Grow Mediums Mother Earth Coco - To buffer / pre-charge or not to?

[briefbriefs]

Hey gang, i'll be starting my next run in a month and i want to get all my ducks in a row. I am growing in autopots and will be using a 60/40 blend of coco and perlite. However, what i'm unsure about is if i need to buffer/precharge my coco? This comes in a bag that says the Mother Earth Coco is "pre-buffered and pH adjusted" -- but i just don't know whether to trust that or not.

So, with all that said -- what do you all think? Should i still need to buffer my coco? And should i pre-charge it? If so, can anyone link me to a good tutorial where i may learn how to do so? I want this next run to be a success, as opposed to my current grow which is...disappointing.

 

[Proph]

Mother Earth is a well known and trusted brand. Their coco is pre buffered and ph adjusted. But let's say it wasn't.. Ph adjusting coco yourself is no easy task and I would not recommend a new grower trying it. Legally, American products aren't allowed to lie about their contents. Mother Earth is good to go out of the bag.

 

[briefbriefs]

Mother Earth is a well known and trusted brand. Their coco is pre buffered and ph adjusted. But let's say it wasn't.. Ph adjusting coco yourself is no easy task and I would not recommend a new grower trying it. Legally, American products aren't allowed to lie about their contents. Mother Earth is good to go out of the bag.

Hellyeah! Would it be alright if i chose to pre-charge it? Or am i talking straight out of my butt?

 

[Proph]

Hellyeah! Would it be alright if i chose to pre-charge it? Or am i talking straight out of my butt?

The latter, lmao. I try to help newer growers control their urges as much as possible. It's one of the biggest obstacles for a new grower. So laugh with me as I say that you are totally over thinking it. But let's just say you DO pre charge pre charged coco... How do you know the totally NPK levels that are now in that coco? Calcium is normally used to pre buffer the coco to help displace sodium and potassium.. So if you pre charge using any of those three nutrients, you can throw off the exchange balance. And that's just the tip of the iced berg. I always recommend that new growers use products as directed if they want the best chance at a successful grow.

 

[briefbriefs]

The latter, lmao. I try to help newer growers control their urges as much as possible. It's one of the biggest obstacles for a new grower. So laugh with me as I say that you are totally over thinking it. But let's just say you DO pre charge pre charged coco... How do you know the totally NPK levels that are now in that coco? Calcium is normally used to pre buffer the coco to help displace sodium and potassium.. So if you pre charge using any of those three nutrients, you can throw off the exchange balance. And that's just the tip of the iced berg. I always recommend that new growers use products as directed if they want the best chance at a successful grow.

I appreciate your honesty lol -- truly, there is no ego on my end. I know NOTHING, and won't pretend otherwise. I'm an empty cup and i wanna drink up all the knowledge. That said, looks like i'll be using the coco straight outta the bag! Thank you

 

[Proph]

I appreciate your honesty lol -- truly, there is no ego on my end. I know NOTHING, and won't pretend otherwise. I'm an empty cup and i wanna drink up all the knowledge. That said, looks like i'll be using the coco straight outta the bag! Thank you

No worries! You can still add the perlite if you like, but there is no need to do anything to the coco before hand! Good luck on your grow. We're all here to help!

 

[St. Tom]

@briefbriefs i use canna coco in autopots and i just plant and go and good luck with your grow

 

[briefbriefs]

No worries! You can still add the perlite if you like, but there is no need to do anything to the coco before hand! Good luck on your grow. We're all here to help!

I have one question that comes up a lot for me -- if i have a res full of mixed nutes, but then my plants start showing me that they need calmag, can i mix it into the nearly full res/mixed nutes? Or do i need to do a whole new mix of nutes where i put calmag in first, then my base nutes, etc?

 

[Proph]

I have one question that comes up a lot for me -- if i have a res full of mixed nutes, but then my plants start showing me that they need calmag, can i mix it into the nearly full res/mixed nutes? Or do i need to do a whole new mix of nutes where i put calmag in first, then my base nutes, etc?

I'll answer your question with a question first, lol.. How can a plant show that it needs calmag? Calmag is a sales term for a bottle of nutrients.. A calcium deficiency is completely different from a magnesium deficiency, and they rarely happen at the same time. If you have a calcium issue, you should treat it with calcium. If it's a magnesium issue, treat it with magnesium. Just something to think about... But yes, technically you can add it straight to the res, but you will need to make sure the ph stays in range. If you are going to grow in coco, it's important to learn about the relationship between cocos CEC rates and calcium. You shouldn't need "calmag" If the coco is pre charged.. I'm 99% sure they used calcium to pre charge the coco.

 

[briefbriefs]

I'll answer your question with a question first, lol.. How can a plant show that it needs calmag? Calmag is a sales term for a bottle of nutrients.. A calcium deficiency is completely different from a magnesium deficiency, and they rarely happen at the same time. If you have a calcium issue, you should treat it with calcium. If it's a magnesium issue, treat it with magnesium. Just something to think about... But yes, technically you can add it straight to the res, but you will need to make sure the ph stays in range. If you are going to grow in coco, it's important to learn about the relationship between cocos CEC rates and calcium. You shouldn't need "calmag" If the coco is pre charged.. I'm 99% sure they used calcium to pre charge the coco.

yeah you're absolutely right about that, except my dumb ass did the following:
1) washed my pre-charged/ph adjusted coco before planting like an idiot
2) didnt properly buffer my coco
3) neglected to use appropriate levels of my base nutrient (Mega Crop. i used too little.) throughout my grow.
4) Kept changing the amount of nutes weekly instead of being patient and giving it time to adjust.
5) used coco intermittently instead of consistently.

basically, after week 4...everything just slowly started turning into a disaster all because i didnt have a steady feed schedule and because the coco was holding on to the magnesium. Right now im having magnesium problems for sure. I'm also having nute burned tips. So im thinking of mixing up a batch of 3.5g/gal Mega Crop with 3.5ml/gal of CALiMAGic and hold it at 6.0-6.1pH.