy then wait till they get light again and I also feed with every watering

 

[420MEDLion]

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[420MEDLion]

Glad you asking this as id like to know too..
What ive heard is:
-Don't let it dry out- or treat it like soil as it will cause salt build up and show symptoms like nute- lockout and def. problems ( it's basically hydro- the coco is just a support agent for the roots and have great air retaining properties thats why it doesnt need to dry out as the roots have enough air)
-Keep it moist (slightly wet)
-daily watering with nutes is good when the plants is big enough, otherwise every 2nd day depending ofcourse how enthusiastically you watered...in seedling stage if you planted in a big container water only around the seedling and not the whole surface of the medium, as it gets bigger make your watering circle bigger respectively.
-dont let it sit in runoff for more than an hour or so at most (im referring to runoff in trays or saucers.) But the basics stay the same.
-water until runoff of about 10-20% with each watering.
If i can think of something else I will add to this list but thats all ive got right now, its also my first time growing in coco so wait atleast for someone with experience in coco to relpy to this thread as I might be talking through my ass given my experience with coco..

 

[Wile e Peyote]

When I say wet and dry I don't mean don't water her till she's droopy you will feel a noticeable difference in weight between a freshly watered plant and one that you haven't watered for a day but I prefare never to let my coco dry out

 

[420MEDLion]

When I say wet and dry I don't mean don't water her till she's droopy you will feel a noticeable difference in weight between a freshly watered plant and one that you haven't watered for a day but I prefare never to let my coco dry out

Think thats why i have a few td's that leaned to the droopy side, i was like why is this stuff not drying out? Haha, i took some coco out the bag pinched it between my fingers and some water came out, then i figured If I can press some water out of the medium then the roots should be able to take up the moist too... But it turns out I was wrong, you guys now what they say about Assumptions.. luckily i investigated soon enough and discovered some tricks about coco, previously i grew in perlite/vermiculite 60/40 and it worked great watered everyday with feed had a layer of coco ontop to retain some moisture as the medium would sometimes dry out too fast.

 

[420MEDLion]

After some investigation it turns out that the girls who were a bit (and still are coz i fed them again) droopy were infact overwatered and not underwatered, they are just over 2 weeks old so be careful when they that young, check the weight of the girls that looks happy and compare it to those who look droopy you will quickly see who has too much water..

 

[carl brutananadilewski]

Hmmm thats interesting bc the main reason for using coco is its oxygen retention value. Young roots are still young roots and should be treated as such. But as we know in a dwc outfit the young roots are fully submerged in the reservoir until they are older.

 

[carl brutananadilewski]

I take it if your coco isn't drying out it means something bad right? Taking three five days to dry out i mean.

 

[GCase]

Good discussion.

Couple of observations:

Fabric pots are best for run-off and oxygen.

Fabric allows for a never overwater fail safe. And can get good run off.

Coco when dry = wilted plant. Had one this grow. Found that a fan was directed at pot, so, she dried out asap. Once watered back up in no time.

Just some thoughts.

Cheers