Coco growers, how do you fertigate your plants?

[JP1]

I think you're over stressing at this point. They look fine for 8 days old. They're just growing roots now instead of plant matter. They'll start to pick up soon. If your coco was fully saturated, it takes a pretty long time to actually dry out. I grow in 1 gallon bags of coco and only ferigate twice a week for the first couple weeks. Just to get some fresh nutes and rebalance the pH in the pot really

 

[Lil Dab]

"Don't start chasing problems that do not exist you do not need to fertigate coco every day when the plants are small but you must water the entire pot to 20% run-off any day that you do fertigate. It is all about keeping the cation exchange in the coco in equilibrium. If you only partially fertigate salt build up begins immediately. You almost cannot over water coco. The droop you are seeing is most likeley do to rapid growth as long as your VPD is in range with good air movement. Some strains also have a tendency to droop more than others. Drooping by itself is not a cause for concern. I had a Dinafem Cheese plant that drooped its entire life. The buzz was good and the yield normal." MOG

 

[Olderfart]

Hey guys,

So I got recommended this website by a known user, because the other "forum" I've been to, has been toxic since day 1 onwards. I hope I am in the correct subforum for this, I was insure if I should go to problems, or to the beginners section. I'm sorry if this is the wrong one!

Here are some of my details first of all, because it's important:
* MarsHydro FC3000, currently running at 300-320PPFD at plant level, 24/0 cycle
* Exhaust fan
* Autopot 4 pot 3.9gal / 14L system, currently handfeeding
* Autoflowers, 8 days old
* Canna Coco nutrient line
* RO Water
* Temps around 23-25°C, humidity stable at 60-65%
* Apera PH20, calibrated weekly, stored in solution
* Generic EC pen, 100% stable as it's also tested in an EC solution weekly

I fed my coco with a 1.0EC nutrient solution at 5.7PH, consisting of 0.3EC Calmag, and 0.7EC Canna Coco A+B. 1 day later I added my sprouted seedlings, and another day later they popped their heads out of the substrate (pre-germinated). Yes I went straight for final pot, I should've chosen solo cups first. My bad, I know! I have a few runs behind my back in organics, I sometimes transplanted, sometimes didn't, I'm a 100% autoflower fan and it has always worked with- or without transplanting.

I then waited for around 2 days, and watered with a 0.5EC solution (0.3EC Calmag + 0.7EC A+B, watered down with RO water). Then PHed to 5.7, around 100ml for each plant. They seemed fine.

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But then I probably made the first mistake and didn't water for 3 days, as I've read very often that I should have some drybacks in coco when they're seedlings. The top coco took it's time to dry back, even after 3 days there was still some moisture left on top, so I thought it needed it. I then got recommended to water daily, just not a lot.

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The plants were doing something funky lately. They perked up for around 10-14 hours of the day, but started drooping the other 10 hours of the day. I usually run 24/0 with 600PPFD onwards from day 1 and never had this happen in organics or half-organics (biobizz). They just kept being perky and happy, so I was confused about them drooping down with only 300PPFD at 24/0. I also noticed that the newest growth is coming out in a pale green, rather than a healthy green.

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So yesterday I watered 200ml of a 0.7EC solution, got recommended to water more around the further parts of the coco (It was dusty dry on the rims), and added another 500ml with 0.8EC at 5.7PH. After that, the plants started perking back up, the top growth didn't lay flat anymore, and perked back up against the light.

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But today, after less than 24 hours, they were droopy again, top growth laying flat against the first leaves again, first set of leaves hanging downwards once more. The newest growth on top seems a pale green, even though I fed a solution which should fit to this stage of growth.

I am currently at day 7 or 8 since sprout, growth is mediocre, it somehow always comes to a halt over night while I sleep, and when I open the tent in the morning, it's all droopy again.

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Is there anyone who can tell me what to do here? What am I doing wrong? I already got nice advice, but I didn't think they'd droop after not even 15 hours of being alone again. Something is just funky, and I am too dumb to find out what's wrong. I'd love if someone can jump in and help me out real quick!

No drybacks in coco in my garden. I keep it wet and charged with balanced nutes 100% of the time. Coco is hydroponics with root support. My coco seedlings start with a couple top waterings per day right from planting of tailed seeds, and by the time they are a couple weeks old, they get fertigated six times a day with an automated top watering setup pretty much as described by Cocoforcannabis.com.

In fact, I buffer mt coco by mixing it into a slurry in a big bucket before putting the coco slurry into final pots to drain. I do this specifically because I have found dry sections of coco in pots that I tried to hydrate by flushing with cal mag. The dry coco is hydrophobic, and it seems to cause all the flushing liquid to confine itself to channels rather than soaking the whole pot.

Bottom line for me, never let coco dry out, and make sure that it is thoroughly wet before you start growing in it. Good luck with it.