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Growing Cannabis in Coconut Coir with Hydroponic Nutrients

Sarsparilla looking plenty leggy/stretchy there! Looks like something been nibbling on them? See ya next update!
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Growing Cannabis in Coconut Coir with Hydroponic Nutrients

by PlumberSoCal2 · Started
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#21
Sarsparilla looking plenty leggy/stretchy there! Looks like something been nibbling on them?

See ya next update!
 
#22
Between work knocking me down and stealing most of my time...
Sarsaparilla
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Receiving only 1-2 fertigations a day she's not only survived she's growing well. 41" tall and starting to fill out in a 1/2 gallon nursery pot.
 
#23
stanknkatz said:
Sarsparilla looking plenty leggy/stretchy there! Looks like something been nibbling on them?

See ya next update!
Click to expand...
Slugs more than likely. She (yup, I see hairs) still has that bitten leaf
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Very common around here😉
 
#24
It's unfortunate I wasn't able to update often due to work bla bla bla but this is her (I see hairs damn it)
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She's all of 44" in a half gallon nursery pot. When was the last time you grew a 4' plant in a half gallon pot? Yeah, this coconut coir and hydro nutes rock.

This girl got no more than two fertigations a day for several weeks due to bla bla bla and still turned out okay. Granted not GREAT like the 5 footer in half gal (there are picks somewhere🤣 honest of that beast same strain as this one, Sarsaparilla - GMO Rootbeer x Pure Michigan and tested at 30+/-% THC. Made a bunch of seeds last year.

She was flipped a couple weeks ago, I don't remember what day🤣

I made several hundred coconut oil caps hundreds of gummies and Rand a bunch through the hash bags. This stuff rocks my world😚

Anyway, fertigate 3-4 x's a day, every day and the growth will make this one look like a seedling🤣 not really but it will be much bigger and stronger😉
 
#25
Almost 4 weeks since flip
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Many days in the past 4 weeks she's only had 1 fetigation a day which is not ideal. 3-5 x's is best and she'd be a lot taller than 4' and a lot bushier but she's turning out well. 4-5 more weeks and she'll be ready for harvest.

This is really the easiest way to grow. She's been on the East side of the house since flip so only getting maybe 4-5 hrs of direct sun from morning to noonish and is in shade the rest of the day so the coconut coir doesn't dry out as quickly as plants receiving direct light all day.
 
#26
Hey i see you use masterblend as me.i wanted to ask you do you change calcium nitrate for calcium sulfate on the last few weeks or do you keep it the same whole grow?
 
#27
PlumberSoCal2 said:
When was the last time you grew a 4' plant in a half gallon pot? Yeah, this coconut coir and hydro nutes rock.
Click to expand...
Hell yeah man, nice job.....coco and rockwool are THE true efficiency of grow !!

The smaller the pot the better, i used to grow monsters in the rockwool starter cubes....insane!

Is it true that soil grows are cheaper to setup if you are starting from new, but after few runs everyone should look into more efficient ways to grow....like Coco or Rockwool on a automated watering either DTW or F&D....
 
#28
amneziaHaze said:
Hey i see you use masterblend as me.i wanted to ask you do you change calcium nitrate for calcium sulfate on the last few weeks or do you keep it the same whole grow?
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I've tried a lot of different combinations but I've found little difference so now I just leave the mix at full strength until harvest. I like EASY😉
 
#29
PlumberSoCal2 said:
I've tried a lot of different combinations but I've found little difference so now I just leave the mix at full strength until harvest. I like EASY😉
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did you notice any differences with less nitrogen
 
#30
amneziaHaze said:
did you notice any differences with less nitrogen
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None. For a year I was cutting the calicum in half and upping the MB 1 1/2 x's after flip and didn't seem to make a difference BUT by all means try it and any other ideas that come to mind.

I even tried cutting out the Ca as the MB does have some as well as my water but the fade (yellowing leaves) became more prominent toward the end.

This year I've started at about 20% of full strength at 7+ days old. Within 3 weeks I up it to 50% and keep that through veg and then up it to 100% for flower. Other than aphids, spider mites and PM the plants are growing very well😘
 
#31
i tried it this year and it didnt hurt the plant. but its really slow at losing nitrogen. well i added back some nitrogen every few waterings.
 
#32
I've been ising Back to the roots
coco coir for about a year plus now and really like it
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This is one brick, 51 qts. It started out like this
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I'm using full strength nutes and this took 9 gallons to rehydrate which also bufferes the coco adding calcium and magnesium to the cation exchange sites.

I also reuse coco.
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You can see some perlite which I haven't added in five years. I put the used coco through a kids beach sand sifter. Works great and the coco is already buffered.

Gelato
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Ai8k0q
 
#34
I've settled on 3/4 strength Master Blend for veg and flower and cutting the calcium week 4 or 5 of flower to half strength. I'm not seeing much leaftip burn and still growing good healthy plants.

When I say "full" or "half" or whatever strength I'm talking about the Master Blend tomato recipe. You can even download an app.

www.powergrowsystems.com

Masterblend Nutrient Mixing Calculator - How to Mix Masterblend

Easily calculate the amount of Masterblend fertilizer you need to mix your own Nutrient Solution using this simple calculator for Masterblend 4-18-38 from PowerGrow Systems.
www.powergrowsystems.com www.powergrowsystems.com
 
#35
PlumberSoCal2 said:
I've settled on 3/4 strength Master Blend for veg and flower and cutting the calcium week 4 or 5 of flower to half strength. I'm not seeing much leaftip burn and still growing good healthy plants.

When I say "full" or "half" or whatever strength I'm talking about the Master Blend tomato recipe. You can even download an app.

www.powergrowsystems.com

Masterblend Nutrient Mixing Calculator - How to Mix Masterblend

Easily calculate the amount of Masterblend fertilizer you need to mix your own Nutrient Solution using this simple calculator for Masterblend 4-18-38 from PowerGrow Systems.
www.powergrowsystems.com www.powergrowsystems.com
Click to expand...
When you say cutting calcium is that a seperate calmag? What's your source water like?
 
#36
Just jumping in about the soil approach vs the hydro approach and I am probably the closest thing to successful use of coco as a hybrid medium. I don't build it. I buy it and then perpetually recharge it and I swear it seems to get better. It's a mix called Recipe 420 by EB Stone and it's mostly a blend of coco and peat with nutrients in it. Because of the coco, it doesn't get normal drybacks. It doesn't require multiple fertigations per day, but EC and pH input and runoff do have to be periodically monitored, and the payoff is I have really tight control and I can custom feed a plant rather than be stuck with a blend suitable for "all cannabis" and instead they get TLC to allow them to live up to their greater potential. Or loosely translated, incredibly easy for me to fuck them up. 🤣
 
#37
Grownsince95 said:
When you say cutting calcium is that a seperate calmag? What's your source water like?
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Si. I use Master Blend, Magnesium sulfate and calcium
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I mix a concentrate of each in 1 gallon of water:
76.8 grams Master Blend
38.4 grams Magnesium sulfate
76.8 grams Calcium
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I use these quart bottles for the concentrate.

I fill 1 gallon jugs about 3/4 full with water then add 2-4oz of each, in order (MB, MS & Ca) then fill jug up with water to make a gallon of fert water. 2oz is half strength with 4oz full strength. Currently I'm using 3oz, 3/4 strength on all vegging plants and 4-5 weeks into flower. After 5 weeks I reduce the calcium to 1.5oz.

I've tried cutting out the calcium as Master Blens does have some Nitrogen but I felt not enough as the fade was to extreme. I'm currently very happy with the calcium at half strength.

My tap water is 7.0 pH and aprox 230PPM. Mixing with the above full strength (4oz of each concentrate) makes 5.8ish pH and 800ish PPM. I've never tested using half strength calcium. I assume it would be close to the same pH and a bit lower on the carbonate hardness BUT the numbers really don't matter as this has been working very well😉
 
#39
PlumberSoCal2 said:
I don't wanna get off on a rant here but I've seen a new growing trend of using coco coir with a soil grow style. Anyone who's grown in coco coir knows how fast it dries out and the damage that can cause to a plant.

If there's anything that works really good, like growing in coco with 3-5 x's fetigations (Note-You never just "water" coco, always with nutes hence the term "fertigation") per DAY we humans will try to find an easier way of doing it.

While there is an easier way and I'll get to an automatic fertigation in the weeks/months to come I'm going to show you how to grow in coconut coir using hydro nutrients and I'm going to accomplish this by recording a 1 gallon grow competition on these pages.

So enjoy and see if this growing style might be for you.
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Growing in coconut coir is a type of hydroponics, not soil. You're running nutrient water over the roots several times each and every day.

Today we'll start with starting seeds. Most of us have seen and/or tried the paper towel method. Wet a paper towel, place seed(s) on towel, fold towel over in half covering seeds, place in plastic bag and put in a dark warm place. Check each day, several times a day until roots can be seen then place seed in soil/coir/rock wool or some type of medium.

Doesn't work for me. If it works for you more power to ya. I'm all thumbs and injure the roots so I sow directly into coir (coco or peat depending on how the plant will be grown, coco or soil) in 2-3" peat pots
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in tap water. I've been adding Super Thrive
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a vitamin type supplement developed over 80 years ago for aiding transplant shock and promoting plant health. I used it on vegetables for decades, both for transplanting and seed starting so 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water, add seeds, allow to sit 24 hours. Feel free to skip the the Super Thrive.

I use tap water for almost everything with growing. My water is 7.0pH with 220 carbonate hardness and most of that is calcium which is good for plants. Also the chemicals used to disinfect the water, chlorine and ammonia also help to disinfect seed starting and clone water and containers over say bottled water.

For this grow I've water washed a couple small blocks of coconut coir and chosen my 1 gallon cloth pots
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Nutrients I use Master Blend
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A three part combination. We're still about 2 weeks away from needing any nutes but I added them here as without them there won't be a grow.

I haven't found anything on the market that costs so little yet grows such large and healthy plants and is so versatile. When we get closer to needing the nutes for this grow I'll explain in detail.

I'm entering 2 strains in the aforementioned 1 gallon grow contest, Auto category: Bobby's Widow x Toof Decay, a cross I made a couple years ago and Regular category: S1 seeds of Sarsparilla, GMO x Pure Michigan I made last year. Both regs and autos are Regular seeds meaning they can produce both boys and girls. I'm hoping for girls but I've started enough seeds of the auto to make a few more seeds which is the plan.

That's it for our first day. Tomorrow the seeds that look good will get buried and then the 3+ day wait begins to see which seedlings will be in the competition.
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What do you use during flower?
I’ll be putting some in soon.
 
#40
Jonjr said:
What do you use during flower?
I’ll be putting some in soon.
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3/4 strength Master Blend, Magnesium sulfate and calcium, same as grow. Once they reach 4-5 weeks into flower I reduce the calcium to 1/3 strength. That's it. I don't add anything else.
 
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