HOW TO WATER COCO FOR BEST RESULTS.

[AmokNewb]

I fertigate 5 times a day.

 

[MidwestToker]

Again, go back through this thread. There's people pulling 1.5lbs from a 1gal pot using 6x water a day. Coco cannot be overwatered. Even at full saturation, it holds around 30% oxygen. The roots are absolutely covering the sides of the pots, they're growing out the bottom into my drain table. The plants were around 8 inches tall 7 days ago. They're 15in now, and that's with tucking. They're extremely healthty. The "truth" is that coco is a hydro medium and should be treated as such. You can treat it like soil and water every other day if you want, it'll work, but to get hydro like growth, you treat it like hydro.

My issue seems to be an imbalance of my nutrient ratios, probably causing a lockout. I'm looking for help identifying the issue so I can adjust my feed.

Believe what you want as I said earlier, but those plants are not healthy at all and it's not from a nutrient imbalance. The roots are growing on the outside of the pots because that's where they are getting O2 from not the oversaturated medium. As I said earlier when you keep having this same problem then come back and talk to me and we can hash your problem out. I have a 4 year degree in agriculture so do you want to follow a grow blog or someone who actually is in the Agricultural industry. Best of luck again

 

[Pondracer]

Believe what you want as I said earlier, but those plants are not healthy at all and it's not from a nutrient imbalance. The roots are growing on the outside of the pots because that's where they are getting O2 from not the oversaturated medium. As I said earlier when you keep having this same problem then come back and talk to me and we can hash your problem out. I have a 4 year degree in agriculture so do you want to follow a grow blog or someone who actually is in the Agricultural industry. Best of luck again

Your understanding of this particular growing method is limited at best.

justice8965
My issue seems to be an imbalance of my nutrient ratios, probably causing a lockout. I'm looking for help identifying the issue so I can adjust my feed.

I use the same product line as you with some variation. ~600ppm is where I end up on the mix. I have had a problems similar to yours before and to correct it I went to an automated feed cycle. Prior to that I was doing things manually, mixing 5 gallon batches and hand watering. It was ok with 5 gallon pots but once I switched down to 2 gallon pots any inconsistency allowed the coco to dry out. By putting in a reservoir and pump I could dial in exactly what I needed to do a full flood twice daily, and two smaller feedings in between each of those. I also grow larger plants which in smaller pots is even less forgiving.

Second thing is PH drift. Even if you are only letting a batch sit 24 - 48 hours the drift can be brutal. To keep everything that super nice dark green you need to keep that PH as consistent as possible with every fertigation event.

Last, be aware of needing to flush that medium if you are in a very long growing cycle (120+ days) because you will get buildup. Even with multiple feed lines off the pump there are still areas in the pot that dry out. I usually do a full flush with GH FloraKleen one time during the growing cycle, and thats usually a few weeks into flower. Especially towards the last half of the grow there is nothing wrong with mixing up a few gallons of PH adjusted, clean water and hand pouring it over each pot to completely flood and flush. Not a lot, just once in a while between normal fertigation events.

 

[Aqua Man]

Hey all, having a strange coloration on 4 of my 6 plants. The tips of the new growth are purple and yellow, and curling inward. Having a tough time diagnosing.

I grow in coco/perlite. 2 gallon fabric pots. Plants are around 6-7 weeks from seed. Watered 4x a day with an auto watering/drainage system, always to run off. They never sit in run off. Feed is about 550ppm/1100ec. 5.8ph. Very white roots are growing out the sides of the pots like crazy so they seem healthy. Humidity and temps are always right where they should be. Using 3 of the 240w Kingbrite LED lights at about 3ft above the canopy. 5x5 tent. Feed per gallon is:

2.25ml GH FloraGro
2.25ml GH FloraMicro
1.2ml GH FloraBloom
1ml GH Silica
5ml CalMag
5ml GH Humic Acid

And hydroguard for the res. Pics below. Should I lower PPM since I'm feeding so often?



View attachment 1147832View attachment 1147833View attachment 1147834

Hey brother... need some pruning lower the cal mag by half and raise the lights up or lower the intensity a bit.

 

[Aqua Man]

The way the leaves in the background are canoed makes me think light stress. But my plants get spots sporadically on the leaves with my light stress. However I could be wrong. At that age also less of the grow and more bloom seemed to work for me in a very similar system. Back the lights off and adjust the solution for less N. See what happens. It really can’t hurt.

I agree light is a big part of it.

 

[Aqua Man]

Just look at your plants, your locking out nutrients because of over watering plain and simple. Some will say it's to much light but the simple fact are the roots aren't taking up enough nutrition from the roots being too saturated and dyeing out. I seen this many times over my 40 years of growing, so take it as it is. When you decide you want the truth about growing then come look me up and I'll explain it in more details. Best of luck finishing those plants.

You cant over water. It's absolutely NOT over watering.

Here is a grower I have been helping over the last few months in 1 gal pots at 7x a day now. End of week 4. 1 tray was just over 2 week veg and the other just over 1 week veg

 

[Aqua Man]

Again, go back through this thread. There's people pulling 1.5lbs from a 1gal pot using 6x water a day. Coco cannot be overwatered. Even at full saturation, it holds around 30% oxygen. The roots are absolutely covering the sides of the pots, they're growing out the bottom into my drain table. The plants were around 8 inches tall 7 days ago. They're 15in now, and that's with tucking. They're extremely healthty. The "truth" is that coco is a hydro medium and should be treated as such. You can treat it like soil and water every other day if you want, it'll work, but to get hydro like growth, you treat it like hydro.

My issue seems to be an imbalance of my nutrient ratios, probably causing a lockout. I'm looking for help identifying the issue so I can adjust my feed.

What are you runoff numbers? That's the

 

[Aqua Man]

Believe what you want as I said earlier, but those plants are not healthy at all and it's not from a nutrient imbalance. The roots are growing on the outside of the pots because that's where they are getting O2 from not the oversaturated medium. As I said earlier when you keep having this same problem then come back and talk to me and we can hash your problem out. I have a 4 year degree in agriculture so do you want to follow a grow blog or someone who actually is in the Agricultural industry. Best of luck again

This is so wrong. Coco is not soil. Treat it like coco and the results are far far superior. Treat it like soil and meh.

 

[MidwestToker]

Your understanding of this particular growing method is limited at best.

justice8965
My issue seems to be an imbalance of my nutrient ratios, probably causing a lockout. I'm looking for help identifying the issue so I can adjust my feed.

I use the same product line as you with some variation. ~600ppm is where I end up on the mix. I have had a problems similar to yours before and to correct it I went to an automated feed cycle. Prior to that I was doing things manually, mixing 5 gallon batches and hand watering. It was ok with 5 gallon pots but once I switched down to 2 gallon pots any inconsistency allowed the coco to dry out. By putting in a reservoir and pump I could dial in exactly what I needed to do a full flood twice daily, and two smaller feedings in between each of those. I also grow larger plants which in smaller pots is even less forgiving.

Second thing is PH drift. Even if you are only letting a batch sit 24 - 48 hours the drift can be brutal. To keep everything that super nice dark green you need to keep that PH as consistent as possible with every fertigation event.

Last, be aware of needing to flush that medium if you are in a very long growing cycle (120+ days) because you will get buildup. Even with multiple feed lines off the pump there are still areas in the pot that dry out. I usually do a full flush with GH FloraKleen one time during the growing cycle, and thats usually a few weeks into flower. Especially towards the last half of the grow there is nothing wrong with mixing up a few gallons of PH adjusted, clean water and hand pouring it over each pot to completely flood and flush. Not a lot, just once in a while between normal fertigation events.

You cant over water. It's absolutely NOT over watering.

Here is a grower I have been helping over the last few months in 1 gal pots at 7x a day now. End of week 4. 1 tray was just over 2 week veg and the other just over 1 week veg

Yes but the plant size to the pot size makes the difference on frequency of fertigation period, The poster has 15 " plants in 2 gallon pots no where near needing multiple feedings a day

 

[Aqua Man]

Yes but the plant size to the pot size makes the difference on frequency of fertigation period, The poster has 15 " plants in 2 gallon pots no where near needing multiple feedings a day

If the runoff says its needs it then it does... the plants I posted stay above 90% saturation at all times.

Other than the first week or so it's almost impossible to over water. There are many things that look like over watering lime a cold rootzone.

In that room plant and leaf temps are mid to high 70's. If your environment is right even in a 2 gal multiple times a day it's just not going to happen.

If he feeds 500ml and get 50ml runoff each feed then he is right on. Sure you can do less but this is pretty foolproof in terms of keeping a balanced media.

 

[Dirtbag]

Believe what you want as I said earlier, but those plants are not healthy at all and it's not from a nutrient imbalance. The roots are growing on the outside of the pots because that's where they are getting O2 from not the oversaturated medium. As I said earlier when you keep having this same problem then come back and talk to me and we can hash your problem out. I have a 4 year degree in agriculture so do you want to follow a grow blog or someone who actually is in the Agricultural industry. Best of luck again

Just as likely if not more likely that the roots are growing outside the pots because of a humid microclimate around the pots and not enough airflow. If it's humid and dark enough, roots will grow out of any pot. And fabrics have a tendency to be extra humid if there is inadequate airflow around the pots. Doesn't need to be a ton, but humidity shouldn't be allowed to climb down there.

 

[Aqua Man]

Just as likely if not more likely that the roots are growing outside the pots because of a humid microclimate around the pots and not enough airflow. If it's humid and dark enough, roots will grow out of any pot. And fabrics have a tendency to be extra humid if there is inadequate airflow around the pots. Doesn't need to be a ton, but humidity shouldn't be allowed to climb down there.

100% this. And to add airflow is absolutely most important under and through the canopy. If you have roots growing out of the pots @Dirtbag nailed the reason why.

 

[Dirtbag]

Yes but the plant size to the pot size makes the difference on frequency of fertigation period, The poster has 15 " plants in 2 gallon pots no where near needing multiple feedings a day

Gotta say, I tend to agree with this. Multiple daily feeds really shines when the root mass is condensed into a small package. It depends on how much dryback he's getting but plants that size, I'd be cautious multifeeding more than once or twice per day. Is the nutrient solution sterile or being treated in some way? Peroxide or beneficial fungi? I missed it in the post, I'll go back and re-read it.

Planting into 2 gal of coco and multifeeding is kind of like planting into a hugo block. In my mind it should be handled differently than growing from a 3" delta block or 1 gal pot of coco.

 

[Aqua Man]

Gotta say, I tend to agree with this. Multiple daily feeds really shines when the root mass is condensed into a small package. It depends on how much dryback he's getting but plants that size, I'd be cautious multifeeding more than once or twice per day. Is the nutrient solution sterile or being treated in some way? Peroxide or beneficial fungi? I missed it in the post, I'll go back and re-read it.

Planting into 2 gal of coco and multifeeding is kind of like planting into a hugo block. In my mind it should be handled differently than growing from a 3" delta block or 1 gal pot of coco.

Water table is the same for the media.... very low in coco. Lower than rockwool. And I believe if I read right he has perlite.

I mean the gas exchange is just not the same imo either. I think RW relies a lot on the uptake or removal of water to pull o2 in where as coco breathes a bit better.

See this often in the difference between the RW starters and the peat pellets or rapid rioters.

 

[Anthem]

Gotta say, I tend to agree with this. Multiple daily feeds really shines when the root mass is condensed into a small package. It depends on how much dryback he's getting but plants that size, I'd be cautious multifeeding more than once or twice per day. Is the nutrient solution sterile or being treated in some way? Peroxide or beneficial fungi? I missed it in the post, I'll go back and re-read it.

Planting into 2 gal of coco and multifeeding is kind of like planting into a hugo block. In my mind it should be handled differently than growing from a 3" delta block or 1 gal pot of coco.

It would be interesting to see what kind of dry back people are getting with coco and multiple feeds. Seems that is a fairly hot subject in the legal world

 

[Aqua Man]

I'm certain thise plants issues are airflow and lights with light being the main culprit. Especially because the leaves are turning purple after bleaching... dead give away.

 

[Aqua Man]

It would be interesting to see what kind of dry back people are getting with coco and multiple feeds. Seems that is a fairly hot subject in the legal world

You definitely can get away with less runoff but as this is a guide it errors on the side of caution. I highly recommend a journal of runoff numbers to dial the runoff needed to maintain a stable rootzone. This will change in each growers situation.

 

[Dirtbag]

Water table is the same for the media.... very low in coco. Lower than rockwool. And I believe if I read right he has perlite.

I mean the gas exchange is just not the same imo either. I think RW relies a lot on the uptake or removal of water to pull o2 in where as coco breathes a bit better.

See this often in the difference between the RW starters and the peat pellets or rapid rioters.

That is very true. Wool holds a lot more water so that comparison doesn't.. hold water?

Likely right about airflow and lighting being the main issues, but I still think more media does benefit from a bit more dryback in general. Still needs to be determined by the runoff though.

 

[Anthem]

Hey brother... need some pruning lower the cal mag by half and raise the lights up or lower the intensity a bit.

Ok Aqua we are going to disagree on this one. Go back and look at the leaves one more time. You will see the deformed leaves at the new growth. IMO he needs to do the exact opposite. The plants are locking out because of a lack of Calcium and Magnesium.

 

[Fudge]

Yeah there's 41 pages now, and yes it's a long read. But I wish people would read it from the start as this thread speaks for itself if you just look. 5 mins checking out people's threads who have posted proves that high fertigation in small pots just works. I'm using coco in 2l pots with an almost constant flow of water to them and they're thriving. I'm about to pull 1 to 1.25k ish from a 4x4 in 1 gallon pots with the medium never getting below 75% and I'm looking at higher feed rates for the future too. I'm sure there was another poster not long ago claiming the same and I'm sure he had 20 years ag experience and a degree etc etc. He sharp dissappeared when asked to get a grow on and take pics.
Coco should 100% be treat like a hydro medium, the results speak for themselves. If I need help I'd defo ask these guys on a thread who have taken time out to help others achieve the same results, these are also the same people who have grown in soil, coco, hydro, dwc, rockwool slabs, hand fed, auto fed, flood and drain etc etc. I've only been here 2 years and the knowledge I've gained has really really elevated my yield and quality.