Beginner Parent

[Kromatron]

Hey everyone ,

I started my first grow , loving it so far , it's just nice to spend time with the ladies. I picked Plagron's coco coir for the reason it was easy on shipping. I made a (about) 70-30 Coco/Përlite mix and I put "rocks" ( forgot the name ) on the bottom of each 5 gallon pots. I'm growing autoflower Banana Blaze because she can handle lower temps pretty well. I'm using 5 gallon pots because I've read a lot that transplanting isn't the best for an autoflower. I know there is more change to overwater it I guess.

I did a lot of research before beginning , got all the equipment but still waiting for my EC/TDM meter to get some EC and ppm values. All the water going in is PH'ed between 5.8 and 6.0 at the moment , I use nutes from Plagron themself. Recommended dossage from them aswell , although I'm gonna cut down because i'm starting to see white tips on my leaves which I think is of nutrient burnout. (see pics , if anyone can confirm ? )

My biggest issue : When to water. I have a feeling I am overwatering because my ladies look pretty small (stunted) for the age. One looks pretty healthy (but small) and the other one is having some wierd twists on some leaves. The leaves also feel a bit dry , but not paper like. (Twisting could be wind burn. A fan wasn't positioned properly.

I have a feeling only the top (not even) inch gets dry and the ground around the ladies stays pretty wet ( seems like around the roots it stays too wet aswell , maybe not enough air , idk ). I'm wondering if I should let the whole bucket dry out before watering again. I'm also about to drill some holes in the sides for more ventilation. I watered even when only a little bit was dry because of the "you can't overwater coco". I'm starting to think different tho

My light is a spider farmer sf 1000 which is hanging about 20 inch , recommended by the manufacturer. I don't think the issue lies here. Temps are steady between 18-24°C and humidity between 50%-70%.

Uploaded 2 pics of my ladies.

Thanks in advance for any help

Update : I flushed my pots because the PH runoff was soo low ! I've read that I shouldn't be worried about runoff , other say that it is important , so I just did it , runoff now is at 5.8 which should be perfect. My question about this , should I wait for the whole pot to dry out again before feeding nutes again ?

 

[AdaminCO]

You have to feed 1/4 strength, water to runoff everyday with coco. You cannot let it dry out or it’s ruined. You also need to supplement your feed with calmag+.

 

[bluter]

don't worry about run off ph. it means less than nothing.

plants look good. did not notice a cal-mag issue but they are just getting to the point it becomes an essential. it is good to have on hand even if not immediately needed, get some.

are you on tap water ? if you are on tap there may be some hanging about in that. reverse osmosis will pull it out, so make sure to add it in if using RO.

coco will need at least daily watering in flower.

 

[AdaminCO]

plants look good. did not notice a cal-mag issue but they are just getting to the point it becomes an essential. it is good to have on hand even if not immediately needed, get some.

The first plant seemed like her top was light. Small shot (1mL/gal) of calmag+ will get some color back in her.

 

[Kromatron]

Thanks for the fast responses ! Amazing. I indeed had a ph runoff of 5.8 after flushing with 5.8 PH'ed water. I just gave a 1/4th feeding with runoff just now. Now the runoff is 4.8 again Maybe don't pay too much attention to that indeed.

I am using plagrons own nutes : Coco A + B , there is calcium foreseen in these products. You think it is worth to buy a bottle of calmag+ anyhow ?

I use tap water indeed which I Ph down then. I'm thinking maybe I've started feeding a little to early.. I'll keep an eye out the next days. Hopefully the white tips don't get any worse

 

[AdaminCO]

Yeah, like bluter said... runoff doesn’t really tell you much. Maybe if you were checking ppm, but that’s more in regards to flushing.

 

[Kromatron]

Yeah, like bluter said... runoff doesn’t really tell you much. Maybe if you were checking ppm, but that’s more in regards to flushing.

Still waiting on my EC/TDM meter Would be nice to see how much the tap water itself is.

 

[bluter]

The first plant seemed like her top was light. Small shot (1mL/gal) of calmag+ will get some color back in her.

wasn't sure. if he didn't need it now he was gonna later . . .

I am using plagrons own nutes : Coco A + B , there is calcium foreseen in these products. You think it is worth to buy a bottle of calmag+ anyhow ?

definitely. like admin says you at the need now.

I use tap water indeed which I Ph down then.

there are some background minerals in the tap. that has helped keep the need for cal-mag at bay til now

I'm thinking maybe I've started feeding a little to early..

coco has no nutrient value. it is not soil, it is a passive form of hydroponics. feed at every watering. the slightly more technical term is fertigating. fertilizing + irrigating = fertigating.

i don't know what your feed or nutrient schedule is like. the majority of hydroponic bottle nute feed charts put the plants in to an over feed situation. many growers will feed at 1/2 - 1/4 strength. it varies from brand to brand.

 

[AdaminCO]

If your tap has a lot of chloramine in it, I’d recommend purchasing some powder form Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to remove it.

It’s pretty bad here in CO, so I add about 1/4 tsp to my 5gal Jugs to get rid of it.

Water?

I use tap water,the water from my faucet is some of the best in the country. but I don't know how much if any the clorine affect the plants. I do let it age in gallon jugs at least two weeks in hopes that some clorine will evaporate.

www.420magazine.com

 

[Kromatron]

If your tap has a lot of chloramine in it, I’d recommend purchasing some powder form Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to remove it.

It’s pretty bad here in CO, so I add about 1/4 tsp to my 5gal Jugs to get rid of it.

Water?

I use tap water,the water from my faucet is some of the best in the country. but I don't know how much if any the clorine affect the plants. I do let it age in gallon jugs at least two weeks in hopes that some clorine will evaporate.

www.420magazine.com

Good to know , first time I hear about this. Thanks !