When to start watering to runoff - Coco?
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So, soak them down two hours before I plan to turn the lights off? Should I give them a lite feeding two hours after lights on as well?
So should I fertigate every 3 days or so at this stage?
Thank you so much for the advice Mañ'O'Green. I appreciate it very much!
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I know a lot of peeps do it but I do not recommend transplanting Autos at all. A cannabis tap root can grow 9 inches in three days. IMPO anything that stops that downward growth has the potential to slow the growth of the plant at its most critical time. The clay balls that you use change the water holding characteristics of the coco to hold more water longer. The balls are full of voids that can trap and hold water. So this is why You can water less often. It is important not to have a layer of rocks at the bottom as this will cause a stratification of the soil. The physics behind how water will move through soil has shown that at every stratification the water will stop moving down until the soil above is saturated. This is an undesirable condition as we want the water to move unrestricted to drain to waste.
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I sometimes just cut the bottom out of the solo cups bro as i know the root ball will stay together i also pot them up at this age but its just my way of doing it and i know it works for me by the harvests and plants i grow
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Even in pure hydroponics there is a root biome. The roots will actually create one if one is not provided. I use Mykos in my rock wool grows. The plants will send exudates out of the roots to stimulate the microbes to make the nutrients the plant wants. These are made during the night (respiration) and then the plant will uptake them in the morning. If you fertigate at lights on, this will wash these nutrients away from the roots and out of the pot wasting them. That is why you wait two hours to start fertigation. There are scientific reasons for not watering after 2 hours prior to lights out but I just remember an old farmer once told me plants do not like to go to bed with wet feet
.It does not matter when you fertigate during the 2 after 2 before just make sure to get that 20% run-off by the end of the watering period.
What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again. There is an art to watering. Coco can be fertigate many times a day if you want to continually present fresh balanced nutrients to the roots. This is in fact why people use coco - fresh in balance nutrients presented to the plant all day.
Thank you so much for all the info! I'll make sure to practice those watering techniques before I start my next run.
So just to be sure, fertigate anytime as long as it's two hours after lights on or two hours before lights off? And do it with the lights on? Sorry, I'm a little confused.
Thanks again friend!
So just to be sure, fertigate anytime as long as it's two hours after lights on or two hours before lights off? And do it with the lights on? Sorry, I'm a little confused.
Thanks again friend!
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Growing Cannabis in Coco Coir with High Frequency Fertigation - Coco For Cannabis
Learn how to unlock the magic of growing cannabis in coco coir with high frequency fertigation! Guide to feed and water cannabis in coco like a pro!
www.cocoforcannabis.com
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that site helped me up my game tooCheck out this site, tons of info. I have a grow currently going by there guidelines and of course all the knowledgeable folks here at AFN!!Growing Cannabis in Coco Coir with High Frequency Fertigation - Coco For Cannabis
Learn how to unlock the magic of growing cannabis in coco coir with high frequency fertigation! Guide to feed and water cannabis in coco like a pro!
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You can absolutely overwater in coco. I have witnessed it with my first coco grow right now with leaves drooping. It does happen. But it happens far less often compared to soil
It's extremely hard to do if you have a couple grows under your belt. And still pretty hard to do for a complete novice.
If you have a well established root zone the more often you water the better. 5x or more daily in flower is ideal for growth rates comparable to DWC. it's a hydroponic medium. If you aren't able to water frequently you should use less coco. Anything more than 2 gallons is excessive. I have seen 2 pound plants in 5 gallons of coco
It doesn't matter what time you water them. But water demands drop at night and humidity spikes at night so I didn't like to water much before lights out unless they really needed it.
Just pay attention to the rythm of the plants and their water consumption and adjust accordingly.
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