Watering in COCO

[DankemsHunter]

Okay so I just transplanted from SOLO cups to 1 gallon pots, and will eventually move those into 3 gallon smart pots. I gave them some initial light feed, and its been about 3 days. The media is still wet, not saturated. Should I wait until the media starts to dry out, or should I be hitting it with some fresh nutes and oxygen at this point? Then should I be watering every day or wait until the media dries out again?

Thanks for your help

 

[resinryder]

You don't want it dry. Keep it moist. You can feed it every watering. It will drain itself with no problem and the plant will use whats left behind. Don't let it dry out completely as that will cause root damage..

 

[Meison]

I had some kandy kush (4) lemon skunk (3) in 500ml cups, then into 1GAL smart pots and then the kandy kush went to 2 GAL smart pots.

Never let it dry, resinryder couldn't say it beter, always keep it moist! I feed em everyday, they are on top of my e&f table, and I hand water it every time lights go on!

 

[DankemsHunter]

Okay so I did a little expierement...
The picture below is 12 days from rooted clone.
I am using mills, calmag, and roots excelulator. I gave them their initial water after transplant, and let them go almost completely dry. Then I watered again and did the same thing, let them almost dry out. After the second time of me doing this, roots were exploding through the holes in the bottom of the cups. I watered them every day after their second dry cycle. This is what I am going to do after every transplant from now on..

 

[ShortStackz]

With anything besides maybe straight hydro roots seem to always explode with a not bone dry but "dry" period. I found that coco should be flushed every week or 2 to prevent nute build up. Just water by feel or when the first inch starts feeling dry. Those are some nice roots tho.

 

[Stond_Face]

Those ARE nice roots man... I'd say, what ever you are doing...keep doing it.

 

[xxPeacePipexx]

If I cant smell the Coco it is dry and troublesome as noted . I can always smell wet coco from a mile away after all the years of using it and I never let it dry out as others noted .

Only time I have had to break the rule was when using odd bricks or bails that were predominantly fine in texture . Perlite is my nemesis when it comes to coco lol

 

[DankemsHunter]

If I cant smell the Coco it is dry and troublesome as noted . I can always smell wet coco from a mile away after all the years of using it and I never let it dry out as others noted .

Only time I have had to break the rule was when using odd bricks or bails that were predominantly fine in texture . Perlite is my nemesis when it comes to coco lol

It sounds like youve got plenty of experience with coco. This is my first rodeo. Ive read countless threads of people saying dont let coco dry out or youll start seeing weird deficiencies. But my roots on those were super weak compared to my dryer ones.

 

[xxPeacePipexx]

It sounds like youve got plenty of experience with coco. This is my first rodeo. Ive read countless threads of people saying dont let coco dry out or youll start seeing weird deficiencies. But my roots on those were super weak compared to my dryer ones.

Yes Coco is my all time favorite soiless media and I have tried them all . Coco can retain more moisture than most other soiless media and often when it appears dry the roots are still uptaking the remnants of moisture . The real damage come from long term or extreme dry spells .

Calcium and phosphorous deficiencies are what are most predominant in my grow when this happens along with magnesium issues . The odd thing that many people note and do not understand is the osmosis that takes place when coco has a mineral buildup and dries out . This is when it really gets sour .

Have fun - enjoy the coco and watch them explode once you dial it all in . I find the only other method indoors that rivals coco is Deep Water Culture , but even then I keep up with my mentor who runs a DWC garden for the most part .. Sometimes I win though if one of the ladies we are growing does not like wet feet .

 

[DankemsHunter]

Yes Coco is my all time favorite soiless media and I have tried them all . Coco can retain more moisture than most other soiless media and often when it appears dry the roots are still uptaking the remnants of moisture . The real damage come from long term or extreme dry spells .

Calcium and phosphorous deficiencies are what are most predominant in my grow when this happens along with magnesium issues . The odd thing that many people note and do not understand is the osmosis that takes place when coco has a mineral buildup and dries out . This is when it really gets sour .

Have fun - enjoy the coco and watch them explode once you dial it all in . I find the only other method indoors that rivals coco is Deep Water Culture , but even then I keep up with my mentor who runs a DWC garden for the most part .. Sometimes I win though if one of the ladies we are growing does not like wet feet .

That's what I'm saying. I don't let it get real dry more than one or two times after transplant. Just let my roots search. And then after that I let it get semi dry (to the point where it is a little lighter and I can feel a difference from when I initially watered it.) I like to checks he drain holes in bottom of pot too. If it still looks saturated or super wet, I skip that pot .

 

[admiralcornport]

just check the weight if you can by picking up the pots/cups/ etc after a while you'll know when its too wet or dry by feel.

I do the same as you did, not watering everyday when they are little. You'll know when they want more water.

 

[bastar]

try to put trichoderma in your coco , is aswome