Irrigation timings for coco top feed - drain to waste

[LionsRoor]

Hey everybody - I would like to get thoughts on irrigation timings for a top drip drain to waste setup. I will be using 2 gallon pots with a little hydroton on the bottom and Botanicare Ready Gro Coco. I will be feeding at the rate of 60 ml per minute (1 gph).

I will be doing frequent, smaller feedings, this round... I'm thinking of starting with 4 x 1 minute feeds for a total of 240 ml per plant per day.... and then upping as necessary (judging runoff, pot weight, and top soil moisture level). Towards the end of the eight week cycle, I could be doing twice that or more?

If anybody out there has experience with this type of top feeding with coco, I would like to learn more from you.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[opt1c]

i find it best to feed till runoff and then allow the medium to dry between feedings; this changes a lot as the plants grow; when they first start off you can go as long as a week without having to feed again depending on your pot size... very easy to overwater when they are first starting out

 

[LionsRoor]

i find it best to feed till runoff and then allow the medium to dry between feedings; this changes a lot as the plants grow; when they first start off you can go as long as a week without having to feed again depending on your pot size... very easy to overwater when they are first starting out

Thanks for your reply! But perhaps you are not following my thinking...

I want to do it a bit differently this time... with more, smaller feedings... running it on the edge of dryness - rather than saturating and then drying - I want to maintain an even moisture level at all times. Runoff will not happen with every feeding. I want to run this coco grow more like an active hydro setup, rather than simply using my drip system with a hand watering mentality.



MoBudz - are you still around, Buddy?

 

[opt1c]

it doesn't matter how much or little u feed as long as you don't overwater before roots are established; the plants will tell you what they want and need... i'd recommend house and garden's drip clean to prevent salt buildup if you wont be flushing or watering till runoff; aside from that you should be fine; check out an old user called pimpjuice.. he did some no runoff/minimal runoff coco grows that were automated as well

 

[*mistress*]

1/5 volume of container, every 2 days...

volume of container is 2 gal, or 2*128...

so...

.2*256=51.2 oz water w/ full strength solution, every 48hrs.

or...

~25 oz water every day.

should be just enough for 'fertigation' tech.

this may be helpful:
Is there a standard water ratio for pot size on a drip system ?
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=149343

enjoy your garden!

 

[Homer Nixon]

Thanks for your reply! But perhaps you are not following my thinking...

I want to do it a bit differently this time... with more, smaller feedings... running it on the edge of dryness - rather than saturating and then drying - I want to maintain an even moisture level at all times. Runoff will not happen with every feeding. I want to run this coco grow more like an active hydro setup, rather than simply using my drip system with a hand watering mentality.



MoBudz - are you still around, Buddy?

I like your style but would suggest one or two things. Be very careful as you run to the edge of dryness. You might not see wilting, but the plants are acting to prevent that (by closing stomata) and may be under stress if there isn't enough moisture in the "coco solution".

Google search the phrase "available water" to get an idea of what I'm referring too.

It is not perfect, but it helps and is being improved upon.

Good luck with all of that. Just yesterday I read a published paper from the Hort. dept. at U of Georgia, on an automated irrigation system for potted plants that uses computer controlled moisture meters and fertigation injectors that kept the plants at a constant level of moisture for the entire grow. You might find this interesting:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...serid=10&md5=24b9c68afd1ddb9c1c1aaaf02fe553ea

Unlike most automated irrigation systems which result in leaching and run-off, our system had little or no wastage of water. The system required little maintenance during the study. Regardless of the time of the day, the system irrigated the plants when the substrate moisture fell below the target level. This irrigation approach can easily be scaled up for use in greenhouses or nurseries, where it would likely result in significant decreases in water use, leaching and run-off. The controller also has potential for use in drought stress studies, since it is possible to control the amount of water available in the substrate (or soil) and thus the level of stress that the plant is exposed to.

Also, it is disadvantageous to have a thick layer of hydroton on the bottom of your cocogro. By doing that you're limiting space for the roots to grow into. see this thread: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=2800996 or this post http://forum.grasscity.com/6346281-post7.html

 

[tokinsmokin]

i find it best to feed till runoff and then allow the medium to dry between feedings; this changes a lot as the plants grow; when they first start off you can go as long as a week without having to feed again depending on your pot size... very easy to overwater when they are first starting out

Listen to this guy! He knows what he's talking about.

You have to establish a good root system as well as a big enough plant in order to have more frequent waterings and to do this you must let the medium dry out a bit so that the roots will reach for the moisture. If you keep your medium too moist your root system will suffer. I've seen so many people on here that just think they need to do what everyone else is doing.

I used to water coco until I got runoff and it worked fine. But I've switched to watering to just saturate my medium with no runoff and I prefer the no runoff.

 

[pray4pistils]

I will be doing frequent, smaller feedings, this round...

Consider that your oxygen replenishment will change depending on how heavily or lightly you dose the root zone. You also want to wash the salts out of the medium. So, perhaps it'd be good to give it a nice conventional soaking once a day and then do your lighter feedings at other times. -just something to consider.

 

[delta9nxs]

hey, lionsroor, i thought this would be a good place for this document.

http://www.iasa.co.za/downloads/sym...at - A farmers perspective - Andrew Olley.pdf

 

[Wait...What?]

1/5 volume of container, every 2 days...

volume of container is 2 gal, or 2*128...

so...

.2*256=51.2 oz water w/ full strength solution, every 48hrs.

or...

~25 oz water every day.

should be just enough for 'fertigation' tech.

this may be helpful:
Is there a standard water ratio for pot size on a drip system ?
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=149343

enjoy your garden!

Will you marry me?

 

[*mistress*]

..............

 

[LionsRoor]

I like your style but would suggest one or two things. Be very careful as you run to the edge of dryness. You might not see wilting, but the plants are acting to prevent that (by closing stomata) and may be under stress if there isn't enough moisture in the "coco solution".

Google search the phrase "available water" to get an idea of what I'm referring too.

It is not perfect, but it helps and is being improved upon.

Good luck with all of that. Just yesterday I read a published paper from the Hort. dept. at U of Georgia, on an automated irrigation system for potted plants that uses computer controlled moisture meters and fertigation injectors that kept the plants at a constant level of moisture for the entire grow. You might find this interesting:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...serid=10&md5=24b9c68afd1ddb9c1c1aaaf02fe553ea


Also, it is disadvantageous to have a thick layer of hydroton on the bottom of your cocogro. By doing that you're limiting space for the roots to grow into. see this thread: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=2800996 or this post http://forum.grasscity.com/6346281-post7.html

Thanks. These links were all a great read! Damn - I'm worried about the hydroton on the bottom now! ...but I think I will be OK. I have used it without incident in the past, but I may go without on future runs. Is shade cloth a viable option to keep the coco from running out the bottom of your pots? Currently, I use the hydroton for drainage (or so I thought) and as a guide for moisture levels at the bottom of the pot (I can see it through the holes on the side of the pots - hydroton changes color as it dries).

I love the idea of actually metering the moisture level... in effect, this is what I will be doing. Here's my thinking. Initially, I will be using 1 dripper per pot - at the rate of 60ml per minute. Judging by moisture levels on top, and the color of the hydroton on the bottom, I will be watering approx 3 x 1:15 minute feedings... in a week the plants get moved to half the density and 2 x 60ml per minute drippers - which I will run from 3 to as many as 10 to 12 times per day in :45 second to 1:30 minute feed cycles - during daylight hours only. I know - kind of crazy sounding - but I have done some tests with this method... and I liked the results. Live and learn!

Thanks again for your input!

 

[LionsRoor]

hey, lionsroor, i thought this would be a good place for this document.

http://www.iasa.co.za/downloads/sym...at - A farmers perspective - Andrew Olley.pdf

Thanks, Delta! Great place to post this one!

 

[LionsRoor]

Thanks for all the wonderful responses! I appreciate the help everybody!

 

[~Shhh~]

very nice room, n some very good links cheers guys. Are you going to document this here LionsRoor?

 

[LionsRoor]

very nice room, n some very good links cheers guys. Are you going to document this here LionsRoor?

Thanks for the props on the room. Yeah - they put some nice links up on this post.

I did not intend for this to be a grow journal. I don't want to be held accountable for something like that! haha But since you asked, here are a few more pics of this zone. Thanks for your interest.

 

[tokinsmokin]

Killer set up looks clean as a hospital, be interesting to see what you find out. Keep us updated.

 

[LionsRoor]

very nice room, n some very good links cheers guys. Are you going to document this here LionsRoor?

Thanks for the props on the room. Yeah - they put some nice links up on this post.

I did not intend for this to be a grow journal. I don't want to be held accountable for something like that! haha But since you asked, here are a few more pics of this zone. Thanks for your interest.

 

[Caravaggio]

Thanks for the props on the room. Yeah - they put some nice links up on this post.

I did not intend for this to be a grow journal. I don't want to be held accountable for something like that! haha But since you asked, here are a few more pics of this zone. Thanks for your interest.

Are you draining INTO that rez or are you feeding FROM that rez?

Great looking setup. Are you flowering with your pots that close together? im curious how often you are feeding.