HOW TO WATER COCO FOR BEST RESULTS.

[WyattTerp]

Ok writing this cause i see this issue often and rather have a thread to link than explain this each time. This is not my work but a collection of info from many members here and I have put into practice myself.

So first off COCO is NOT soil. For best results we want to keep it saturated between 90-100% that does not mean you can't go below this but you may see slower growth or nutrient issues over time if your consistently letting COCO get to dry.

Coco has an amazing gas exchange and air holding capacity when compared to soil. For this reason it is next to impossible to over water. Over watering is NOT to much water... its lack of o2. You will see this in soil with less drainage but because of coco's high drainage, air holding capacity and gas exchange its highly unlikely to see this in coco.

I do suggest if growing in more than 1 gal pots to add perlite if you are seeking faster grow rates. However if you want to water less often then you can eliminate the perlite as this will lower the drainage. As a rule of thumb:

1gal no perlite
2gal 20% perlite
3gal 30% perlite
4gal 40% perlite
5+gal 50% perlite

You can do more or less but it will affect the frequency of watering required. More perlite the more frequent you will have to feed. Personally I feel the better the drainage the faster the growth but its a balancing act and the above ratios i would say are a great place to start.

Coco has a low CEC (cation exchange capacity) so it does not hold onto nutrients as well as something like soil so we feed with every watering to keep a balanced nutrient ratio, ph and ppm in the coco. To do so we also need to flush out some of the last feed with each feeding to prevent a nutrient buildup which can affect all of these. THINK OF COCO AS SOILESS... much closer to hydro and very similar to rockwool.

I won't get into ppm in detail as thing will change quite a bit from grow to grow depending on many factors. But generally speaking start at around 300-400ppm and work up to around 800ppm. Now some may need to alter that as it will depend on your specific grow conditions.

HOW OFTEN DO WE FEED!!!

Ah the always debated subject.. 2 times a day, 1 time every 2 days, 10 times a day????

Forget that nonsense... like I say each grow is different so we need to use a better method. Let the plants tell you!!!!

Ok here is how we calculate it simply to your specific grow conditions, stage of growth, pot size and every other variable. You will never need to wonder am I feeding to much or to little again.

The formula:

1.Feed 5% of the pot size as your nutrient solution.
2. Of that we want 10-20% to come out as run off.
3. If you get more you can lower the frequency.
4. If we get less we need to increase the frequency and for that feed we need to add more to get our run off.

So I will do the calculations up to 5gal below to save you all some time. Feed the amount listed and check to make sure you get runoff of the amount listed from there adjust to dial in the feedings as they will change as the plants grow.

REMEMBER THIS IS A GUIDLINE AND NOT A HARD RULE. Our goal is to get as close as reasonably possible. It's not gonna kill your plants if its not exact.


I'm gonna round up.

1gal. Feed 250ml get 25-50ml of runoff

2gal. Feed 500ml get 50-100ml of runoff.

3gal. Feed 750ml get 75-150ml of runoff.

5 gal Feed 1litre get 100-200ml of runoff.

By doing this your plant will tell you how often you should be watering for best results.

Plant transpiration happens during photosynthesis so we only need to water during the lights on period. But in smaller containers you may find that you need to fertigate once in the middle of lights out if fertigation events are higher. Its unlikely but if your coco is dry before the first feed its not a bad idea to toss one in. Generally feed a couple hrs before lights out for the last time but you want to split the events evenly throughout lights on.

It may sound like you will be watering way to much but when you calculate how much you are feeding and then the frequency its not much more than most already do, just supplied in a manner that provides much greater stability. You will be using much smaller amounts of nutrient solution and by feeding much more frequently it doesn't take much to get your runoff while keeping the rootzone ph, ppm and moisture content ideal.

I'm planning to follow the 3gal rule of thumb noted above with this Grow Setup:

4' x 8' x 8' Tent
Two ViparSpectra KS5000 500W LED's with Grow Science Digital Controller
Intake, Exhaust AC Infinity T'8's
Air Circulation AC Infinity S6's
Two Humidifiers, One Dehumidifier, AC
40 gallon external reservoir with 60 psi diaphragm pump
4 x 8 Drain Table with Little Giant Condensate Pump
Custom PVC Manifiold with Jain Quadra Bubblers
7" Growtek Drip rings in #3 airpots
Medium 70% loose fill coco/30% #4 perlite
FloraFlex nutes
Tribus, silica supplements
Eight Mephisto 'Forgotten Cookies' seeds started in final pot

I have a mutli-part question concerning the 'Seedling to Veg Transition':

1> When should I stop hand watering and start fertigation, day 10, day 14, etc?
2> Is three shots a reasonable starting shot qty when trying to capture 75-150ml of runoff in my medium?
3> Is the transition to fertigation executed immediately or is it introduced over a period of days?
4> Should nutes be introduced at 25%, at 50%?

 

[Aqua Man]

I'm planning to follow the 3gal rule of thumb noted above with this Grow Setup:

4' x 8' x 8' Tent
Two ViparSpectra KS5000 500W LED's with Grow Science Digital Controller
Intake, Exhaust AC Infinity T'8's
Air Circulation AC Infinity S6's
Two Humidifiers, One Dehumidifier, AC
40 gallon external reservoir with 60 psi diaphragm pump
4 x 8 Drain Table with Little Giant Condensate Pump
Custom PVC Manifiold with Jain Quadra Bubblers
7" Growtek Drip rings in #3 airpots
Medium 70% loose fill coco/30% #4 perlite
FloraFlex nutes
Tribus, silica supplements
Eight Mephisto 'Forgotten Cookies' seeds started in final pot

I have a mutli-part question concerning the 'Seedling to Veg Transition':

1> When should I stop hand watering and start fertigation, day 10, day 14, etc?
2> Is three shots a reasonable starting shot qty when trying to capture 75-150ml of runoff in my medium?
3> Is the transition to fertigation executed immediately or is it introduced over a period of days?
4> Should nutes be introduced at 25%, at 50%?

Start at 400ppm of nutrients. Ph about 5.5-5.6.

start seedling in solo cups and water once a day after sprout. If you want to start a grow journal and tag me in it then i can walk you through the way i do it on an ongoing basis if you like

 

[WyattTerp]

Start at 400ppm of nutrients. Ph about 5.5-5.6.

start seedling in solo cups and water once a day after sprout. If you want to start a grow journal and tag me in it then i can walk you through the way i do it on an ongoing basis if you like

Awesome .. thx for the offer!

 

[Madmax]

Start at 400ppm of nutrients. Ph about 5.5-5.6.

start seedling in solo cups and water once a day after sprout. If you want to start a grow journal and tag me in it then i can walk you through the way i do it on an ongoing basis if you like

So starting at 5.5-5.6 allows the plant to uptake nutrients throgh the band as the ph in media rises Aqua?..as coco/perlite has a ph of around 6.3..i usually start at 6.0 -6.1 after a week im bang in the range 5.9 -5.92 right through grow..bugbee says to keep t between 5.8-6.2 ..

 

[Aqua Man]

So starting at 5.5-5.6 allows the plant to uptake nutrients throgh the band as the ph in media rises Aqua?..as coco/perlite has a ph of around 6.3..i usually start at 6.0 -6.1 after a week im bang in the range 5.9 -5.92 right through grow..bugbee says to keep t between 5.8-6.2 ..

The low PH to start is more for nitrogen you dont need a PH drift as plants like stability but it can help with uptake in some situations.

i mean it kinda goes hand in hand with nutrient ratios as this is why a PH drift can be beneficial. Oh effects the availability of individual nutrients

 

[Madmax]

Gotcha..starts scribbling in book

 

[Peat_Phreak]

55 pages on how to water Coco? Yikes. I'll pass.

Where is the how to water Peat thread? If it exists it shouldn't be more than a page or two long.

15 times a month works pretty good. I've tried more often and less often. Sticking with 15 times a month.

/end of Peat tangent

 

[Aqua Man]

55 pages on how to water Coco? Yikes. I'll pass.

Where is the how to water Peat thread? If it exists it shouldn't be more than a page or two long.

15 times a month works pretty good. I've tried more often and less often. Sticking with 15 times a month.

/end of Peat tangent

The info is all in the first post

 

[Peat_Phreak]

I saw that. What happens on the other 54 pages?

 

[Aqua Man]

55 pages on how to water Coco? Yikes. I'll pass.

Where is the how to water Peat thread? If it exists it shouldn't be more than a page or two long.

15 times a month works pretty good. I've tried more often and less often. Sticking with 15 times a month.

/end of Peat tangent

For peat, soil type grows this is the watering thread that i did.

Marijuana Watering, how media, pot size/shape and environment affect it

Ok lots of posts on how to water plants. So I thought I would put together a thread on how different factors contribute to different results that ppl see. This will be a long read based on my personal knowledge, opinions, research and others work to consolidate information for our members. I'm...

www.thcfarmer.com

 

[Aqua Man]

I saw that. What happens on the other 54 pages?

Just discussion. Some great info if you can sift through without losing your mind to pick tid bits out

 

[N1ghtL1ght]

I'd love a peat-discussion, esp. when there are different types of peats, some with bad aeration get wet like a towel, and the confusion of the ENG scene to label it "hydro".

times a month works pretty good. I've tried more often and less often. Sticking with 15 times a month.

/end of Peat tangent

 

[benjones]

At 22 min.

Hi @Aqua Man . thanks for the video . it was very informative . when he says that he/they use a fertilizer with NPK ratios of 20/10/20 , is this purely because of all the other things he has added to the soil mix . i will be starting a grow soon in coco ( currently reading your "how to water" thread ) and i'm unsure whether to add worm castings and bat guano or not . i am in thailand and it's very difficult to get the fertilizers i would like to use so i might have to do best with gardening center ones . what do you think might be my best course of action ?
cheers

 

[Themadsterlaboratory]

I have been growing on coco for a while now, actually never used dirt.

If you guys use yucca extract the qualities of the nutrients will stay longer on coco fibers therefore contributing to the development of the plant. But this is for hand-waterers IMO. I used to hand water like this every other day during veg in 1 gallon fabric pots. Twice a day during flower! Never let coco get dry, that's a big no-no.

If you have a timer and a reservoir, then you guys need to follow the #cropsteering schedule of irrigation.

My two cents.

Mad

 

[benjones]

sorry @Aqua Man i should have explained it better. what i meant was , if he was only using a coco and vermiculite mix , would the NPK that he recommended be a different ratio , or would it still be 20/10/20

 

[Aqua Man]

Hi @Aqua Man . thanks for the video . it was very informative . when he says that he/they use a fertilizer with NPK ratios of 20/10/20 , is this purely because of all the other things he has added to the soil mix . i will be starting a grow soon in coco ( currently reading your "how to water" thread ) and i'm unsure whether to add worm castings and bat guano or not . i am in thailand and it's very difficult to get the fertilizers i would like to use so i might have to do best with gardening center ones . what do you think might be my best course of action ?
cheers

Yeah dont add organics to coco unless you want to treat it like soil… it changes the benefits of coco

 

[benjones]

Yeah dont add organics to coco unless you want to treat it like soil… it changes the benefits of coco

i see , many thanks . so just use coco with perlite and/or vermiculite , then water with nutrients .

nutrients such as fox farm , canna etc are difficult to buy where i am . would there be an acceptable nutrient brand from a supermarket i could use ?

i don't understand the ratios on the packets to be honest , but what should i be looking for in a fertilizer for veg and flower .

 

[Aqua Man]

i see , many thanks . so just use coco with perlite and/or vermiculite , then water with nutrients .

nutrients such as fox farm , canna etc are difficult to buy where i am . would there be an acceptable nutrient brand from a supermarket i could use ?

i don't understand the ratios on the packets to be honest , but what should i be looking for in a fertilizer for veg and flower .

2-1-4 and 2-1-3 are pre friendly all the way theough

 

[benjones]

thanks @Aqua Man

 

[benjones]

hi @Aqua Man , i was reading the thread "Cheap alternatives to overpriced hydroponic nutrients" and read about megacrop being a good alternative . so i emailed them and they said they deliver to thailand which is good news . if in stock should i order the mega crop pouch with the elderly gentleman on the front or should i order the 2 part mix .

i will be doing coco and possibly a drip system