Ase's Perpetual Fun With Coco

skoondawg said:
Hey Ase!

Your girls are looking awesome as usual! That Cherry Bomb is definitely stacking big time :D

I wanted to get some of your wisdom regarding blackstrap molasses. I see you supplement it in flower. I used it last grow in soil and think it turned out good. What are your thoughts on it in coco as you obviously do use it? DO you add it for the sweeter taste? Or to supplement with the calcium and mag it contains?

Keen to hear your thoughts. Got some in my grow room still. Should i use it this round too :P
Click to expand...

I remember reading about blackstrap molasses and that a lot of sweeteners are basically molasses and water and some amino acids or something. I can't remember the details off the top of my head. So yes it acts as a sweetener. I can't say it actually makes the bud taste sweeter but my resin production went way up when I started using it, giving the bud more flavor and making it a little less harsh I suppose.

Every grow I've used it I've seen insane amounts of resin. It was a noticeable difference from not using it. I don't want to buy a bottle of water + molasses when I can just do that myself. I'd have a hard time replicating Floralicious+ or Rapidstart or a lot of other nutrients but I have full faith I can make a molasses + water solution ;).

To answer your question more directly, if you already don't have a bottle of sweetener that you are adding then I would most certainly use it. You can account for the cal/mag in it but I really don't.
 
Thatdude84 said:
Hey ase thanks for all above advice it's been awesome. I have been getting my white widow auto and candy cane auto everyday for the most part but started seeing gnats around my coco. Should I slow down on the water or just not water to run off?
Click to expand...

Coco is meant to be watered everyday but every once and a while I will see something flying around and it doesn't worry me too much. If I see more than a few things flying around then I decrease the amount of water I give them. I would error on the side of dryish for 4-5 days and let the coco dry out a bit (and I'm not saying to let the coco get 100% dry or even close, just dryer than normal). I barely get any runoff (just a little dripping) when I feed my girls. By the time I water them again they are fairly light to lift and ready for more. Every 3 or 4 days I water to get 25-30% runoff just to give them a little extra and "flush" them a bit. If your pots are always heavy maybe backoff a bit. Learning to water and how much they can take based off of lifting really can save you in waste overall. I know the concept is drain to waste but I'd rather waste as little as I can. If water drains out the bottom at all then I know the whole pot got some and all the roots. I'd water everyday but decrease what you are giving them in total amount. Most bugs don't like dry, they can't survive and it stops reproduction and they die or leave.

Suntana is very right that certain bugs can screw a grow quick but certain ones can help as well. I have springtails non stop and they eat dead material in the coco and produce Nitrogen. It seems to really help my plants out. The best grows I've done so far have had them. This grow so far looks pretty good and I have them again. They don't fly though and flying bugs are no bueno for the most part.

Truthfully I have never had a problem with bugs in my coco grows. I did with soil a bit and I used yellow sticky paper and some gnatrol to keep it under control. I'd go with what Suntana said if drying out the area for a few days and seeing if they disappear doesn't work. At some point I'll take a look at your journal as well and see where you are at.
 
Asesino85 said:
Coco is meant to be watered everyday but every once and a while I will see something flying around and it doesn't worry me too much. If I see more than a few things flying around then I decrease the amount of water I give them. I would error on the side of dryish for 4-5 days and let the coco dry out a bit (and I'm not saying to let the coco get 100% dry or even close, just dryer than normal). I barely get any runoff (just a little dripping) when I feed my girls. By the time I water them again they are fairly light to lift and ready for more. Every 3 or 4 days I water to get 25-30% runoff just to give them a little extra and "flush" them a bit. If your pots are always heavy maybe backoff a bit. Learning to water and how much they can take based off of lifting really can save you in waste overall. I know the concept is drain to waste but I'd rather waste as little as I can. If water drains out the bottom at all then I know the whole pot got some and all the roots. I'd water everyday but decrease what you are giving them in total amount. Most bugs don't like dry, they can't survive and it stops reproduction and they die or leave.

Suntana is very right that certain bugs can screw a grow quick but certain ones can help as well. I have springtails non stop and they eat dead material in the coco and produce Nitrogen. It seems to really help my plants out. The best grows I've done so far have had them. This grow so far looks pretty good and I have them again. They don't fly though and flying bugs are no bueno for the most part.

Truthfully I have never had a problem with bugs in my coco grows. I did with soil a bit and I used yellow sticky paper and some gnatrol to keep it under control. I'd go with what Suntana said if drying out the area for a few days and seeing if they disappear doesn't work. At some point I'll take a look at your journal as well and see where you are at.
Click to expand...
Yeah I probably give them too much water bc I get alot of run off so will probably take your advice and not water tonight then give just enough tom for a good little drip. Thanks for the time. I made it to day 80 so hopefully soon I'll be smoking my first grow lol
 
Thatdude84 said:
Yeah I probably give them too much water bc I get alot of run off so will probably take your advice and not water tonight then give just enough tom for a good little drip. Thanks for the time. I made it to day 80 so hopefully soon I'll be smoking my first grow lol
Click to expand...

Yeah! And just a small tip, I looked at the specs of your journal and noticed a 50/50 coco/perlite mix. I'm slowly actually taking perlite out of my grow. It helped in soil but I'm not going to mix in more than 10% if any at all. 50% seems like a lot to me and I'd recommend a little less. You can grow with 50/50 for sure but I feel like it just makes the chances of things going wrong higher. I hope your first smoke turns out great!
 
Asesino85 said:
Yeah! And just a small tip, I looked at the specs of your journal and noticed a 50/50 coco/perlite mix. I'm slowly actually taking perlite out of my grow. It helped in soil but I'm not going to mix in more than 10% if any at all. 50% seems like a lot to me and I'd recommend a little less. You can grow with 50/50 for sure but I feel like it just makes the chances of things going wrong higher. I hope your first smoke turns out great!
Click to expand...
I've never added it. Mostly due to low budget. I water just like you little to no run off. I water everyday in flower and have had no problems.
 
Asesino85 said:
Yeah! And just a small tip, I looked at the specs of your journal and noticed a 50/50 coco/perlite mix. I'm slowly actually taking perlite out of my grow. It helped in soil but I'm not going to mix in more than 10% if any at all. 50% seems like a lot to me and I'd recommend a little less. You can grow with 50/50 for sure but I feel like it just makes the chances of things going wrong higher. I hope your first smoke turns out great!
Click to expand...
Hell yeah that's a good nugget for my next grow. But I have loved coco. I seen where people just use it straight but like you said I'll still add 10%
 
Thatdude84 said:
Alright good that will save a little money
Click to expand...
Also look at the coarseness of the coco. I know over here you can buy finer and coarse blocks but sure the US has got the bags already expanded. Imo the finer coco is better, I got a bit coarser block this round but still good all in all
 
Day 60 Autos - Day 4 Flower Photos

It is a little warm but the plants seem to be doing fine. My temps are getting into the mid 80s but I'm not that worried. They are all drinking a good amount except the gorilla glue. It will finish in 2 weeks so it is slowing down and it looks about the same. I'll start flushing in a week from now. The other girls in the veg tent are doing great though. I'm starting to really enjoy the bud structure of the Headlights and the Cherry Bomb is still a mystery on how those buds will look so it's fun in there right now.

Headlights
IMG_27728.JPG


Cherry Bomb
IMG_27736.JPG


The girls in the flower tent are starting to show they are going to stretch. Lots more fresh green out of the centers. Between Day 5-15 is when they really grow so the next week should be fun to watch. Already starting to look like bushes in there. No issues with any of the photos at all.

Going Counterclockwise - White Castle, Amensiac, Jack Herer and Tangerine Dream.
IMG_276120.JPG
 
Pat999 said:
Cherry gonna have some colas on her for days brother. Is the GG almost finished that it is drinking less?
Click to expand...

Yeah. It was a hard one to anticipate. I didn't realize it was going to finish so fast until I looked it up. Nismo and Canna had theirs go 72 days which is 12 days away and I've read multiple other journals that ended somewhere around there as well. This feed I made for this tent is more heavy on PK so it will enjoy a little boost and then a flush in about a week. Smells so good but not going to get a ton off her. From what I gather that is typical of this auto as well. Can't wait to get some Gorilla Glue Feminized seeds. Autos are so unpredictable and I really don't prefer that.
 
Bro Nismo and Canna's journal is massive to follow. Was along with it but just got too much posting :rofl: that is a short finishing time though, hopefully the quality makes up for lack of quantity. I must still figure that whole NPK situation out. LoL get it, I am properly excited my girl already smells lovely this side. I have been looking at different things to add like FishMix from Biogrow and some molasses too later on. I don't think I would grow any autos
 
pennywise said:
I stopped using perlite in my coco, its really not needed.
Click to expand...
That's what The Cultivator advised also. I have put an inch layer of Perlite on top in case gnats didn't like it but I think the sand method would work better. But - what kind of sand? White beach sand? Yellow builders sand?
 
It was my understanding that gnats and other bugs don't like coco to begin with. That's one of the benefits. I have not had any problems yet. Like ase said a couple bugs flying around isn't anything to worry.
 
Back
Top Bottom