New grower trying to grow with coco and a drip irrigation system

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newbeegrower

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I have a 4x4 tent and i want to start my first grow in a 50/50 coco perlite. ive done lots of research for my grow but cant find a direct answer for this question. I want to build a drip irrigation system but does the gph rate matter for watering my plants as in does the flow of water make a difference, like does it matter how long it takes to water the plant. Also how do i know how much water i need for my plant. Is it true i should only water untill i see runoff or do i still need 10-20% with the drip irrigation system? How can i figure out how much water they need without having to over water/underwater for my plant to tell me if it needs more or less. Ive read some people watering multiple times a day and getting 10-20% runoff after all the waterings or should i have 10-20% every water session( for later in the grow obviously i wont need to water babies more then once a day). Also i dont mind mixing the nutes every day or 2 so how do i know how big of a resivour i need? Ive read that drip irrigation kits arent really good and i should diy my own, where should i buy the equipment and what are some recommended water pumps. I plan to start my plants in 1g pots and transplant to 5g pots later on. For my babies do i give them nutes since coco has none on its own or do i feed them plain phd water for yhe first couple weeks? So if i were to get a system does it matter the flow of water or do i just turn on the pump and time until i get my desired runoff to figure out how long i need to put my timer on for.
 
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Just had @Northdank67 explain alot of this to me. Im sure he could help
 
Northdank67

Northdank67

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newbeegrower said:
I have a 4x4 tent and i want to start my first grow in a 50/50 coco perlite. ive done lots of research for my grow but cant find a direct answer for this question. I want to build a drip irrigation system but does the gph rate matter for watering my plants as in does the flow of water make a difference, like does it matter how long it takes to water the plant. Also how do i know how much water i need for my plant. Is it true i should only water untill i see runoff or do i still need 10-20% with the drip irrigation system? How can i figure out how much water they need without having to over water/underwater for my plant to tell me if it needs more or less. Ive read some people watering multiple times a day and getting 10-20% runoff after all the waterings or should i have 10-20% every water session( for later in the grow obviously i wont need to water babies more then once a day). Also i dont mind mixing the nutes every day or 2 so how do i know how big of a resivour i need? Ive read that drip irrigation kits arent really good and i should diy my own, where should i buy the equipment and what are some recommended water pumps. I plan to start my plants in 1g pots and transplant to 5g pots later on. For my babies do i give them nutes since coco has none on its own or do i feed them plain phd water for yhe first couple weeks? So if i were to get a system does it matter the flow of water or do i just turn on the pump and time until i get my desired runoff to figure out how long i need to put my timer on for.
Click to expand...
yeah I could propably help you, Im a plumber and I grow in coco with a diy drip irrigation, plan to do it in rockwool in the future soon bc i hate how much work it is to wash coco and perlite...
check the post bear made theres some insight from me and many others, no you don't need to get 10-20%runoff if you are not trying to lower your media EC, grow the pheno once and collect data, thats how you find out how much the plants are drining and when, you can't really overwater in 70%coco30%perlite but you can waste nutes, and you definetly can underwater, I believe that it doesn't matter how long it takes to water those plants as long as you're watering them faster than they are drinking water. choose res size like this
-is it possible you'd like to not mix nutes once every day or two at some point?
-is it possible that the plants would at some grow stage use more water than your res holds?
-how much space you have
-don't fill the res so much that the nutes sit in it more than 4 days (even when constantly mixed by a pump)
 
N

newbeegrower

24
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I didnt think i needed to wash the coco if its pre buffered and loose? I also didnt know i needed to wash my perlite? Im using "grow it" coco, if you have any experience with that brand pls lmk i havent seen it recommended by big growers but i also havent seen bad reveiws on it and i couldnt get my hands on any reputable prebufferd and loose coco in my area, so i went with my only option. How do i know when i need to lower the ec in my substrate do i measure the runoff? What do you mean by grow the phenotype and note, are you referring to that different breeders may have the same strain but could have different genetics, and that i should note what works good for mine or what dp you mean by that? I got fast northern lights from montreal cannabis seeds, they are reputable and they did me some good service with a sticker and 2 freebie fast jack herer seeds and ive read lots of good about them this isnt relevant but id like to recommend them to someone trying to find vender. Also if i dont need 10-20% runoff am i just watering until i see runoff or? I also read that i should be getting a certain amount of runnof from however much im putting in and if im getting more or less then i should adjust the flow rate. also now that i think of it there will be times where ill be gone or on vacation for a few days and wont be able to mix the nutes every day or 2, i think im just really high because that was the main purpose i wanted to invest in a drip irrigation setup but there is also the perc of not needing to water. Ive read that you can keep your nutes in your resivour for up to 2 weeks with proper aeration. Although that wouldnt be necessary for me the most id need is like 5 days unattended.
 
N

newbeegrower

24
3
Northdank67 said:
yeah I could propably help you, Im a plumber and I grow in coco with a diy drip irrigation, plan to do it in rockwool in the future soon bc i hate how much work it is to wash coco and perlite...
check the post bear made theres some insight from me and many others, no you don't need to get 10-20%runoff if you are not trying to lower your media EC, grow the pheno once and collect data, thats how you find out how much the plants are drining and when, you can't really overwater in 70%coco30%perlite but you can waste nutes, and you definetly can underwater, I believe that it doesn't matter how long it takes to water those plants as long as you're watering them faster than they are drinking water. choose res size like this
-is it possible you'd like to not mix nutes once every day or two at some point?
-is it possible that the plants would at some grow stage use more water than your res holds?
-how much space you have
-don't fill the res so much that the nutes sit in it more than 4 days (even when constantly mixed by a pump)
Click to expand...
Im not sure i can find the post your refering to
 
N

newbeegrower

24
3
newbeegrower said:
I didnt think i needed to wash the coco if its pre buffered and loose? I also didnt know i needed to wash my perlite? Im using "grow it" coco, if you have any experience with that brand pls lmk i havent seen it recommended by big growers but i also havent seen bad reveiws on it and i couldnt get my hands on any reputable prebufferd and loose coco in my area, so i went with my only option. How do i know when i need to lower the ec in my substrate do i measure the runoff? What do you mean by grow the phenotype and note, are you referring to that different breeders may have the same strain but could have different genetics, and that i should note what works good for mine or what dp you mean by that? I got fast northern lights from montreal cannabis seeds, they are reputable and they did me some good service with a sticker and 2 freebie fast jack herer seeds and ive read lots of good about them this isnt relevant but id like to recommend them to someone trying to find vender. Also if i dont need 10-20% runoff am i just watering until i see runoff or? I also read that i should be getting a certain amount of runnof from however much im putting in and if im getting more or less then i should adjust the flow rate. also now that i think of it there will be times where ill be gone or on vacation for a few days and wont be able to mix the nutes every day or 2, i think im just really high because that was the main purpose i wanted to invest in a drip irrigation setup but there is also the perc of not needing to water. Ive read that you can keep your nutes in your resivour for up to 2 weeks with proper aeration. Although that wouldnt be necessary for me the most id need is like 5 days unattended
Click to expand...
 
_B_

_B_

52
18
newbeegrower said:
I have a 4x4 tent and i want to start my first grow in a 50/50 coco perlite. ive done lots of research for my grow but cant find a direct answer for this question. I want to build a drip irrigation system but does the gph rate matter for watering my plants as in does the flow of water make a difference, like does it matter how long it takes to water the plant. Also how do i know how much water i need for my plant. Is it true i should only water untill i see runoff or do i still need 10-20% with the drip irrigation system? How can i figure out how much water they need without having to over water/underwater for my plant to tell me if it needs more or less. Ive read some people watering multiple times a day and getting 10-20% runoff after all the waterings or should i have 10-20% every water session( for later in the grow obviously i wont need to water babies more then once a day). Also i dont mind mixing the nutes every day or 2 so how do i know how big of a resivour i need? Ive read that drip irrigation kits arent really good and i should diy my own, where should i buy the equipment and what are some recommended water pumps. I plan to start my plants in 1g pots and transplant to 5g pots later on. For my babies do i give them nutes since coco has none on its own or do i feed them plain phd water for yhe first couple weeks? So if i were to get a system does it matter the flow of water or do i just turn on the pump and time until i get my desired runoff to figure out how long i need to put my timer on
Click to expand...
Thread 'Justiceman's Root Health Tutorial'
https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/justicemans-root-health-tutorial.86988/

Thread 'HOW TO WATER COCO FOR BEST RESULTS.'
https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/how-to-water-coco-for-best-results.122334/

Thats a solid read on the basics. Aqua man has a good one too i can send if I find it
 
Last edited:
M

Mannybarr89

21
3
This is my first hydro grow, I’m doing DWC but I thought about going cocoa coir but I was convinced in having full control over my solution and plant uptake. Glad I didn’t because using hydroton I believe is easier than cocoa coir. Although cocoa say prewash you must wash it and soak in ph water with a little hydrogen peroxide in it as well. I just started week 3 of DWC and it’s going pretty well
IMG 4984
 
IMG 4985
N

newbeegrower

24
3
Mannybarr89 said:
This is my first hydro grow, I’m doing DWC but I thought about going cocoa coir but I was convinced in having full control over my solution and plant uptake. Glad I didn’t because using hydroton I believe is easier than cocoa coir. Although cocoa say prewash you must wash it and soak in ph water with a little hydrogen peroxide in it as well. I just started week 3 of DWC and it’s going pretty wellView attachment 2172033
Click to expand...
I already acquired the equipment for coco so theres not really going back. And so even if its prewashed i need to wash it again? Thats kinda annoying.
 
M

Mannybarr89

21
3
newbeegrower said:
I already acquired the equipment for coco so theres not really going back. And so even if its prewashed i need to wash it again? Thats kinda annoying.
Click to expand...
Yeah it’s kinda annoying but just do a soak in hydrogen peroxide and water and you’ll be fine but it’s necessary and at least you can grow organically with your setup I tried with DWC and the build Up in my lines was horrible but I’ll stay tuned for your results best of luck!
 
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