Coco Watering: wet, dry, wet or wet wet wet

[PointofNoReturn]

As the title says, i would like to hear about poeples experience with diffrent watering strategys on coco. Most tend to water coco very freqently but some let it dry out abit inbetween.

Whats your preferred method for watering coco and why do you prefer it?

 

[Mitch Connor]

I germinate directly into 16oz party cups under a single t5 and 100w of cfl's. 100% Canna coco. Feed with 1/4 str h3ad 6/9 the first watering @ ph 5.8 until there's runoff. I don't water at all after this until the coco has lost about 80% of its weight when it was first watered. This takes anywhere from 3-7 days depending on environment.

I like letting coco dry out to promote initial root development. I've found my root mass takes hold of the cup faster than waterings of every day from day 1. If there's plenty of initial moister to be had, the roots don't need to go looking for it, thus enabling a smaller root zone.

After I feel it's time to water again, I give enough water so that the cup is heavy, with no runoff. Never had a seed die this way or not germ properly. 50+ seeds germed.

I've found the success in watering relates to how you water. If you fill up your cup of coco/container too fast when the roots haven't established, the coco displaces itself from around the roots and shuffles the roots around too fast/hard. This can lead to shock and stunted growth/damping off.

After I see roots popping out the bottom (multiple roots, not the taproot), I water every day, making sure to NEVER let the coco dry out. Fine root hairs can be killed/damaged if coco is left to dry, not to mention lockouts.

 

[sfzoo]

^never let it dry. is this advice to never let it completely dry? i wait till the top inch or two is dry then water again. is this bad?

 

[buddin_904]

^ yes he gave a very good accurate discription of how you should treat seedlings and clones in coco....then he said once roots are prevalent/established water frequently and never let it get as dry as you let it when it was a seedling/clone

my method is ^ the above and once roots r good....like 2 weeks into flower i switch to cocohydro mode.....where i water multiple times perday, having it dry slightly(suck up water, not literally "dry out", then it gets watered a little, then it dries a little, then last watering of the day will be a run off watering where 20%? will drain out and bye bye
it works for me so? thats how i do it

i took them off my x5 per day watering to clean the res....took me like a week or 2 to get around to cleaning it and i had to handwater again....most i could do wiht my scedule was like x2 max per day....they didnt like it too much....but this was on my hydro'd plant roots.....some people ALWAYS handwater like once or twice a day and get perfectly good results......its your choice.............................

 

[Guest 18340]

For seedlings, I go thru a few wet/dry cycles at first to encourage the root growth. Once they have a good root system (a week) then it's wet/wet.
Whenever I transplant I also use the wet/dry cycle, again to encourage root growth. Once they're well rooted, it's wet/wet.
By wet/wet I mean that I water everyday. However, when the pots are nice and packed with roots the coco gets dry enough to actually need to be watered. I do that by design by using smaller pots than if I were using soil. Plants seem to really take off when the roots are packed into the coco almost to the point of being root bound.

 

[slowandeasy]

For seedlings, I go thru a few wet/dry cycles at first to encourage the root growth. Once they have a good root system (a week) then it's wet/wet.
Whenever I transplant I also use the wet/dry cycle, again to encourage root growth. Once they're well rooted, it's wet/wet.
By wet/wet I mean that I water everyday. However, when the pots are nice and packed with roots the coco gets dry enough to actually need to be watered. I do that by design by using smaller pots than if I were using soil. Plants seem to really take off when the roots are packed into the coco almost to the point of being root bound.

What ppm or EC do you feed your seedlings? What pH do you use?

 

[ShroomDr]

With transplants its a few wet/dry cycles, then wet, wet, wet, wet, dry, wet, wet, wet, wet, dry, wet wet .... flush, flush, flush, dry, dry (close to wilting), harvest. (No reason to load the buds with water just to cut and dry them.)

I mix in a dry period to encourage roots to search for moisture (IMVHO). I use 5Gal buckets, 2 & 3Gal smartpots, and 16oz clear beer cups.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

For seedlings, I go thru a few wet/dry cycles at first to encourage the root growth. Once they have a good root system (a week) then it's wet/wet.
Whenever I transplant I also use the wet/dry cycle, again to encourage root growth. Once they're well rooted, it's wet/wet.
By wet/wet I mean that I water everyday. However, when the pots are nice and packed with roots the coco gets dry enough to actually need to be watered. I do that by design by using smaller pots than if I were using soil. Plants seem to really take off when the roots are packed into the coco almost to the point of being root bound.

This is also the strategy i use.

 

[Guest 18340]

What ppm or EC do you feed your seedlings? What pH do you use?

Not sure of the actual strength (EC/PPM) of my mix but I start my seedling on 1/4 tsp/gal of Maxibloom. Then 1/2 tsp/gal, then 3/4 tsp, etc.
As for ph, I shoot for 6.0 no matter what the strength of my mix. Unless I'm flushing wiht plain tap, then I don't even bother ph'iong the water.

With transplants its a few wet/dry cycles, then wet, wet, wet, wet, dry, wet, wet, wet, wet, dry, wet wet .... flush, flush, flush, dry, dry (close to wilting), harvest. (No reason to load the buds with water just to cut and dry them.)

I mix in a dry period to encourage roots to search for moisture (IMVHO). I use 5Gal buckets, 2 & 3Gal smartpots, and 16oz clear beer cups.

Hell yeah ShroomDr, I also do the two days of no water before chop. Plants dry so much quicker that way.

 

[dunkydunk]

I used to keep the coco wet all the time (after the plants were big enough) but I found running the plants on the drier side eliminated a lot of enviromental issues and the plants did just as well. Now the rh is more stable and I haven't seen a fungus gnat in months.

 

[OCkushKing]

after a fresh trasplant or with younger clones i let the top layer dry out a bit! I use to have an issue with over watering before they were ready, now i let it dry up a bit and the roots spread out, after established, i water till runoff everyday! how big are the pots? if they are too big you might go days before watering! it really depends on rootmass size temps ect.

 

[Strangely]

Mitch, when you say you germ in coco do you mean... seed out of pack straight into the coco or do you do any paper towel / soaking action first?

 

[slowandeasy]

Pre soak 12 hours then straight to Coco, barely under surface. They will be above ground in a day or 2.

 

[Mitch Connor]

Mitch, when you say you germ in coco do you mean... seed out of pack straight into the coco or do you do any paper towel / soaking action first?

Yup, seed straight into coco. For the last 2 years I've germed directly into presoaked coco. Poke a .5 inch deep hole with a pen, drop seed in, then make sure hole is covered/filled with coco. Coco stays wet for 5 days, no chance the seed can die from drying out. It doesn't matter how you place the seed in the hole, the seedling will find its way to the surface. I use a t5/cfl's directly above surface of coco as well, seedlings stay nice and short.

I used to use the paper towel/bag method, but I didn't see the need to keep doing it since I always had to keep checking on moisture levels, making sure I got the taproot out in time, carefully transplanting into hole, all that other crap. For me, dropping a seed in a hole and covering is as easy as it gets, and I've gotten 100% germ on 50+ seeds (mostly Mandala/Serious)

For older seeds/lesser quality ones, the 12-24 hour presoak in a cup of water waiting for the seed to drop to the bottom is a better option IMO.

 

[Strangely]

Cheers Mitch & SlowandEasy. I've read more and more peeps doing what you've both outlined, so think I'll be doing exactly as you're both doing. Simpler the better eh!

 

[guest456mpy]

Yes, Strangely, I agree with Mitch and Slowandeasy and have been sowing directly in coco for the last couple of years as well. I've only lost one seed in all that time !

 

[OCkushKing]

i think when i actually get around to poppin seeds, ill do it directly in coco! Dam i need to get some seeds!

 

[Rootball]

I was pretty confused when starting to water on coco. Most hydro guides talk of watering regularly, daily, but most hand watering advice seemed to point to drying out a lot more.

I'm using a hydro system for mine and so I ran some tests with a number of grows over the years and I consistently got more growth with regular watering than with drying out more.

If you do a lot of reading up on it you'll find just as many supporters of each extreme which leads me to believe that you need to try it in your own situation and see what's best for you.

Regular watering over drying out was obvious for me as on the multiple tests I done I always got a consistent 5-6 inches extra growth on the regular ones over the dried out ones just in the space of 10-14 days.

 

[ShroomDr]

The problem is the fertigation strength is tied to fertigation frequency, making definitive answers impossible.

If you fertigate without letting the medium dry, I have noticed I can actually run a slightly higher EC. When incorporating a dry period the substrate's EC can concentrate (though the plants water usage & environmental evaporation). You must account for the possible concentration (generally with a slightly lower EC). (All of this done with recirculating reservoirs.)

This doesnt mean the plant uses a higher EC when watered more frequently, its just the result of a concentrating EC.




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[jaspmf]

Wet wet wet.