Coco Virgin Needs Advice

WaterFarmFan · Aug 30, 2009

As my name suggests, I am a hydro guy. The wife is making me downsize - So I am moving from a 16 sq/ft 1K closet to a 6 sq/ft 400 closet.

I have been reading about coco for a long time and I want to give it a shot in my smaller space to maximize quality and yield. I plan to automate the grow with drip timer setup, but I will be hand watering in the beginning.

I currently have 9 plants (local Indica bagseed) that are about 30 days from seed growing in soil/perlite in plastic cups. I am planning to transfer to larger pots and coco in the next week. I have ordered Female Seeds Black Widow and Iced Grapefruit for the next batch, but I wanted to do a test run with coco first.

I have been feeding them a modified Lucas GH formula. I will continue will Head's recipe once I transplant to Coco.

So here are my questions:

1.) I was planning on using Canna CoCo as the primary medium. Should I consider B’Cuzz, CocoGro or something else?

2.) I was also planning on adding some Perlite with the coco. What are the advantages and disadvantages? What perlite ratio do you recommend?

3.) I am hoping for 4 females and 2-3 oz per plant. Would 1 gallon pots work, or should I use 2 gallon?

4.) Can anyone point me to a really good automated drip tutorial?

5.) Any other tips and suggestions?

Thanks.

WFF

Work2much · Aug 30, 2009

Canna Coco is my coco of choice and it's as good as it gets for coco. I'm a believer in flushing ALL brands of coco prior to use to make 100% sure you're growing medium is perfect. I've found Canna to be 7.0-7.2 PH out of the bag, a little high. Flush using R.O./distilled at 5.8 PH and the end product will end up damn near the perfect medium.

I don't mix my coco with perlite, and I haven't tried so I don't know the plus minus's/ Check this excellent thread by mr. bojangles for a good comparision.

http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=108257&highlight=bojangles

I can tell you I put a one to two inch layer of perlite in the bottom of my coco pots and my passive residual rez coco pots. I believe it can get pretty soggy in the bottom of the coco so I like to air it out a bit and let the large bottom roots breath more with the perlite.

Check out Pico's last coco grow.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=62659

Good luck.

Guest 18340 · Aug 30, 2009

Canna, b'cuzz, Botanicare, GH, all good brands. Stick with the name brands and you won't have any problems. (Yes I know some guys use pet store coco and have no problems but my grows are worth too much for me to cheap out and take a gamble).
Perlite, (hydroton too) can be amended but imo coco is best used straight up.
If you flower right from rooted clone, close to zero veg time, 1 gallon pots work. You could porbably get away with alittle veg time though, since coco seems to hold a bigger root mass before being root bound.
Check out dongle69's 6000watt thread, those are small pots, and she's going even smaller now.
I use 1.7 gallon rose (Bato) buckets. I veg until they're 10" tall.
Are you looking to do drip to waste?

Here's a tip, when you first put your cuttings into coco, water sparingly to encourage the roots to grow deep into the coco.
And make sure you have alot of drainage in whatever pots you use. I drill extra holes in mine. And I line the bottom with Hydroton.
Peace...Evl

WaterFarmFan · Aug 31, 2009

Thanks for the replys.

Work - Thanks for those links. I will be doing a thorough soak of the coco with ph adjusted prior to transplanting. I am still up in the air about using perlite - I need to do a little more research.

Evl - Thanks for the comments. I am thinking about using 2 gallon buckets that drip to waste to a tray. The tray will dump to a reservoir below. The plants will be top feed by a seperate res. that pumps from below.

What size holes do you recommend drilling for coco?

Thanks.

WFF

Guest 18340 · Aug 31, 2009

I drill 1/4" holes. You can go a tiny bit bigger but the hydroton might fall out.
Your drip set up sound about right.
I checked out some of your grows, curious as to why you're switching from the 'farms to coco? I had a 'farm system but temps prevented me from getting the most outta them.

WaterFarmFan · Aug 31, 2009

I totally love my Waterfarm system. It was highly modified to recirculate and produced some huge plants. While my hydro gear is safely stored, I needed to downsize with the footprint (2x3x8) of my current room. I can place the reservoirs on the floor with the plants on shelves directly above, but the farms require gravity to be on the same level.

I figured it would give the chance to experiment with something new. I have heard lots of great stuff about coco. So, I am giving it a shot.

WFF

CuZZn BooBerry · Aug 31, 2009

I use bcuzz coco straight from the bag(no rinse) and have never had any problems. Just my 2cents...gl bro

jackiee · Aug 31, 2009

i use canna coco nothing added no perlite or hydroton etc ph 5.8. start on a low ec .6 and slowly build up to 1.6 at the most sorry cant help you with drip system as i hand water

WaterFarmFan · Sep 10, 2009

Thanks for the advise everyone. I am going to transplant to 2 gallon pots over the weekend using pure Canna Coco. I started out with 9 plants. Here they are two weeks ago:

I ended up culling 4 males. I have 2 confirmed females, and 3 probable females. Here are a few shots from today:

I have my setup in place, but I am currently using Fluros. I have ordered a 400 watt switchable ballast to go with my existing Silver Star hood and fans. I will replace and start flowering once it arrives.

I will be hand watering for the first week or so, but I will be running an automated drip system with separate drain to waste rez.

What is the best drip mechanism to deliver nutrients evenly to the top of the coco? My water farm had a nice circular ring with holes.

Thanks!

WFF

Guest 18340 · Sep 11, 2009

Coco tends to act like a sponge in that if you slowly pour water in one spot it will be soaked up everywhere in the pot. Most folks just use an open end tube. You could always put more than one tube per pot.

WaterFarmFan · Sep 23, 2009

I finally transplanted my three girls today. I went with pure Canna Coco with about two inches of hydroton on the bottom in 2 gallon pots. I presoaked the coco with full strength nutrients.

Here are a couple of pics:

The coco is moist but not overly wet. How often should I water initially? Should I let it dry out some before watering agian or start watering once a day?

I will be letting the plants get settled and then I will start training for a scrog. I will be putting in a 400 watt switchable ballast with my Silver Star by the end of the week.

WFF

bdomina · Sep 23, 2009

subscribed. good luck

WaterFarmFan · Sep 26, 2009

The plants are doing great in their new coco homes, but the coco has not dried out much in the last 2 1/2 days. Since I presoaked my coco with nutrients, how long should I wait to water for the first time? I want the roots to spread out in the pots.

Thanks.

WFF

bonecarver_OG · Sep 26, 2009

with pre-soaking u mean u watered the coco with nute solution before the transplant?

i think u can from next watering on, start with the nutricion regime.

recently transplanted, the plants DO benefit from having a bit of a rest between the waterings, so that the roots grow out and fill up the medium as quick as possible.

remember the explosive root growth is in the exact moment the plant think it needs to start looking for water

so atleast during the first week it is an idea not to over-water

good luck

WaterFarmFan · Sep 26, 2009

Hey Bonecarver. Thanks for the advice.

Before I transplanted, I dumped the coco in a large bin and added 5 gallons of ph balanced full strength nutrients. It was really soupy. I let it sit for about an hour and then I scooped it out of the bin by hand and put it in the pots.

WFF

Lazyman · Sep 26, 2009

Good job on the pretreat WFF< you may need some additional Cal mag for those girls, so keep some epsom salts on hand in case you see any rust spots on the lower fan leaves.

I would wait until the pots are pretty dry, and if it's only 1 girl that starts to wilt give her a little water and let the others go without, they will all perform well! After you see roots coming out the bottom of your pot you can water as often as you want, once mine are established I water my 2 gallon smartpots every day. Large plants (3' tall) need water multiple times per day.

Oh, and check out the main growers forum for a thread on Tropf Blumat auto-watering, best thing since HID lights!

daihashi · Sep 26, 2009

WaterFarmFan said:
The plants are doing great in their new coco homes, but the coco has not dried out much in the last 2 1/2 days. Since I presoaked my coco with nutrients, how long should I wait to water for the first time? I want the roots to spread out in the pots.

Thanks.

WFF

Transplants aside.... Coco is very easy to tell when to water next if you are not doing daily watering. I water every other day, sometimes 2 days. The way I know when it's time to water is a few things.

1. Some of the coco on the top soil will drastically change color (couple of grain clumps here and there turning a light light brown).

2. The top coco soil will be loose and not so wet. When you pick it up (about a big pinch worth of coco) and sprinkle it back down to the pot it should fall loosely and not stick together.

3. The weight of the pot. Measure the weight of a fully watered pot. Then measure the weight again when one of the above 2 characteristics appears. If the pot feels considerably lighter then it's time to water again.

I generally don't go more than 2 days without water. Also when dealing with transplants you don't want to water as much for about the first week/ week and a half.

This is just how I do things. I know people here water every day but I don't grow in small containers. This is just my preference. :2cents:

Jamerican63 · Sep 27, 2009

Lazyman said:
Good job on the pretreat WFF< you may need some additional Cal mag for those girls, so keep some epsom salts on hand in case you see any rust spots on the lower fan leaves.

I would wait until the pots are pretty dry, and if it's only 1 girl that starts to wilt give her a little water and let the others go without, they will all perform well! After you see roots coming out the bottom of your pot you can water as often as you want, once mine are established I water my 2 gallon smartpots every day. Large plants (3' tall) need water multiple times per day.

Oh, and check out the main growers forum for a thread on Tropf Blumat auto-watering, best thing since HID lights!

Thanks for the info, what rate per Gal do you apply epson salt>?

Cheers

WaterFarmFan · Sep 27, 2009

I have been giving my plants Epsom salt at 1/4 tsp per gallon since seedlings. They seem to be doing great.

I installed a 400 watt switchable ballast currently with MH in my old Silver Star hood. I bought the materials for my scrog screen and will be building this afternoon.

I will post some photos later.

WFF

jackiee · Sep 27, 2009

i never use epsom salts, i always use calcium and magnesium. im not keen on anything with salt in it.ive read somewhere on this site that coco doesnt like epsom salts.

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Overkill is under-rated.

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