HOW TO WATER COCO FOR BEST RESULTS.

[TheBadChoice]

I hope so too! Math was never my strong suite to be honest, and last time I tried coco and soaked them they died, trying a little More time in between waterings while still small.
Only issue with feeding more than once a day, IS the timing factor. Because of my job, I’d have to water before I leave and when I get home, which can be 12-16 hours apart at various times of the morning and day.
I JUST watered them about 30 min ago, So I can still add more till they runoff!

********EDIT***********

I went back and sprayed till runoff started in each solo cup, going to leave them alone till later tonight and check up on them, and do the same in the morning. Daytime temps don’t go below 75°, so I feel like I will be alright. I’ll check back here later when I check the plants

Oh trust me I know, I’ve been an “essential” employee since the start of all this crap and doing forced OT for 11-14hr shifts so I know what ya mean it sucks I have 4 plants going so it literally feels like its a second job mixing nutes and feeding so in between shifts I get like 1 hour to my self but growing is like kids, gotta take care of them till ya crop them.

 

[euphoria526]

Oh trust me I know, I’ve been an “essential” employee since the start of all this crap and doing forced OT for 11-14hr shifts so I know what ya mean it sucks I have 4 plants going so it literally feels like its a second job mixing nutes and feeding so in between shifts I get like 1 hour to my self but growing is like kids, gotta take care of them till ya crop them.

Couldn’t agree more although I wouldn’t know I don’t have kids lol but I get the comparison.
At this stage I think I’ll try and stick with one heavy fertigation a day, it’s unfortunate that it’ll be around ‘mid day’ for the plants but it’s what I can do to be consistent about it.
Now another question I have for anyone in here, is does it make sense mixing salt based (Jacks 321) with any organics at all ( like roots organic terp teas) and /or microbial inputs like Recharge/ URB natural ( it’s what I have on hand already)?

 

[TheBadChoice]

Couldn’t agree more although I wouldn’t know I don’t have kids lol but I get the comparison.
At this stage I think I’ll try and stick with one heavy fertigation a day, it’s unfortunate that it’ll be around ‘mid day’ for the plants but it’s what I can do to be consistent about it.
Now another question I have for anyone in here, is does it make sense mixing salt based (Jacks 321) with any organics at all ( like roots organic terp teas) and /or microbial inputs like Recharge/ URB natural ( it’s what I have on hand already)?

Well single watering works as well just from say a 1/2gallon split in two feeds you might be doing a full gallon but still get that run off and you’ll be fine man, the rest sry cant help I don’t use those type of nutes.

 

[Aqua Man]

Just to follow up, I sprayed them with a low ppm count (480 +/-) and ph around 5.8+/- sprayed a lot till it felt heavy but still no runoff came out, even when I think I put enough still no runoff yet. I should still be good @Aquaman, right? I literally did Ot 5 min ago, so if need be I can spray more. Lights off is from 12-6p and it’s about 10a right now

My opinion is pour... spraying just takes longer.

 

[justice8965]

Hey all, got a question. I'm about to change over to an auto watering system for my coco. Going to do 6 plants. Should I do 3 gal or 5 gal pots? 3 gallon would require less water at each fertigation event to produce runoff, correct? I want to water 3-5 times a day, but don't want to be using several gallons a day if I can avoid it. Thanks!

 

[Aqua Man]

Hey all, got a question. I'm about to change over to an auto watering system for my coco. Going to do 6 plants. Should I do 3 gal or 5 gal pots? 3 gallon would require less water at each fertigation event to produce runoff, correct? I want to water 3-5 times a day, but don't want to be using several gallons a day if I can avoid it. Thanks!

How big are you growing your plants? Personally I can't see going over 3 gal pots if you have autofeed.

 

[justice8965]

How big are you growing your plants? Personally I can't see going over 3 gal pots if you have autofeed.

My tent is 5x5x7.5ish. With the max height of my lights plus the height of my auto draining saucers I'd say 4-5ft plants tops? I assume 3 gal would be sufficient for that size, and reduce my water consumption. I only have 2 grows under my belt, both 4 plants in 5 gal hand watered twice a day. So this is new to me and I'm trying to be as efficient as possible

 

[Aqua Man]

My tent is 5x5x7.5ish. With the max height of my lights plus the height of my auto draining saucers I'd say 4-5ft plants tops? I assume 3 gal would be sufficient for that size, and reduce my water consumption. I only have 2 grows under my belt, both 4 plants in 5 gal hand watered twice a day. So this is new to me and I'm trying to be as efficient as possible

I'd say 1-2 gal pots if auto watering.

 

[Aqua Man]

These are 1 gal.. in 2 gal you should have no issues watering 4-5 times a day.

 

[justice8965]

Wow. I had no idea coco could support that much size in such a small container. I guess I should go 2 gallon.

I wonder if this pump would be enough power for 6 plants? Lift would only be 2ft max.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07L54HB83?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[Aqua Man]

Wow. I had no idea coco could support that much size in such a small container. I guess I should go 2 gallon.

I wonder if this pump would be enough power for 6 plants? Lift would only be 2ft max.

Yeah should be no issue there.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07L54HB83?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[Frankster]

A highly informative and useful thready no doubt.

 

[TheBadChoice]

Wow. I had no idea coco could support that much size in such a small container. I guess I should go 2 gallon.

I wonder if this pump would be enough power for 6 plants? Lift would only be 2ft max.

Fun thing about coco fibers and how it distributes what it absorbs for its period of time to distribute to the roots looking for a feed
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07L54HB83?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[justice8965]

While I'm here, have another question about what to use as a reservoir. I bought the below 15 gallon bucket:



I followed the guide on coco for cannabis. He talks about the siphon effect there. Essentially, the water level in the res can't be higher than the height of the halos. Wouldn't it than make more sense to use something shorter and wider? I could fill it with more water at a time which is obviously more convenient. Something like a big rubbermaid tub?

 

[Aqua Man]

While I'm here, have another question about what to use as a reservoir. I bought the below 15 gallon bucket:



I followed the guide on coco for cannabis. He talks about the siphon effect there. Essentially, the water level in the res can't be higher than the height of the halos. Wouldn't it than make more sense to use something shorter and wider? I could fill it with more water at a time which is obviously more convenient. Something like a big rubbermaid tub?

A Simple normally closed solenoid can be added to eliminate any syphoning.

CHEAP $15CAD solution to siphoning issue on autofeed systems.

So anyone that may have had or is having an issue with a the syphoning effect that can happen due to pump, line or reservoir placement can easily fix the issue. By using a cheap normally closed solenoid tied into the pump it stays closed until the pump kicks on then opens. When the pump shuts...

www.thcfarmer.com

 

[justice8965]

Doing a little reading, it seems I can just add a 90 degree elbow fitting on the pump line just before it leaves the res, drill a tiny hole in it, and I should be set. Easy enough.

Any recommendations on what to use for a bigger res? 15 gallons would probably only last a couple days especially in flower. Space isn't really an issue, is there a cheap maybe 40-50 gallon tub of some sort out there that's usable?

 

[justice8965]

Something like this should work, right?

 

[Aqua Man]

Something like this should work, right?

Yup that's what I use.

 

[justice8965]

Perfect. Thanks for the help Aqua Man! Excited to start my first automated grow, only a few weeks now.

 

[Aqua Man]

Doing a little reading, it seems I can just add a 90 degree elbow fitting on the pump line just before it leaves the res, drill a tiny hole in it, and I should be set. Easy enough.

Any recommendations on what to use for a bigger res? 15 gallons would probably only last a couple days especially in flower. Space isn't really an issue, is there a cheap maybe 40-50 gallon tub of some sort out there that's usable?

There are benefits and disadvantages to a larger res. You will want to keep an eye on the ph drift and make sure you have a small mixing pumps or air stones to keep the res mixing well.