New to coco, have a few questions

[DrDankness]

Hi guys! Im doing my second coco grow (first one was 5 years ago so i dont remember much). Im going to be running Canna coco and Canna nutes all the way through. I want to pop the seeds then put them into solo cups with the coco for a week or 2 then stick them into the grow room (4x4 drip table with 1 gallon pots). I plan on using the Canna Start for the seeds. This should be fine and shouldnt need any extra cal mag or anything? When i ran Canna in my last grow i had 0 deficiencies, but i also used clones and didnt get to finish that run. Ive read as long as Canna nutees are used with the coco there shouldnt be any deficiencies. Ive read online a lot of people say to use like 1/4 - 1/2 nute strength compared to what the bottles say, but again, my last grow i followed the bottles and didnt seem to have any problems. Should i run them diluted or run the ph, ppm and all that that the bottle recommends? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Slicknick909]

Start the nutrients at about 1/4 strength and work up slowly if you see any deficiencies. Remember with growing in Coco they get fed and watered at least once a day until you get a little run off, treat it more like hydroponic than soil, pH to about 5.8-6.0 after mixing your nutrients with your water!

 

[DrDankness]

Thanks for the info! I was planning on feeding max 3-4 times a day once they are like 3-4 weeks into flower. Ill keep the ph locked at 5.8 as well. Should i still use 1/4 nutes when i use the Canna Start on the new seedlings or use what the bottle says? Probably like a week after they go into new cups. Really dont wanna mess up seeds and have to order more :/

 

[Slicknick909]

Thanks for the info! I was planning on feeding max 3-4 times a day once they are like 3-4 weeks into flower. Ill keep the ph locked at 5.8 as well. Should i still use 1/4 nutes when i use the Canna Start on the new seedlings or use what the bottle says? Probably like a week after they go into new cups. Really dont wanna mess up seeds and have to order more :/

I'd start anything at 1/4 strength, seedlings don't need much other than water and light for the first bit of growth. I usually don't give my seedlings anything but Cal mag at half strength until about 17ish days after sprouting.

 

[DrDankness]

Im going to be putting the seeds in coco in a seed tray that goes in a dome. Ill be fine using RO water at 5.8ph for the first week you think? I dont think the canna start is very strong. Just dont wanna start off by having deficiencies.

 

[BedroomFarmer]

Dont put straight water in coco as stated above I use calmag for the first week but you can do a low strength nutrient solution. the plant feeds itself for the first week, maybe two before it needs feed but putting straight water can cause issues. a low dose of nutrients won't be a problem though, make sure to ph.

I've never used canna nutrients but they make stuff specifically for coco so if they offer a solution for seedlings then I'd follow their schedule. you can try running a little less and if you get yellowing up the amount.

Some people do say you need to feed less strength, not in my experience. in flower using megacrop I was at the recommended dose, watering 4x a day. Since canna is made for coco I'd follow close to their schedule then make adjustments from there.

 

[nickeluring]

Start the nutrients at about 1/4 strength and work up slowly if you see any deficiencies. Remember with growing in Coco they get fed and watered at least once a day until you get a little run off, treat it more like hydroponic than soil, pH to about 5.8-6.0 after mixing your nutrients with your water!

What Slicknick said.
Also, water multiple times day also in veg. will give you much better growth. Start at 1/4 strength, and then usually no more than 1/3 is needed. But that also depends on light and temperature and the rest of the environment. If you see yellow/brownish leaf tips you're feeding too much.
Also, from my personal experience it is faster to plant germinated seed straight into the final pot in coco. Not in soil though.

 

[DrDankness]

Thanks so much guys. This is all info i needed. Ive been out of the game a while and dont wanna mess up my first grow back. I was debating going straight to the final pot once the seeds popped. My last grow (2014/15) I ran canna like it said on the bottle and had great success with no burning. But i think i will be feeding more this time as ive read its super important to feed multiple times a day so the salts get flushed out. Im assuming this is why its good to run partial strength on nutes, because they get fed more often? How many times a day in veg would you say to feed? Ill probably veg for like 3-4 weeks. Was going to start at once a day but do you guys think i should start at 2 times a day then move to 3 around week 2 ish? Than start 4 times a day around week 2-3 of flower?

 

[nickeluring]

How many times a day in veg would you say to feed?

Veg. or flower doesn't matter, watering intervals are the same. My auto irrigation is set to water every 3 hours during light on. When I water manually I water 4 times/day. My lowest priority plants only get fed twice a day.

 

[DrDankness]

Hmmm I thought as the plants needed more nutes and the roots got bigger aka suck up more water, that the they need to be watered more often. So 3x-4x a day would be good from start to finish? I want the coco to stay moist at all times but not wet, correct? You say every 3 hours, but thats feeding 6x a day in veg

 

[nickeluring]

Yes, from start to finish. Coco can't really be overwatered as long as the pot has drainage. It holds 30% air when completely soaked and that's plenty of oxygen for the roots not to drown. Giving a dose of fresh nute solution over the roots every few hours makes the plant grow much faster. But you need to be careful the first week. During this week it is possible to drown a seedling in coco.
Also, skip the perlite if you ever considered it. It doesn't do anything good in coco.

 

[DrDankness]

Ok awesome. Ill go super light on nutes the first week and feed them like probably 1-2 times a day. And yea i dont like perlite in coco, especially since Canna coco is like silk. I worked for Curaleaf for a while and its hilarious all the things they did wrong in coco. Like perlite,. feeding once a day, letting pots go completely dry all the time, etc. Trying to not make these mistakes haha.

 

[nickeluring]

I made all those very same mistakes when I started to grow. You're doing it the smart way

 

[DrDankness]

Im trying haha. Its taken me a while to get my room setup and buy everything, so id hate to mess up this crop and have to spend more money and time waiting on more seeds.

 

[BedroomFarmer]

Idk, for me that's asking for fungus gnats.

In early veg ill water once a day and as they veg you can ramp up to more frequent watering. I prefer to let the coco start to dry out a little before I do multi waterings. This tells me the roots are mostly set in the container. The coco never dries out though. Watering this way gives me the hydroponic growth that coco is famous for. Coco can be over watered but it's very hard, seedlings are susceptible though

Either way a seedling doesnt need to be watered 4 times a day, If your medium stays too moist it's a recipe for problems but that just me and everyone has there own way that works for them. Two things that come to mind are possible root rot issues and possible fugas gnat issues.

For me I absolutely needed to water full strength. A lot depends on genetics, let the plant tell you what it wants. I was watering 4 times daily and I would get deficiency if I dropped lower. Even for veg I was at full schedule strength so if you see deficiency dont be scared to give more



Either way coco is forgiving and your gonna love it

 

[Slicknick909]

I use air pot knock offs, watered this plant 6times a day in flower with MC at 8gm/gal, some plants are heavy eaters, had another plant (grew 3 strains at once) in the same grow that I couldn't give more than 4gm/gal of MC once a day without it getting droopy and getting the typical burnt tips.

 

[SOG001]

My last three grows were with canna A&B nutrients done with the hard water feed chart on Cannas web site
here is a picture just before a 3 lb harvest plants were fed once a day with 20% runoff

 

[DrDankness]

Damn! Looks greats guys. I am running a strain called Purple Bud from White Label. Its essentially Afghani x (Hindu Kush x Purple Kush) so im thinking being Afghani itll take nutes like a champ.

 

[DrDankness]

I use air pot knock offs, watered this plant 6times a day in flower with MC at 8gm/gal, some plants are heavy eaters, had another plant (grew 3 strains at once) in the same grow that I couldn't give more than 4gm/gal of MC once a day without it getting droopy and getting the typical burnt tips.

Im probably gonna run airpots next time. Had a buddy grow autos in soil in them and ranted and raved about them. I suspect they are amazing with coco and drip feed.

 

[Slicknick909]

Im probably gonna run airpots next time. Had a buddy grow autos in soil in them and ranted and raved about them. I suspect they are amazing with coco and drip feed.

Just don't get the 5gal version like I did, way too much room for coco, my tent was stuffed to the gills with 3 plants in a 4x4, I need to order some of the 3gal ones!