How to grow in Coco: Feed schedule

Cultivator said:
600ml of feed per day doesn't sound a lot for a 20litre pot but then it depends on plant size too I guess. I try to get 4litres per day through 20litre plants, once they are in flower and 2litres per day in veg when they are established.
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Thanks for the prompt response. I live in a very hot climate and grow throughout the year with no A/C (I manage to keep ambient temperature to 28 celsius max at the hottest time of year). At the height of summer during flowering they get 2 L each which gave at least 20% runoff - maybe because I use a high % of perlite in my coco BTW I use a lot of perlite as I like to bring the PH up to 6.2-6.3 several times during the grow and flower cycle for best uptake of Calcium. I find the plants like a higher PH during the second half of flower and if the substrate is very airy (with perlite), the PH can drift even higher without adverse effects on the plants.

I see what you are saying with the runoff issue - the big change for me is feeding every day. I look forward to posting results and will continue to follow you with interest :thumb:
 
sounds good, im interested to see how you get on.
 
Hi cultivator, I was hoping you could help me but first key me thank you for all the information you have passed on.

Im using 90%coco and 10% perlite, they are in 15 litre pots, I noticed today that I watered about 300 to 400mls of water plus nutes. The water started trickling out and the tray didn't get super full but I made sure I emptied out. How much water will be sufficient without getting root rot or drying out the coco completely? They still in veg and outdoors and in South Africa lol. They about 2 months old.
 
you will only get root rot if the water is warm, above 20c/69f and the pots have sat in the trays of run off for a while. you can't over water coco. You can feed and if theres run off its ok. As I said in a previous comment above the no run off is for pure coco which is hand fed once daily. since you have perlite in the mix you will get some run off and that is fine as long as the plants don't sit in the waste solution. im guessing it was a nutrient mix and not water, then nutes yeah? just the way you've worded the question I want to be sure. Just make sure you feed nutes daily and with the perlite if you can do x2 feeds daily that will be better.
 
Yes and its alot of perlite. Yip with nutes, first watering was water then nutes. From then on only nutes. It did rain tho and it sat in the rain and water was in the tray when I woke up so il say it sat in there for at least 4 or 5 hours, is that bad? The water is cool when I feed them but they get sunlight from around 5am and direct sunlight from around 12 to 5pm,then sun goes down at 7.

I'm using a pool pH tester kit cos of budget, made do with what I have. But I want a pH pen but it's so expensive! Hoping to sort that out soon.

I was watering twice for first 2 days now im watering once in the evening and by next evening it's dry. I did let it dry out for 2 days last week tho!

It's currently in my journal, if you keen to have a look here it is:

PP Bagseed Outdoor Grow Journal - 2018
 
Cultivator said:
normally the its set ups have copper discs that prevent roots growing into pipes. I always use the pro systems with wider pipes for this very reason. id be feeding this twice daily now and watch how fast they grow.. I don't have an answer for not blocking pipes other than keep lifting pots and clearing blockages.
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Thanks. Yeah iv got the cooper disks, well there black now lol. Roots seem to come out past them and find there way into any nook and cranny. I have the pro system with 25mm pipes. I see the alien system uses 32mm so I might try add bigger pipes and a pump next time around. I have them on a feed twice a day now. 2hrs after lights on and 4 hours before lights out. Just another question for you. When the roots have fully come through the net pots into the bucket. How often should I be feeding? I'm assuming the roots that have been exposed in the bucket will dry out if there not getting fed often enough. Would 4 floods a day do it?

Here's some pics from the hydro and some of a soil grow I have running. All germinated and potted at the same time. As you can see I'm still getting the hang of hydro .

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The hydro will take over trust me.. The roots won't dry out as it will remain humid in the pots. anything from 2-4x daily is fine. I would feed 30mins after lights on then 8 hours later in veg. In flower I would feed 3x 30mins after lights on, 4 hours later, then 4 hours after that. for the last 3 weeks you could do 4x feed but isn't necessary in coco.

Just keep an eye on your ec. You will find you will need to top your res up every few days, when tipping up id recommend topping up with nutes or you could make the initial feeds stronger then top up with water. always adjust ph and check daily. Between 5.4-6.0 is perfect for veg and allow it to fluctuate and in flower 5.7-6.2 is perfect. Don't try and keep it at a set number. the plants will benefit from fluctuations.
 
Hi Cultivator
I notice you add mycorrhizae weekly up to week 2 of flower. We don't have great white where I am but I have mycorrhizae which comes in a dry oatmeal-like powder. I put a scoop of it in the hole when repotting and a couple of inches under the soil surface. Should I be adding this weekly? And won't it all collect at the surface as, although the mycorrhizae I have comes in a powdery form, it has the consistency of chopped dried oats and I wouldn't think it would penetrate deep enough if I just added it to my feed...
 
no just mix in your soil as you are doing already. the great white is very fine powder and waters in well but I know what you mean with what you are talking about, I doubt that would be water soluble and probs would water in well. but don't worry about it, just make sure you feed it with mollases or a product like carboload. Soil isn't my strong suit so I don't want to advise too much for fear of making myself look silly but you def won't go wrong adding mycorrhizae and other beneficial bacterias and fungi. try adding Advanced nutrients voodoo juice to compliment the mycorrhizae, its a fantastic product.
 
thanks for the feedback Cultivator. I said "soil" by mistake - I am growing in 60% coca 40% perlite. I have always shied away from the A. N. line as, although I hear good things about their products, they are incredibly expensive here and I have always been happy with GHE. About the molasses - will this create a problem with flies/bugs when used in coco? I give my plants Ripen from GHE and if I don't have any, I use 1 tblsp molasses in a gallon of water for the last 10 days of feed, flush then plain water for a week until harvest. I literally see the buds getting bigger each day after first use of ripen. I am in week 3-4 of growth now. When do you use molasses or carboload (which I cannot get here) and what is the rationale of using a high-carb product during growth (or did I misunderstand and you only use carb products in last couple of weeks of flower?)
 
I use the carbs to feed the bacterial colony in the root zone and I stop giving it at the end of week 4 or 5 of flower. if it goes beyond that I find the bud burns much harsher. I used to use bud candy in flower to give a carb boost but I just find it alters the taste of the bud and makes it burn dirty even with a good flush.
 
Cult, what brand of pH down are you using? I have some Vitalink and it's taking about 100ml per 200l to bring the pH from 6.5 to 5.4. Would that be normal? I never pHd the water before while using ANs "pH perfect" But when I came across this thread i started to add pH down to keep it between 5.4 and 6. Would probably explain some of the deficiency's iv been having
 
I think growth technology is the ph- I use and its really strong. maybe a capful to a 200litre res. some are more diluted than others so its quite possible the ph- youre using is just more diluted. if plants look ok then its all good.
 
Cultivator said:
I think growth technology is the ph- I use and its really strong. maybe a capful to a 200litre res. some are more diluted than others so its quite possible the ph- youre using is just more diluted. if plants look ok then its all good.
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Thanks I'm going to try a bottle of that. Does the actually pH down or what ever is in it affect the plants in anyway?

Here's an update now after they have been getting fed twice a day. They grew faster in the last 2 days than they have since I potted haha I owe you some buds i would prob still be watering them once every few days if I didn't find your thread. I think I'll wait until Saturday to top them and maybe some training. Would you have any tips for this strain? it's Big Buddha Cheese


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Actually one other thing I'm noticing. The EC after I last topped up the res was 1.4 and I brought the pH down to 5.4. I just checked the meter today and the EC is still 1.4 and pH is 5.8. The water level also went down a small bit. The leaves all look healthy so they seem to be taking in the nutrients I'm just not sure why EC hasn't changed
 
Hey guys. I have a fairly dumb question. I've been told and read a lot of things about growing in coco and i really can't find any answer to my question...... I do apologize if i post it here but i tried a bunch of forums and sites. Even in facebook.... I've also read some journals to no avail.

I have a coco + perlite + egg shells + epsom salt medium and i just water them with pH'd water for now. This is my first time growing cannabis so i really need some help.

When to start using the gh trio series??

As mentioned, i've just been pH'd watering them up until now. And here is what she looks like.

Im running on an 18/6 light cycle and thats pretty much it.

Also, im not sure how many day/week old she is? If you have any idea. Please do enlighten me. I think about 1 week old or so???

Lastly. Im poor so i dont have enough money to buy the calmag but i got some good (not great) feedbacks from using eggshells + epsom salt as an alternative. Will probably stick to that since calmag here can be a bit pricey and is really hard to get a hold of.
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Hey so first off thanks for coming to 420 magazine let's Try to get you answers .

My best advice personally is this from your info you provided .

Few things about coco .

One feed everyday try to set a time and figure out how much water food it takes ? Are you using tap water ?

Cal mag here in Canada I get for 20$ cdn a quart.

As far as nutes in coco it holds nothing usually before you planted seed you should make sure you flush a 1/4 charge mix into medium til it's soak then drop seed let dry out and feed again. Sometimes you may have to feed multiple times depending on your environment if this is first time grow I recommend you getting some z7 flying skull . for protection of your. Roots . Look it up safe for soil and hydro . I would take what ever those bottle say to feed at that stage and do 1/4 dose of it . Then cruise for a a week or two and start going up a bit more per week you got a ppm meter and ph meter I assume . Measuring ppm is a key role . Any education in regards to ppm you Know what it is ?

I'd say day one veg now you got a weekday for seedling stage . first set call veg day one must go about 5 -6 weeks veg . But then that comes down to how big space your in too right ? But cal mag coco and led just go to get her I was putting about a mil.25 per gal or 3.79 litres everyday since it was in dirt?
Here try this for a guide .

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I ran out of calmag once and tried a bunch of home-made options. My experience with diy calcium sources- using various types of shells including eggshells and oyster shell, as well as milk, was that the calcium is very efficient at regulating your ph to around 7. Which isn't what you want for coco. The exception was milk, which starts out having that same ph7 effect, but then gets increasingly acidic as it sours and dives down to around 4 after a few days.
Needless to say, my plants which I normally run around 5.6-5.8, were not happy during the diy calmag phase. I broke down and bought a bottle of calmag from the store.
 
A soil mix would be better if you are using eggs and things like that for calcium. You can also use dolomite lime. Its going to be important to keep that pH in check using coco and them nutes. If I was gonna use the CoCo I would invest in some calmag, just my two cents lol...️
 
Actually coco can be used to grow in a soil style, and the eggshell thing and a higher ph would be fine. I kind of managed to forget that some people use it this way. It (calcium from shells) just didn't seem to work out for me growing hydro style.
 
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