Why organic nutrients do not work in coco

AmWeedwolf · Sep 8, 2021

I'm having good success with coco and organic fertilizers. I think the key is adding CEC buffers like biochar, greensand, and compost/EWC (my mix is 10% combined biochar and EWC bv). Also coco seems to work best with slow release organic ferts like feather meal (for N) and granular minerals (rather than powdered). I also add a bit of composted chicken litter for the right microbes for breaking down feather meal.

Also need to keep things on the dry side. A water meter is essential imho.

Observationist · Dec 23, 2021

Dirtbag said:
Well, coco does have a cec like soil does. It actually holds on to a lot of nutrients, especially Ca.

If you were going to try a mixed in fert I think an osmocote slow release fert would be best but that's not organic so...

It's trying to reinvent the wheel imho. If you want hydro fast growth from coco you treat it like hydro. If you want an organic water only grow, you're better of with potting soil. It's really that simple. Coco doesnt do as well in organic applications and potting soil sucks as a hydroponic medium...lol Its the way the world turns lol.

Also why I’m switching to coco, I use bottled nutes anyways, mostly synthetic

KanaGirl · Dec 28, 2021

Hey Guys & Gals,
Just wanted to stop by and update this thread with my current grow, just chopped yesterday. I did this grow using coco/perlite/EWC + added mineral kit for coco + geoflora nutes.

This has been my most successful grow yet - fully organic, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching these ladies grow. It was a fairly easy grow, did not do much training, and while I was shooting for water only, I ended up having to supplement a few times with compost teas.

I am planning on continuing this style, with only a few minor changes. Happy growing

Observationist · Dec 28, 2021

AmWeedwolf said:
I'm having good success with coco and organic fertilizers. I think the key is adding CEC buffers like biochar, greensand, and compost/EWC (my mix is 10% combined biochar and EWC bv). Also coco seems to work best with slow release organic ferts like feather meal (for N) and granular minerals (rather than powdered). I also add a bit of composted chicken litter for the right microbes for breaking down feather meal.

Also need to keep things on the dry side. A water meter is essential imho.

Organic nutrients break down to the exact same elements that are synthetic nutrients.

but using organic defeats the purpose of power feeding you’re coco plants for that sweet growth

TryingToGrow · Dec 29, 2021

KanaGirl said:
Hey Guys & Gals,
Just wanted to stop by and update this thread with my current grow, just chopped yesterday. I did this grow using coco/perlite/EWC + added mineral kit for coco + geoflora nutes.

This has been my most successful grow yet - fully organic, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching these ladies grow. It was a fairly easy grow, did not do much training, and while I was shooting for water only, I ended up having to supplement a few times with compost teas.

I am planning on continuing this style, with only a few minor changes. Happy growing

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Very nice. What % ewc and perlite? Seems like It would be tough to keep pH on point unless your ewc were low pH (?), I've never used enough of them to bother checking really.

I just started one a couple weeks ago, ~straight coco with just a pinch of weed leaf mix in and going well so far (in solo cup). When I pot up I have a 1 gallon pot of coco mixed with ~1/4 cup alfalfa pellets, getting the pH to sit at ~5.8 while it waits.

Pretty sure I will be able to make it all grow with just water, based off some other plants I have done in a ~similar manner, using just alfalfa pellets to feed the soil. If not, I will amend alfalfa pellets into top or make a tea with them. I am running 12/12 from seed though and on low light, so the need for 'feed' will not be so great.

KanaGirl · Jan 3, 2022

TryingToGrow said:
Very nice. What % ewc and perlite? Seems like It would be tough to keep pH on point unless your ewc were low pH (?), I've never used enough of them to bother checking really.

I just started one a couple weeks ago, ~straight coco with just a pinch of weed leaf mix in and going well so far (in solo cup). When I pot up I have a 1 gallon pot of coco mixed with ~1/4 cup alfalfa pellets, getting the pH to sit at ~5.8 while it waits.

Pretty sure I will be able to make it all grow with just water, based off some other plants I have done in a ~similar manner, using just alfalfa pellets to feed the soil. If not, I will amend alfalfa pellets into top or make a tea with them. I am running 12/12 from seed though and on low light, so the need for 'feed' will not be so great.

My % was about 60% coco, 25% perlite and 15% EWC. My intention was to go 1/3 each when I ordered my supplies, but decided to add a plant to the grow and ended up just blending my mix with what I had on hand. I did ph my water between 6.0 and 6.5, however, I don't know if it mattered or not because I was treating this like a soil grow. My runoff always tested around 6.3 to 6.5.

Prescribed.Burn · Jan 16, 2022

KanaGirl said:
Can you share which "readily available" nutrient blends you've had success with in coco?

I just finished my 3rd grow in coco - here's my personal experience running 4 strains from seed (GDP, OG Kush; White Widow; Afghan Kush):
1st grow - coco/perlite - dry amendments (Dr. Earth) + microbes. Veg went fine, flower had deficiencies, needed to supplement with teas to get them thru. Decent quality mail colas, good terpene profiles, lowish yield, somewhat airy secondary buds, slow growth, low stretch, did not stack well. *** must let coco dry out partially between waterings or ran into issues.
2nd grow - coco/perlite - Botanicare bottled nutes (blend of organic/synthetic products), supplemented with Botanicare Pure Blend Tea (organic) + microbes. Veg and flower went great, good growth rates, buds denser than 1st grow, good terpene profiles, good yield, medium density, good speed of growth. *** low frequency fertigation, every 1-2 days depending on water uptake, kept medium semi damp, but not wet.
3rd grow - coco/perlite - GH nutes (3 part) - fully synthetic. Veg/flower were EXPLOSIVE, they literally grew into my lights and I had to chop in half just before flip. Super dense buds, excellent yield, no deficiencies entire grow, terpene profiles SUCK, entire grow no smell at all unless you touch buds. Currently drying and curing so I'll have to get back to you on bud quality later. *** high frequency fertigation 1-3x per day, 10+% runoff.

I would LOVE to go back to fully organic dry amendments, but I do feel like there is a very delicate balancing act with treating coco like soil. You have to make sure to not let coco dry out fully, but definitely let it dry back between waterings. Dry amendments + supplemental teas/nutes + microbes = only need to water. But I feel like even letting coco dry back and not watering as frequently, it doesn't hold nutes like soil, so I find it needs supplemental nutes throughout the grow.

My holy grail would be to be able to grow HYDRO STYLE (high frequency fertigation) in coco, but with an organic product in the reservoir. However, that doesn't seem possible because organic inputs need to be broken down before being readily available to the plants, which takes time. PLUS, organic nutes don't hold in a reservoir, they start to stink up and build biofilm within a day or two.

If I could at least find an excellent quality organic nute that can be watered in like synthetic nutes and be immediately bioavailable, that might work. So, that's what I've been on the hunt for. If you've found an organic product that provides readily available nutrients to plants (like synthetics), I'm all ears

I ran a bunch of organic dry amendments in coco and had the best results with pridelands from greengro. Did a side x side with 4 companies and they did the best. I've ran iguana juice and had killer success. I'd like to try lotus as they claim naturally sourced but i have a feeling my memory is telling me they were expensive and probably never be organic.

The best certified organics I've ran in hydro and coco was a Canadian company ez-gro. You can't run iguana in a rez but ezgro does ok. What I love about it is its a 3 part. One bottle for each N,P and K. Gives total control to the grower. I dial the potassium back in coco. I used them before they had organic labeling and now they have over the last few years got the whole 3 bottle system certified. You can buy them on Amazon. The name is nature's nectar. No bloom or grow just the 3 bottles and mixing instructions per phase.. They also make a great product call organa-add among others. Certified organic it's a 2-0-0. It's a micronutrient product. That's the best organic line I've found for a rez and I've been looking for a minute, ok few decades lol.

Age old does good but not certified.

Currently I'm sampling Foop organic in a rez but won't comment until I have spent more time experimenting w it.

Also side note have had good luck with organic dry amendments and then using a weak salt mix in the rez.

Don't use any bubbler or aerator just a tank flow pump. Organics brew already no need to speed up the process.

Fwiw cheers

Prescribed.Burn · Jan 26, 2022

Prescribed.Burn said:
I ran a bunch of organic dry amendments in coco and had the best results with pridelands from greengro. Did a side x side with 4 companies and they did the best. I've ran iguana juice and had killer success. I'd like to try lotus as they claim naturally sourced but i have a feeling my memory is telling me they were expensive and probably never be organic.

The best certified organics I've ran in hydro and coco was a Canadian company ez-gro. You can't run iguana in a rez but ezgro does ok. What I love about it is its a 3 part. One bottle for each N,P and K. Gives total control to the grower. I dial the potassium back in coco. I used them before they had organic labeling and now they have over the last few years got the whole 3 bottle system certified. You can buy them on Amazon. The name is nature's nectar. No bloom or grow just the 3 bottles and mixing instructions per phase.. They also make a great product call organa-add among others. Certified organic it's a 2-0-0. It's a micronutrient product. That's the best organic line I've found for a rez and I've been looking for a minute, ok few decades lol.

Age old does good but not certified.

Currently I'm sampling Foop organic in a rez but won't comment until I have spent more time experimenting w it.

Also side note have had good luck with organic dry amendments and then using a weak salt mix in the rez.

Don't use any bubbler or aerator just a tank flow pump. Organics brew already no need to speed up the process.

Fwiw cheers

Meant to say Cultured biologix not lotus and I hear they are working towards getting organic certified. Fwiw.

KanaGirl · Apr 23, 2022

Prescribed.Burn said:
I ran a bunch of organic dry amendments in coco and had the best results with pridelands from greengro. Did a side x side with 4 companies and they did the best. I've ran iguana juice and had killer success. I'd like to try lotus as they claim naturally sourced but i have a feeling my memory is telling me they were expensive and probably never be organic.

The best certified organics I've ran in hydro and coco was a Canadian company ez-gro. You can't run iguana in a rez but ezgro does ok. What I love about it is its a 3 part. One bottle for each N,P and K. Gives total control to the grower. I dial the potassium back in coco. I used them before they had organic labeling and now they have over the last few years got the whole 3 bottle system certified. You can buy them on Amazon. The name is nature's nectar. No bloom or grow just the 3 bottles and mixing instructions per phase.. They also make a great product call organa-add among others. Certified organic it's a 2-0-0. It's a micronutrient product. That's the best organic line I've found for a rez and I've been looking for a minute, ok few decades lol.

Age old does good but not certified.

Currently I'm sampling Foop organic in a rez but won't comment until I have spent more time experimenting w it.

Also side note have had good luck with organic dry amendments and then using a weak salt mix in the rez.

Don't use any bubbler or aerator just a tank flow pump. Organics brew already no need to speed up the process.

Fwiw cheers

Any update on the FOOP? I've been eyeing this line and wondering how it would do in coco and/or hydroponic type setups. AND... have you changed your opinion on the best organic nute line to use with coco?

I'm wanting to do a bottom feed type grow next (similar to hempy or swick), but still want to use organics. My thoughts are to amend my starting medium like I did with the geoflora grow to get the plants thru their first 4 weeks. Then I will need to start feeding in the res with an organic liquid nute line. I would not be doing any top dressings - as that will be incompatible with the hempy/swick method I'll be using.

Would love your thoughts ;)

Prescribed.Burn · Apr 30, 2022

My testing had pridelands ahead of geoflora for amendments in coco. As far as foop it's good but needs to be fed when mixed, doesn't keep in a rez for more than half a day seems like. Ijuana juice from AN is killer too but same thing doesnt keep in rez for more than a half day.
The company w pridelands is called greengro and they make a killer hybrid line salts/organics. That and the nature's nectar will keep in a rez for maybe 3 days depending on conditions. If you have to go longer between rez changes I would lean towards amending in your organics and using a full salt line in the rez. Personally I blend my nutrients usually, like the happy medium of part salt and part organic. Get flavor more like organics and production more like salts... cheers

SwishaSweet · Apr 30, 2022

I use FOOP and have excellent results with it !

Prescribed.Burn · May 22, 2022

KanaGirl you might also want to try out OrganicsAlive. Supposed to be a stable organic line that doesn't create biofilm. I'll be testing them soon. Looks interesting

Itman · May 22, 2022

Yo

KanaGirl said:
Hey Guys & Gals,
Just wanted to stop by and update this thread with my current grow, just chopped yesterday. I did this grow using coco/perlite/EWC + added mineral kit for coco + geoflora nutes.

This has been my most successful grow yet - fully organic, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching these ladies grow. It was a fairly easy grow, did not do much training, and while I was shooting for water only, I ended up having to supplement a few times with compost teas.

I am planning on continuing this style, with only a few minor changes. Happy growing

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u is good.

Itman · May 22, 2022

Itman said:
Yo

u is good.

Wonder would this work in the tropical outdoors.

Whatisgoingonhere · Nov 12, 2024

Guys this hurts reading I had to sign in to answer.
How can you bash coco like that, its not cocos fault that you are using it entirely wrong.
You want to use organic nutrients. That is organic matter the plant cant do anything with. We need microbes to break that matter down and release the actual nutrients. Has nothing to do with watering frequency, so stick with recommended amount of the manufacturer.
You need to build a living microbiome. Good earth already has this so its working if you just throw in the amendments. Coco not.
Try this:
Coco coir
Perlite
Worm castings
Dry amendments like gaia green
Some product like Great white or compost tea every other week to water with.
No runoff water more like soil, frequency might be a bit higher, water when surface is dry, youll see it easily in coco.
Aim for 6.2-6.6 something in ph ideally adjuster to root zone ph.

Good god.

SouthernWayne · Feb 11, 2025

I know this post is old but I just want to say I've now done two grows in a row using organic coco and got the most fire bud I've ever had. I've been using cream of the crop from fox farm with a ton of worm castings and using fish fertilizer and recharge in veg, top dress at flip with Gaia green all purpose and more castings also using fish fertilizer and coco water tell week three and at week three in 5 gallon pots i do worm castings, one table spoons of gaia green all purpose, 5 tables spoons of Gaia green bloom, 1 table spoon of calcium 99, one table spoon of humic acid, and water with coco water, fish fertilizer, fish shit and dyna grow mag pro. Of course I still add silica through out it's grow and stop at week five. At week seven I top dress with 3 table spoons of worm castings, 3 table spoons of down to earth sea bird guard and 3 table spoons of langbinite while watering with dyna grow mag pro and canna pk 13/14 combined. Water for a week then one more watering with coco water, cana pk and mag pro at week 8 then distilled water tell the end which would be either week 10 or 11. I know it might seem crazy but it's working lol

Why organic nutrients do not work in coco

Why organic nutrients do not work in coco

AmWeedwolf

Observationist

KanaGirl

Observationist

TryingToGrow

KanaGirl

Prescribed.Burn

Prescribed.Burn

KanaGirl

Prescribed.Burn

SwishaSweet

Prescribed.Burn

Itman

Itman

Whatisgoingonhere

SouthernWayne

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