Growing Plants......
Water=Electrical Carrier
Nutrients= +/- ions *electricity*
Medium=Battery
Light=Electricity *color wave length form*
Plant=Electrical Machine *electrical converter*
once we realize this we can start to understand what each plant needs
Medium....
there are many differ kinds of medium. If we understand that your meddium is a battery, and we study each medium's characteristics, we can therfore predict how each battery will operate with your plant
Nutrients.....
Nutrients are electricity. If we understand our plants electrical needs, we can therfore predict how much electricity it will need from each end....roots or leaves
these two energies coexist in synergistic fashion each balancing the other.....or fataly hampering the other. If we understand the plants needs we can then mathematically construct a feed chart *light/Nutrients/CO2* that will fit within the parameters that are available
dependent on your light source and CO2 levels we can figure what electrical charge the roots will need in order for the plant to perform its job
Back to Medium.....
so if we know what the plant now needs
we now need to understand our battery of choice and how chosen battery operates
each battery holds electricity
it is how that battery works that will taylor your feed schedule for your plant
example coco.....
there are many writeups on coco
I will not get into specifics of coco but only explain the knowledge of what I have read and experienced with coco
Coco has two main issues....It is a Ca hog and it releases K which can and will throw off your "rhizosphere"
the upside to coco is with the right mix of pith/chunk coir it has an extremely high O2 holding capacity.....meaning at full saturation it still holds approximately 30% O2...meaning your plants will not drown
(no such thing as over watering coco)
but this is what we find in coco
think of coco as a battery with cells that hold +/- electricity
as the cell walls dry they exchange these energies or.....release some and attach others
so if we know this....then there is a simple rule to coco that I have found
at full saturation....all cells are filled with what the coco wants
if we keep those cells constantly filled *full saturation*then those cells wont create the exchange which throws the rhizosphere out of balance
the best rule of thumb I have found for coco is only allow dry down time of 10-20% with an immediate refill of 10-20% runoff...essentially refilling the cells and flushing out the released electricity
the plants roots drain down the batteries cell walls by taking in H2O along with electricity....so with a medium like coco
we need the cells to be at full capacity 80% of the time
this is why we experience exponential growth when all other parameters are met
and we meet this requirement....
think of that 20% dry down as your plant ingesting electricity at the rate it needs it..
which brings us to how many feeds for coco a day
if you run small pots and your plant is consuming 20% every 20min then we need to up-pot to a larger pot.....this is where we taylor to "OUR" needs and convenience....
if we want to feed every 20min or every 3hours or once a day
these parameters depend on our choice not the plant....the plant will be consuming the same amount no matter what.....how long it takes to drain the battery....depends on the size of the battery.....
this dose not in any way change the amount of growth *bigger roots = bigger fruits* does not apply to this scenario
bigger roots are built in the vegetative stage of the plants life
if you are growing in a half gal pot and transfer to a 1 gal, veg for 1 more week and flip to flower you will have the same amount of growth as if you transfered to a 3 gal.....reason being.....although roots keep growing ...they grow significantly less than in veg stage
the only real difference in pot selection for flower....will be at what rate will you need to recharge your battery
Nutrients for Coco......
there is a common misconception about coco...."it needs
calmg"
this is not true
if you follow the above directions you will never have a problem with coco
In commercial Agg hydroponics....the coco they use is never buffered
what the growers will do is charge the coco with a feed tailored to what crop they are growing....with an additional 20% Ca
with this charge the coco will fill the Ca bank ....once those cells that need Ca are filled...the additional Ca will be dropped and standard feed will be applied throughout crop life.
In the Boutique Hydroponic industry we get a special treat...Most coco brands are already Ca treated
which means that we should be able to start standard feed right off the bat.
What coco users dont actually take into consideration is the high amount of K coco holds
if you ever examine coco specific nutrients...it usually has the same amount of Ca as every other feed but what it dosnt have are high K levels.....High K levels will throw off the balance of nutrients causing all sorts of problems
another thing that coco specific nutrients have.....Calcium Nitrate as opposed to Carbonate.....carbonate turns to scale/lime in coco it throws off the balance of the ph creating a disaster within the rhizosphere.
There is information out there on elemental ppm of each Mineral our plant needs.
If you taylor those ppms to the qualities of coco and treat coco as it should you will experience amazing growth with beautiful abundant flowers and a smile across your face....
Wisher619
