10 Commandments for Growing in Coco

[Leviathan]

1.good coco
2. coco specific food with cal mag, or any other food plus cal mag added
3. ph kit.


i think it really coulndt be any easier, coco will make u the laziest yet best grower u can be...

Delta9 great graph, its really all about the air/water ratio, anybody who hasnt figured this out knows nothing

 

[Jamerican63]

You should check out Rez "The Recipie" you talk about KISS Keep It Simple Stupid

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=81674

 

[delta9nxs]

lazyman, howdy

lazyman, howdy

i just read a study somewhere (can't find it right now, but i will) that dealt with air/water capacities of different size and shape containers. they took cylinders of the same diameter using different heights, all filled with the same medium (i think perlite). all initially retained the same amount of solid water in the form of a perched water table at the bottom. so the taller cylinders had more air pore space proportionally. the taller ones grew successively larger plants.

none of these containers were airpot or basket like but it would seem to me the airpot type would require a very retentive medium (like coco) to avoid drying too fast. the perched water table issue would be non-existent in this type of container.

later

 

[indicapimp]

Is there a rule of thumb for amount of water per day vs # of gallon's of coco per pot? Just trying to get my arms around it? Seems like 3.5 Gallon pot x 7 is taking about 2.5 gallons of water per day? So can I just scale that out to be in the ball park? It seems like they could use about 3 gallons x 7 3.5 gallon pots...what does that work out to little less than 1/2 gallon per day?

 

[*mistress*]

Is there a rule of thumb for amount of water per day vs # of gallon's of coco per pot? Just trying to get my arms around it? Seems like 3.5 Gallon pot x 7 is taking about 2.5 gallons of water per day? So can I just scale that out to be in the ball park? It seems like they could use about 3 gallons x 7 3.5 gallon pots...what does that work out to little less than 1/2 gallon per day?

depends on temps (transpiration rates), & dehumidification realities.

if not demhumidifying, water vapor will build up around leaves. if feed more water + nutes, would increase temps, air circulation & dehumidification. this will permit water to move up & out & away from canopy.

enjoy your garden!

 

[krunchbubble]

there is no rule of thumb on how much to water per day. your room and plants will dictate that.
and there is DEFINETLY NO advantage with disposing coco over other mediums like previously posted. in 1 year in filled 4 20 by 20 planting boxes, and created a coco wall 4' high and about 30' long, its bullsh!t to get rid of.

 

[*mistress*]

........

 

[southpaw]

there is no rule of thumb on how much to water per day. your room and plants will dictate that.
and there is DEFINETLY NO advantage with disposing coco over other mediums like previously posted. in 1 year in filled 4 20 by 20 planting boxes, and created a coco wall 4' high and about 30' long, its bullsh!t to get rid of.

Make a friend with an organic soil grower.

Their worm bins will love you forever.

 

[krunchbubble]

i use shooting powder in my coco so it cant be reused. plus, im not down with reusing medium, to many problems can happen. i like to start with a blank canvas......

 

[p1ninja]

My humble two cents on the watering, I get better growth from ED waterings. I've tried EOD, and my results are not as good. The nutes just aren't available in dry coco, hence less growth. Rez, Head, and Gauis have come to the same conclusion with G actually watering like 3 times ED on a drip system. There seems to be enough air in the root zone in coco with ED waterings for it to grow very well. Maybe air to the roots is not the important factor in coco, maybe the foilage absorbs enough to keep the growth progressing?

Agreed.

It depends on a lot of factors, but I use a recirculating drip feed for my coco, watering twice daily during 12/12 for 15 minutes-- once an hour after the lights have come on and once more 4 hours before they go out so they have time to lose some wetness before going into dark. I strongly agree that nutes aren't being absorbed in dry coco, BUT nonetheless you don't want your coco muddy. Aerate your reservoirs with air stones to add extra oxygen and watch out for signs of overwatering, but 1-2 times daily at most is good.

 

[LJB]

...

 

[L-Immortal]

water less.

ideally every 2-3 days, or when container is lighter & media drier. coco can be saturated w/ water. let your plants get their oxygen!

if watering more than every 2-3 days, would do so as bottom-feed; to bottom 1-2" of container.

let the coco dry out a little & may be surprised @ results.

enjoy your garden!

Go ahead and run tests and I will give you a 10-1 odds that everyday waterings will blow past the "2-3" day watering in coco anyways.IMO you need to water and get fresh oxygen down to the roots everyday but what do I know.

 

[Phips]

I've heard you can reuse coco, but I wouldn't recommend it. I use shooting powder too, so I can not anyway. But even if i didn't, I feel the plants root bound the coco to the point where trying to reuse it will result in numerous broken roots in your medium decomposing in your next grow. It's not worth the work and the threat when you can buy a wheel barrel full for $12.

I agree that coco takes no nutrients, just moisture. I can get muddy with over watering. I run a ebb flow with 4-6 times a day flooding, the coco is great watering from the bottom. The coco can dry out quickly depending on your setup and region, so used to judge it and try to keep it as moist as soil, though it needs a little more attention.

I am coo coo for coco nuggs!

 

[!!!]

I had problems when watering every 3-4 days, like I would with soil (waiting for it to dry).

My plants exploded with growth when I began watering once a day. One day nutes till run off, next day pH adjusted water no run off (or very little), next day nutes till run off again, and so on.

I actually learned this technique from a friend and first-time grower who waters daily. I did that in soil years ago with disastrous results (root rot) and so was weary of overwatering when I began using coco. Learning NOT to use my experience with soil with coco was the first step in optimizing my coco grows.