Problems with coco

[~fvk~]

Ran into the same problems when I first started out in coco with seedlings... Overwatering caused P deficiency and continuing to baby them just poured salt in the wounds. Seedling roots take a lot longer to spike out than clone roots and a lot of people baby their seedlings too much. In my experience, you have to let seedlings somewhat dry out a couple times to keep them healthy... Once they start to catch on, they'll start exploding... That and use smaller containers, I cut beer cups in half for seedlings and clones and other people just use straight up beer cups. Those 2 liters are way too big for the size of your plants...

 

[Mr.Bitti]

Ran into the same problems when I first started out in coco with seedlings... Overwatering caused P deficiency and continuing to baby them just poured salt in the wounds. Seedling roots take a lot longer to spike out than clone roots and a lot of people baby their seedlings too much. In my experience, you have to let seedlings somewhat dry out a couple times to keep them healthy... Once they start to catch on, they'll start exploding... That and use smaller containers, I cut beer cups in half for seedlings and clones and other people just use straight up beer cups. Those 2 liters are way too big for the size of your plants...

thanks man i actually had the overwatering cause them to droop about 3/12. 2 came back after the first dose of nutes. i thought i was overwatering so i let em dry up. about a week later my favorite seedling had a purp spot on a leaf. next day that leaf was starting to purp and die and i fed them that same day and so far no more spots. up untill yesterday i was letting the coco real dry and they were growing well but i guess didnt have enough food. all the plants have plenty of healthy looking roots in the bottom of the containers so i think i can start to water more often.

i thought that same thing after a while that my pots where to big to start in and they were devoted to root growth. but ive done it the same way before putting a sed in a 2 gal pot but with soil. i guess i am a real 1st timer again with this coco way. i think i have a way better idea now of whats going on compared to last week. im gonna let them dry up a bit as long as i see no deficiencies taking off. soon as i see a steadier growth ill start to water more often and feed heavier. thanks again for helping out.

one last thing what is gh 3part nutes?? is it just general hydro flora gro/bloom/micro??

 

[Cannasta]

I've struggled with a lot of the same problems with overwatering, substrate staying moist and weird nute problems that you're describing.

I was having trouble with my first grow in early veg - a lot of similar issues with overwatering. Anyway, after reading about the miracles of "the impossible to overwater coco", I transferred my whole grow into coco and proceeded to have the same problems I was having before. I wasn't watering that often, but the medium just would not dry out and the plants were just miserable.

This is where I think I went wrong: When I was growing in soil, I was using some small orchid pots with big holes in the bottom. The few seedling roots grew straight down and out the bottom, so I posted to a board if this was a problem. I got an overwhelming response telling me to pot it up asap and that the plants need lots of leg room. So.. I did. This was the start of the problems.. little plants in big pots in a humid environment don't suck up the water very quickly. When I transplanted to coco, I used the same big pots I was using in soil, and I left a lot of the sand from my soil grow (another fantastic newbie mistake..). Coco holds a LOT more water than soil, which just perpetuated the problem.

I *still* struggle with keeping these plants happy. They have filled out their pots and I've chopped them down a bit to turn them into moms, but watering them is still a stressor for me.

I started some new freebie seeds straight into 2" wide 4" tall clear plastic pots in coco. These seedings are starting to really fill the pots with roots and despite the fact that I keep the medium a lot wetter than I do the older plants, they don't get the overwatered droop at all. In fact, they barely react at all to getting watered. They also dry out faster so I can feed them more regularly, too.

So.. for me, the moral of the story was user smaller pots and pot up in small increments.

 

[Guest 18340]

Mr.Bitti, the Gh 3 part is three seperate bottles , FloraGro (green), FloraMicro (purple) FloraBloom (pink). Those 3 bottles+tap water is all you'll ever need.

 

[habeeb]

if this is your first grow, do not attempt soil

throw them in some soil, and while growing them in soil, read up on coco. coco is not for beginners as there is no buffer.

good luck with whatever you do

 

[~fvk~]

Mr.Bitti, the Gh 3 part is three seperate bottles , FloraGro (green), FloraMicro (purple) FloraBloom (pink). Those 3 bottles+tap water is all you'll ever need.

Yep. Everyone who's posted nailed the shit. Seems like you're heading in the right direction anyways. Good luck man.

 

[Mr.Bitti]

this aint my first grow, or anywhere close. figured id give coco a try, and am picking up on what i got to do to keep them healthy. they all responded well to the feeding and are showing new growth. some are a little light green but im sure they will darken as the feedings increase. ill try to get those gh nutes this week. do you guys think grow big+molasses would cause any type of problems? this combo has all macro/micro nutrients. the molases is really just for calcium and other micro. thanks again to all who replied.

 

[~fvk~]

I tried using Fox Farm for a short amount of time and it didn't work out that great for me. One, it's partially organic (I THINK, can't remember, so someone can correct me if otherwise), so not all the nutes are taken up immediately. Usually takes about a week for your plants to start feeling it. Two, that shit is straight salty yo...

 

[Mr.Bitti]

I tried using Fox Farm for a short amount of time and it didn't work out that great for me. One, it's partially organic (I THINK, can't remember, so someone can correct me if otherwise), so not all the nutes are taken up immediately. Usually takes about a week for your plants to start feeling it. Two, that shit is straight salty yo...

i took your word and i am going out in a bit to get the gh 3 part kit. i just wanna know how much should i feed them 1st time of each? im thinking half strength gro+micro. let me know what you recommend.

 

[The Wild Eep]

Do yourself a favor:

Step 1: read the sticky "H3ad goes coco"
Step 2: buy only FloraMicro and FloraBloom
Step 3: there is no step 3!

Sorry, lil Apple joke for those in the know. But seriously, give H3ad's method a try and never look back!

6 ml micro/9 ml bloom in veg (half strength for seedlings and rooted clones)
6/9 still up through the first third of flowering
6/12 for a week
0/9 for 2 weeks
plain water for 2-3 weeks and you're done!
(thanks so much Mr. and Mrs. H3ad!!!)

Very simple. If you have hard water, get the FloraMicro Hard Water formula

 

[Guest 18340]

Yes, if you decide to use the Lucas formula, definately read H3ad goes coco.
If you use all three bottles then start half strength.
I keep it simple by using GH s' 3-2-1 veg formula and 1-2-3 flower formula (its on the bottle) at half strength. Infact, half strength seems to be a "sweet spot". I've gone all the way up to full strength, and while it didnt burn my plants, they didnt grow any bigger or faster.
Mind you, even though GH 3part has cal/mag in it, if you use r/o water then you may need to add some cal/mag. I use tap water (200 ppm) and have never ever had a cal/mag issue.
Good luck dude, Evl..

 

[~fvk~]

I haven't used GH Grow but I do use Micro and Bloom and you're gonna want to start out a little bit less than half strength if you go Head. I'd say like 2.5 / 2.5 because your seedlings are still pretty young. You'll notice the difference in probably a day or so because all of the nutes are immediately available to the plant. I think that Head's formula probably has an easier learning curve because you're always using micro nutrients, but either way you can't go wrong. You'll catch on quick and probably never look back. Let us know man.

Oh, and my water is hard as shit. 400 something ppm and if they only get hit with it once a day, they don't trip. Don't bother with the hardwater formula unless you have no means to RO and don't ever want to cart jugs of distilled home. You might not ever have to use RO, but in my experience, using my full on tap more than once a day lead to micro toxicities that I couldn't even find info on... I called it the Flying V, ha...

 

[Mr.Bitti]

I haven't used GH Grow but I do use Micro and Bloom and you're gonna want to start out a little bit less than half strength if you go Head. I'd say like 2.5 / 2.5 because your seedlings are still pretty young. You'll notice the difference in probably a day or so because all of the nutes are immediately available to the plant. I think that Head's formula probably has an easier learning curve because you're always using micro nutrients, but either way you can't go wrong. You'll catch on quick and probably never look back. Let us know man.

Oh, and my water is hard as shit. 400 something ppm and if they only get hit with it once a day, they don't trip. Don't bother with the hardwater formula unless you have no means to RO and don't ever want to cart jugs of distilled home. You might not ever have to use RO, but in my experience, using my full on tap more than once a day lead to micro toxicities that I couldn't even find info on... I called it the Flying V, ha...

thanks alot bro. i just hit about half of my babies with 2.5/2.5. ill post up tomorrow and let you know how they reacted to it.

 

[~fvk~]

Hey man, maybe just a bit less than that. Seriously, you've been using organics. Good shit though, think you're gonna be pretty happy with GH nutes.

And yeah, you'll be feeding everyday in no time if not right off the bat.

Damn, I'm tired... Lol. They should be fine.

 

[Mr.Bitti]

Hey man, maybe just a bit less than that. Seriously, you've been using organics. Good shit though, think you're gonna be pretty happy with GH nutes.

And yeah, you'll be feeding everyday in no time if not right off the bat.

Damn, I'm tired... Lol. They should be fine.

sup bro...well i hit em last night with it and already today i can see improvement on all the ladies i hit. One of them got a slight curl to the leaves but did get greener and didnt burn. im gonna hit that one tonight with 1/4 strength and do a test on one other lady at 1/2 strength again well actually 2.0/2.0. if she takes it well i will feed them again tomorrow with the 2/2. and eventually work my way to 2.5/2.5 again. thanks again fvk, ill try to get some batteries for my camera to post up some lovely ladies. those dan gh nutes got me broke right now lol. peace out bro and thanks again

 

[~fvk~]

Yeah no problem man, glad we were all able to help you out and glad they didn't burn. That's for sure. If they curled down a bit they probably just got a bit too much water or nitrogen, they'll be fine man. Just watch your plants reactions and it'll be all good. Kinda like making love... Lol...

 

[Mr.Bitti]

Yeah no problem man, glad we were all able to help you out and glad they didn't burn. That's for sure. If they curled down a bit they probably just got a bit too much water or nitrogen, they'll be fine man. Just watch your plants reactions and it'll be all good. Kinda like making love... Lol...

lol....oops it slipped . haha none of them curled down so i think the dose was perfect for all but 1 i lowered it a bit and ill build back up to 2.5/2.5 everyday by next week if all goes well. check me out in a few days i should have some pic updates.

 

[Weezard]

Soil vs. pure coco.

Soil vs. pure coco.

IMO, Evl has it down pat! I have done hydro, miracle grow (with dry nutes added and not added), FFOF (with dry nutes and without), ect. I have had every problem in the book. I switched to coco and GH 3 part nutes, and I will NEVER look back!!! Even the lady at the hydro store said if you mess up with GH, you are an idiot. Might think about making the nute switch. Good luck!

Could not agree more!
Did a side by side grow with FFOF soil and was very impressed with the coco.
Coco plants had 3 times the size and health compared to the Foxfarm plants.

Then, I got some very good, custom mixed soil, and some lemon skunk clones from a friend.
Chose 2 cuttings, put one in his top-of-the-line soil and one in coco with Dyna nutes and a li'l Calmag.
Vegged under LEDS then out in the sun to bloom.

The soil is on the right!

It's damn good soil, my friend grows excellent bush with it.
But, the coco puts it to shame.

Aloha,
Weezard