Grow Mediums What Truu knows about Coco
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Better safe than sorry. Keep the same amount of light the whole grow. I hear doing 20 hours on 4 off really makes a better smoke
Alright so I was going to do a dwc set up for my second grow this year and am thinking it's just a bit over my head so I'm looking at coco
I only do a few plants a year as I'm not a heavy user of cannabis however it does help with my ptsd and anxiety I grew in soil last year and off 2 plants got nearly 5 ounces in 3 gallon smart pots. This year I'm looking at using 5 or 7 gallon viagrow pots as they are taller
Trying to figure out the best way to run 4 to 6 plants in coco. I already have 2 nutrients lines sea grow 4-26-26 and 16-16-16 as well as floranova from gh I got the grow bloom and koolbloom and florakleen
Is hand watering that bad for coco or is it more of a convenient thing because I'm not finding much on properly setting up a 4 to 6 site drip system. As always money is a concern
What other nutes and additives will I be looking at with coco ( cal mag and ph adjuster??)
I only do a few plants a year as I'm not a heavy user of cannabis however it does help with my ptsd and anxiety I grew in soil last year and off 2 plants got nearly 5 ounces in 3 gallon smart pots. This year I'm looking at using 5 or 7 gallon viagrow pots as they are taller
Trying to figure out the best way to run 4 to 6 plants in coco. I already have 2 nutrients lines sea grow 4-26-26 and 16-16-16 as well as floranova from gh I got the grow bloom and koolbloom and florakleen
Is hand watering that bad for coco or is it more of a convenient thing because I'm not finding much on properly setting up a 4 to 6 site drip system. As always money is a concern
What other nutes and additives will I be looking at with coco ( cal mag and ph adjuster??)
i just finished a grow with 2 plants in a small place (0,6m^2) with a 300 watt led. I used AN a+b grow and bloom nutes and then a root booster and a bud booster, thats it. I was only handwatering every other day and i got around 700 grams in pure flowers. I found it very easy and i think it was a pretty good yield especially because it was also my first grow
@freedom4all - Hey! 
I'm a coco hand waterer, and while it probably (almost definately) isn't as close to a hydro experience as using drip feeds multiple times a day, it is a good easy method and definately works.
As far as keeping it cheap goes, i would not recommend using non specific coco nutes (I know you "can" and others "have", but why add a layer of complication?)
I recommend for ease (if possible) Canna Coco A&B (they're £9 each), some Rhizotonic (quite cheap again) and a bloom booster - Now Canna Boost is pricey ... but it definately makes a difference and having tried with and without Boost.. i'd buy it every time.
As for the coco - i would only really want to use Canna Coco Professional - its really clean and buffered straight from the bag - Again it's another step that i consider reliable and chosen to keep complications away.
Get some PH down .. becuase if you want to keep it really easy, just aim for 5.8 every time and you'll get to a harvest.
An EC meter is quite important with coco as you'll want to be knowing the strength of your feed.
I find most people new to coco (including myself) struggle with the starts. It's important not to water below an EC of 0.8 .. and i usually aim for 1.0 as i don't think the extra 0.2ec will burn a seedling. - Now the struggle here is that you don't really want to water a 10 litre(+) pot full of water with a seedling in - you want to build up the waterings .... to make the roots search for the water.
BUT .. you do want to be mindfull of the feed you're putting in will by taken up and that not used will be drying and causing a salt buildup from the little nutrients you put in.
I want to get to watering to run off as quickly as possible - but not at the expense of the roots not searching and consequently a smaller root system.
So i'll wait for heads up - then give 200ml of water(with cocoA&B and rhizotonic) at 1.0ec and 5.8ph. circling round the stem.
Next watering 2-3 days later at the same strenght and ph but 400ml round the outside of the pot.
Next watering 2-3 days later with the same strength but 600ml round the stem.
Basically I want encourage the roots to search - and want to quickly get to the point where i can water to run off (which in a ten litre pot is about 2-3 litres depending on how much is left in there)
You don't want to let your coco completely dry - Lifting the pots when fully wet shows how heavy it is, and then at about 30% of the weight you can water again - like a wet and dry cycle (but wet and "almost dry")
I would hope the plant (and root system) is established enough to be watering to run off every time from 4 weeks. I would probably be watering every 2-3 dys, but checking the pot weight.
I would UP the EC at stages - you could go up by .1 at a time if you like fiddling, but personally, i go 1.0 for seedlings, 1.3 when they've got some sets of leaves, try 1.5 at about 5 weeks, at 7 weeks 1.8
My autos mostly go for 80 days. I would stop uppling the EC if i saw leaf tips burning (going yellow to brown) and back down a little.
In late flowering, it wouldn't be surprizing to have to feed them 2 litres a day each if they are really sucking up the feed.
I've used this simple guide once with a new grower (completely new!) and they had a lovely harvest. He's on a start too so hopefully i can confirm that this method will easily get you buds in 80 days (but i'm pretty sure it will)
Hope this helps!
Blue
I'm a coco hand waterer, and while it probably (almost definately) isn't as close to a hydro experience as using drip feeds multiple times a day, it is a good easy method and definately works.As far as keeping it cheap goes, i would not recommend using non specific coco nutes (I know you "can" and others "have", but why add a layer of complication?)
I recommend for ease (if possible) Canna Coco A&B (they're £9 each), some Rhizotonic (quite cheap again) and a bloom booster - Now Canna Boost is pricey ... but it definately makes a difference and having tried with and without Boost.. i'd buy it every time.
As for the coco - i would only really want to use Canna Coco Professional - its really clean and buffered straight from the bag - Again it's another step that i consider reliable and chosen to keep complications away.
Get some PH down .. becuase if you want to keep it really easy, just aim for 5.8 every time and you'll get to a harvest.
An EC meter is quite important with coco as you'll want to be knowing the strength of your feed.
I find most people new to coco (including myself) struggle with the starts. It's important not to water below an EC of 0.8 .. and i usually aim for 1.0 as i don't think the extra 0.2ec will burn a seedling. - Now the struggle here is that you don't really want to water a 10 litre(+) pot full of water with a seedling in - you want to build up the waterings .... to make the roots search for the water.
BUT .. you do want to be mindfull of the feed you're putting in will by taken up and that not used will be drying and causing a salt buildup from the little nutrients you put in.
I want to get to watering to run off as quickly as possible - but not at the expense of the roots not searching and consequently a smaller root system.
So i'll wait for heads up - then give 200ml of water(with cocoA&B and rhizotonic) at 1.0ec and 5.8ph. circling round the stem.
Next watering 2-3 days later at the same strenght and ph but 400ml round the outside of the pot.
Next watering 2-3 days later with the same strength but 600ml round the stem.
Basically I want encourage the roots to search - and want to quickly get to the point where i can water to run off (which in a ten litre pot is about 2-3 litres depending on how much is left in there)
You don't want to let your coco completely dry - Lifting the pots when fully wet shows how heavy it is, and then at about 30% of the weight you can water again - like a wet and dry cycle (but wet and "almost dry")
I would hope the plant (and root system) is established enough to be watering to run off every time from 4 weeks. I would probably be watering every 2-3 dys, but checking the pot weight.
I would UP the EC at stages - you could go up by .1 at a time if you like fiddling, but personally, i go 1.0 for seedlings, 1.3 when they've got some sets of leaves, try 1.5 at about 5 weeks, at 7 weeks 1.8
My autos mostly go for 80 days. I would stop uppling the EC if i saw leaf tips burning (going yellow to brown) and back down a little.
In late flowering, it wouldn't be surprizing to have to feed them 2 litres a day each if they are really sucking up the feed.
I've used this simple guide once with a new grower (completely new!) and they had a lovely harvest. He's on a start too so hopefully i can confirm that this method will easily get you buds in 80 days (but i'm pretty sure it will)
Hope this helps!
Blue
MedGrower
That hydrodude again
Hey Blue, does those EC values include the base value of the water you use and if so, what base value of EC does the water have in this suggestion? I find it a bit weird from my experience that usually when I ever go over 1.3 of EC (Basewater EC 0.1 +1.2 from nutes) in DWC my plants starts to get a bit of nuteburn to the leaf tips and over time the EC starts to shoot up indicating that EC was set too high in the first place and the plant would prefer lower values to begin with.
Same time when I use EC of say.. 1.3 at the peak of nutrient feed, others here say they give 1.3ec in the beginning stages with some set of leaves going on.. I find it really confusing. Could you clarify?
Nice point @MedGrower - I should remember to point out i use tap water and not RO
My background ec from my tap water is around 0.6 as is quite "hard" (limey / chalky)
In RO water i wouldn't know where to begin - If you were to follow cannas guide of not watering below 0.8 ec, you'd need to add 0.7ec worth A&B and in my case, i'm only adding 0.4ec worth for seedlings. Almsost double what i add - I don't know, but suspect that could burn the seedlings.
Probably one of the biggest overlooked factors in growing is that all water is not equal!
So your 1.3 feeding to me would be 1.8 (which is usually about peak for an auto - unless really nute heavy)
My background ec from my tap water is around 0.6 as is quite "hard" (limey / chalky)
In RO water i wouldn't know where to begin - If you were to follow cannas guide of not watering below 0.8 ec, you'd need to add 0.7ec worth A&B and in my case, i'm only adding 0.4ec worth for seedlings. Almsost double what i add - I don't know, but suspect that could burn the seedlings.
Probably one of the biggest overlooked factors in growing is that all water is not equal!
So your 1.3 feeding to me would be 1.8 (which is usually about peak for an auto - unless really nute heavy)
MedGrower
That hydrodude again
Thank you for the most clear and perfect answer
It all makes sense now
I have to agree that it is an issue that gets ignored a lot and 0.1 to 0.6 base ec in water is HUUUGE can be really confusing specially for any newbie (not that i am some expert or anything..)
Maybe we should adopt some protocol on reporting on EC values like: (water ec + nutrient ec = combined ec) (0.1 + 1.2 = 1.3) just keep it more educational for people and eliminate that "mystery water ec" -factor all together.
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Ronin
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@freedom4all I'd like to suggest another alternative for you in regards to growing in coco.
I'd suggest giving organics a try.
General Organics makes the G.O. Box. Approx $45
It's a complete lineup in smaller quantities enough to do a few autos.
When used in conjunction with a microbe brew/tea no PH'ing is required.
I personally use O.G. Tea Veganic Special Sauce. This runs $35.
Mix and feed.
I have found the mix of coco and G.O. nutes to be very cost effective and yield great results.
Best of luck in your decision making
I'd suggest giving organics a try.
General Organics makes the G.O. Box. Approx $45
It's a complete lineup in smaller quantities enough to do a few autos.
When used in conjunction with a microbe brew/tea no PH'ing is required.
I personally use O.G. Tea Veganic Special Sauce. This runs $35.
Mix and feed.
I have found the mix of coco and G.O. nutes to be very cost effective and yield great results.
Best of luck in your decision making
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