Looking to go COCO

[hydrotran]

Hello,

I normally do indoor hydro with grodan as growing media. I am looking to go coco and I dont have much knowledge of coco...

Couple questions I wanted to ask is this:
I am looking to do a top feed drip system drain to waste. Typically how many times do you have to feed your ladies while they are in veg? Because we all know the ladies dont eat much in veg and the media remains heavy for quite some time.

When I do run the drip system how many times do I feed it throughout the day? Right now for my hydro setup I feed once a day when the lights turn on. With the drip system you feed for how many minutes per feeding? and how many times per day?

I wanted to use the entire line of canna for coco. Is it ok for me to use? Canna base, cannazym, rhizotonic for base and canna flores rhizotonic and pk13-14. I heard of some people using pro-silicate to bring the ph up?

For my hydro I use 5.8 ph is it the same with coco? Can I also use 100% coco? I've seen people mix coco with other medias.

Last but not least after I get the babies is it ok for me to transfer them into smart pots right away? or do I need to veg them longer and then transfer them into smart pots? Also what size of smart part is usually needed?

For my hydro setup I use phosphoload is it ok for me to use it for the coco setup? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will also be posting my grow journal on here once I kick start this coco experience.

 

[jacobgriis02]

personally, i am feeding my somewhat-newly rooted clones in .75 gal pots roughly every 3-4 days. i am already thinking i should have used smaller cups for these clones so i could water them more often, BUT, they are doing just fine so far, i figure spacing the waterings out will encourage roots to grow and look for water, ya know? this is my first go with coco, and am only in veg stage still, but they look wonderful after 2 weeks annd have only been watered like 3 or 4 times so far, the coco is holding water a lot better than i first thought.

im using a 75 coco 25% perlite mix. heads modified lucas formula (6-9). ph.ed to 5.8. hand watering to runoff, couldnt be happier. (granted i am still only a few weeks in to my first try with coco)

 

[jacobgriis02]

just adding i made a whole irrigation system, bought pumps, resevoir, etc. but the coco is holding water so well, i have been hand watering and not even bothered to hook that stuff up yet.

 

[Darth Fader]

Hey man, might help. Not sure about the drip though.

G/L

 

[Snow Crash]

Hello,

I normally do indoor hydro with grodan as growing media. I am looking to go coco and I dont have much knowledge of coco...

Welcome to the Cocommunity. Coco is a knowledge intensive media and you'll want to do some homework on the stuff.

Couple questions I wanted to ask is this:
I am looking to do a top feed drip system drain to waste. Typically how many times do you have to feed your ladies while they are in veg? Because we all know the ladies dont eat much in veg and the media remains heavy for quite some time.

This obviously depends on how long your vegetative period is. The length of your veg period depends on how big you want your plants to be among other factors. Four to Six weeks is pretty average, with a transplant to the final container somewhere around day 25. In this scenario you'll be feeding every 2-3 days. There are too many factors to consider, but I'd say, on the average in my own garden, each plant requires maybe 8 to 20 gallons of solution for veg.

When I do run the drip system how many times do I feed it throughout the day? Right now for my hydro setup I feed once a day when the lights turn on. With the drip system you feed for how many minutes per feeding? and how many times per day?

Twice a day is good but strain dependent and better for lower coco volumes (or amended with perlite). Once a day is pretty standard. The number of minutes will depend on your container size. I always water to collect 30% to 40% runoff in coco.

I wanted to use the entire line of canna for coco. Is it ok for me to use? Canna base, cannazym, rhizotonic for base and canna flores rhizotonic and pk13-14. I heard of some people using pro-silicate to bring the ph up?

Canna base? Canna Flores rhizotonic?

Canna Coco A+B is your primary Macro nutrient system for Coco. It lacks some elements your plants need, like iron, and you'll need to use tap water or an iron containing supplement to resolve this common issue. Why they haven't resolved it is beyond me. Many people use Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus thinking it's the Calcium that makes the difference. It's the iron!

Rhizotonic you'll run during veg. I actually consume a good deal of Rhizo when I used it but I'm not using it anymore and I still get the same results.

Cannazym is crucial for flowering to resolve the NPK ratios. You'll want to run it at suggested levels.

PK 13/14 is just Potassium Phosphate. If you know what you're doing then use it. It works best during days 35 to 45 of flowering on a 60 day strain.

I use a Potassium Silicate as a pH up but you don't need it with Canna. You'll need a pH down if anything.

For my hydro I use 5.8 ph is it the same with coco? Can I also use 100% coco? I've seen people mix coco with other medias.

Yes, it's the same, but you can be a little more flexible. During later flowering it helps to run a higher pH, around 6.0 or so. Amending coco with perlite is pretty standard and works fine for systems that get frequent waterings. It's especially important in containers over 3 gallons to control compaction and help keep the media evenly aerated top to bottom.

Last but not least after I get the babies is it ok for me to transfer them into smart pots right away? or do I need to veg them longer and then transfer them into smart pots? Also what size of smart part is usually needed?

You transplant just like you would with soil. When the plants are ready to transplant.

For my hydro setup I use phosphoload is it ok for me to use it for the coco setup? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will also be posting my grow journal on here once I kick start this coco experience.

Yeah, it's cool. I'd keep usage around 2-3ml per gallon and you should cut it out when you run the PK 13/14.

 

[hydrotran]

thanks man your a life saver! I got an empty site im looking to throw something new in it has 16 1000watt lights. I will post my first coco grow here in the journals.

 

[Snow Crash]

I spaced on the planter size.

As a hydroponic media you can grow very large plants in relatively small amounts of coco. I find around 8 to 10 Liters of coco is all you really need (<3 gallons) for the average sized 4-6 ounce, 2-3 foot tall, indoor plant maybe 100 days start to finish.

I'm actually going to be working in ~3 liters of coco for my next grow while attempting more of a SOG kind of situation. Even with these planters I'll still manage to grow a much larger plant than I could in soil.

The nice thing about lower soil volumes is that you can water very frequently without ever being concerned about that being an issue.

Something I learned long ago is that having a shallow but wide root system seems to help with uptake. I use #3 smartpots but only put a little more than 2 gallons of coco in them. The root systems spread out edge to edge and the plants get nice and fat.

Deep coco planters, like using a home bucket or something else not so smart, can become water logged at the base and compact over time. The shallow, wide, planters will not compact and still grow the same sized root mass as a deeper planter.

Step your planters up too. I start in 8-10oz and step up to the 1 or 2 gallons of coco in the larger planters.

 

[stifler]

im running coco and canna nutes its as easy as 1 2 3 but to be honest growth rate IMHO isnt what it would be in active hydro

 

[hydrotran]

im running coco and canna nutes its as easy as 1 2 3 but to be honest growth rate IMHO isnt what it would be in active hydro

Hey alot of people say use a mix of like 30% perlite and 70% canna have you ever experience anything like that?

Also do you use the full line of canna nutes? and how does the feeding schedule go for coco? and I heard you are suppose to flush every week with coco? is that true? thanks for the help stifmeister!

 

[organicfreak]

read this help me tons with coco