Joe's Fresh start...new to coco

[Joe Fresh]

well, im an old school type grower, dont like change, if something works why fix it...so needless to say it took alot of viewing of other ppls threads and to see the results over and over again is what made my mind up. i started out growing by mixing my own soil, then went to pure promix, results went down a bit but it was much easier and simpler seeing that it was less work(no mixing, no mess) and still produced decent results..in fact my rooms are still full of promix, im only doing a one room test on coco. my main issues with promix or any other peat products is the fact that it can bog down and become too soggy, it crusts up at the top and dries out quicker at the top so less even drying out...and above all is the ph....i find that always towards the end of a cycle i get low ph, i can only equate this to the fact that as the peat degrades and the lime is either used or washed out in the runoff, ph will naturally lower....im hoping to avoid this due to the fact coco is ph neutral.

so ya, other than thats, i will be starting out with 30 plants, all hand watered, using only maxibloom...for additived i have some nirvana, and cal/mg if needed, but i would assume that me using y tap @ 170ppm and the high cal in the maxi would be enough...


pics to come shortly, as soon as i find the wire to my cam....but if anyone has any adcvice they would like to give please feel free

 

[Delerium]

Good Luck

 

[Lowman]

I have been growing in coco for many years. I think the most important advice I can give is: Feed low EC in veg...until they show they are hungry. When switching to flower I like to leach all my girls with low EC feed around 0.9 - 1.0EC. (Never feed coco straight water) the day they go into 12/12.. Then once a week during flower...feed that low EC to keep the buildup in flowering down. In summary: It is better to feed low in coco until they show they NEED more food.

 

[MakinGoo]

Yes u should b good with tap water & no extra calmag should b needed.. Ur gunna like the coco b'cuz u can water more so the plants can beast mode a lil better.. But coco has down falls 2.. By feeding more it's gunna cost more but u will get more buds.. Try not 2 let that coco dry up or it gets crazy salty & that 10-15% runoff is bad on my back b'cuz I hand water in saucers.. Ur gunna like the coco yields but soil is way eazier >> at least 4 me

 

[jiggaboojones]

aye joe . glad things are good for you . I have been growing coco for years using tap water . I haven't needed cal mag myself . tried it but it proved to b a waste . I was using and am still using the canna line . howeveri'm going back to soil for the majority of my run to help on costs and labor for the tme being . your xp in growing should b fine in coco . you moniter your stuff well and ph still can swing a bit in coco . you have 5.5 to 6.0 or so n you can dial in . I still use the old school vile /drops test method instead of digital . salt builduo is the biggest problem you will have . I havefound there are two good ways to combat this . one you can run off 25 -30 percent waste , or every other feed use plain water with you cannazyme or hygrozyme along with your root sup . I strongly suggest you use hygrozyme or something of the like . it is a must or you will see some problems . root sups will surprise you in the jump from soil too . best o luck

 

[Prime C]

Sweet Joe im subbed up!

 

[Joe Fresh]

I have been growing in coco for many years. I think the most important advice I can give is: Feed low EC in veg...until they show they are hungry. When switching to flower I like to leach all my girls with low EC feed around 0.9 - 1.0EC. (Never feed coco straight water) the day they go into 12/12.. Then once a week during flower...feed that low EC to keep the buildup in flowering down. In summary: It is better to feed low in coco until they show they NEED more food.

...hmmm...feed low you say...by most ppl here in promix i feed low, also in soil i feed moderately with my mix...
basicly my soil mix i feed 650 ppm every watering...in my promix grows i tend to feed between 500-800 ppm every watering ...so what about coco where is "low" for you? i see some ppl feeding consistently at 1000ppm and more...

also i am hand watering into saucers...been using the shop vac to grab runoff lol..if it runs good i might set up beds in automation, 3 beds to test, one coco, one promix, and one my custom soil mix...test each one out see which is the easiest to maintain and which produces the most....i have a feeling it would be my custom soil mix, but its such a hassel...

 

[jiggaboojones]

i feed a lil low also . 2 gal calls for 30 i use 20 ay first then tp 25 .

 

[justanotherbozo]

...high bro, here's a couple pics of a few i grew in 2 and 3liter coco hempys under a 400CMH, ...it was at this time i was transitioning from organic soil to coco hempy's KISS style so these were fed nothing but MaxiBloom from rooted clone right through harvest, no additives whatsoever.

peace, bozo

...also, i use straight tap water of mediocre quality and i seldom test my ph any more and when i do, all i use is a drip tester, piss yellow is pretty good ok for me, ...my op is so freekin' easy it practically runs itself.

 

[Canappa]

I am like you hate change, I am a hydro guy so I never have soil in my grows. This time I decided to keep a few Mothers and for the first time I used coco. Things did not work out that well for me. For the first time in a countless grows I got root rot in my hydro and my mothers in Coco have fungun knat larvea. Been wondering where the fuck there flys where coming from for a few months now.

I was watering the plants and noticed may tiny little white worm like things in the soil looked just like the roots and it moved so fast that when I grabbed my camera they where gone. I guess its one of Coco's con's they say it happens once in a while. Is this true? I wish I would have know this, I am about to loose my one and only Miss U Jack over this. I will never use coco again from this experience.

 

[Joe Fresh]

I am like you hate change, I am a hydro guy so I never have soil in my grows. This time I decided to keep a few Mothers and for the first time I used coco. Things did not work out that well for me. For the first time in a countless grows I got root rot in my hydro and my mothers in Coco have fungun knat larvea. Been wondering where the fuck there flys where coming from for a few months now.

I was watering the plants and noticed may tiny little white worm like things in the soil looked just like the roots and it moved so fast that when I grabbed my camera they where gone. I guess its one of Coco's con's they say it happens once in a while. Is this true? I wish I would have know this, I am about to loose my one and only Miss U Jack over this. I will never use coco again from this experience.

fungus gnats are like mosquitos, they like damp humid areas....i would say if you had them in hydro im sure they would be much easier to treat than soil, peat, or coco, seeing that you have full access to the roots...for me gnats wont be a problem..

 

[justanotherbozo]

actually, fungus gnats are nothing but a thing, if you have a smallish grow up to even a 10 x 10 or so you can deal with fungus gnats with ease, ...first line of attack for me on the odd occasion when i get gnats is yellow sticky tapes and i only run a 4 x 4 so the sticky tapes are all i've ever needed, ...it's the flyers that lay the eggs and the sticky tapes continue to catch a diminishing number of adult egg layers until they stop reproducing, usually within 2 or 3 weeks.

...there are chemical treatments too but i've never needed to resort to them, mites are a much bigger pain in the ass and even mites are nothing but a thing once you really understand their lifecycle. ...pests are just part of this hobby is all.

peace, bozo

 

[Canappa]

actually, fungus gnats are nothing but a thing, if you have a smallish grow up to even a 10 x 10 or so you can deal with fungus gnats with ease, ...first line of attack for me on the odd occasion when i get gnats is yellow sticky tapes and i only run a 4 x 4 so the sticky tapes are all i've ever needed, ...it's the flyers that lay the eggs and the sticky tapes continue to catch a diminishing number of adult egg layers until they stop reproducing, usually within 2 or 3 weeks.

...there are chemical treatments too but i've never needed to resort to them, mites are a much bigger pain in the ass and even mites are nothing but a thing once you really understand their lifecycle. ...pests are just part of this hobby is all.

peace, bozo

Thanks Bozo, for the good advice makes me feel at ease now. I guess its time to do some reading about these pests. I only have a mother plant that is affected so I am sure once I gain more knowledge about them, I should be able to get it under control. In addition, I have my Farm friends, If all else fails.

 

[justanotherbozo]

...in your situation i'd suggest you get some Mosquito Dunks which is made to control mosquito's in ponds by spreading a bacteria that kills the larva and eggs, ...anyway, that bt bacteria is also deadly to fungus gnats and all you do is break a small piece off of one of the dunks and grind it up in a mortar and pestle, then you can either add the resulting powder into a bucket and create a drench or you could also just sprinkle that powder as a top dress, especially with only one plant, that's probably the easiest approach, ....i'd also add the sticky traps, they are cheap enough and they are very good at catching the flyers, the bt will attack the larvae in the rootzone but won't do anything to the flyers.

Mosquito Dunks

sticky traps

peace, bozo

 

[growchick421]

I use the Botanicare ready grow moisture formula with Botanicare pro blend grow, super thrive, and cal-mag. My pH is around 6.3 and the ppm is around 700. Hand watered about every other day to 2 days with the run off caught by a saucer. Have had to flush a few times to make her healthy, but now looks very happy. Still in veg, going to move her into bloom soon. I'm a newer grower, what should I be looking for and keeping in mind? Any advice is welcome.
Lowman, y should you not feed strait h2o to coco??

 

[Lowman]

Feeding coco straight water will screw up the balance. You will find that feeding a low EC(ppm) to coco will leach(flush) out the coco faster as well.

 

[growchick421]

Feeding coco straight water will screw up the balance. You will find that feeding a low EC(ppm) to coco will leach(flush) out the coco faster as well.

Thanks for the info, Lowman. Learn something new everyday :bookworm: :happy:

 

[Tnelz]

I use the Botanicare ready grow moisture formula with Botanicare pro blend grow, super thrive, and cal-mag. My pH is around 6.3 and the ppm is around 700. Hand watered about every other day to 2 days with the run off caught by a saucer. Have had to flush a few times to make her healthy, but now looks very happy. Still in veg, going to move her into bloom soon. I'm a newer grower, what should I be looking for and keeping in mind? Any advice is welcome.
Lowman, y should you not feed strait h2o to coco??

Get ur pH down a bit. Optimum range for coco is 5.8 to 6. Imo u may run into some trouble at 6.3!

 

[Seamaiden]

Tnelz, I like to let it range between 5.8-6.2, with occasional forays outside those parameters. HOWEVER, what's most important here is to use the plants as your guide instead of just chasing numbers. If growchick's plant is looking really good, then I wouldn't change anything just yet. Killed too many fish making changes trying to chase numbers.

 

[justanotherbozo]

Tnelz, I like to let it range between 5.8-6.2, with occasional forays outside those parameters. HOWEVER, what's most important here is to use the plants as your guide instead of just chasing numbers. If growchick's plant is looking really good, then I wouldn't change anything just yet. Killed too many fish making changes trying to chase numbers.

...i agree completely, i think a little variation is a good thing which is why, in my own case, all i use is a drop tester, i shoot for piss yellow and call it a day and my plants seem to be happy with my lackadaisical approach.

...shit doesn't have to be complicated to flourish and chasing numbers can be a VERY frustrating endeavor so learning to read your plants is pretty important and not all that difficult once you STOP chasing numbers and start paying attention to what your plants are telling you.

peace, bozo