GH nutrients in coir?

When I first switched to coir, everyone was going on and on about cation exchange, and how rinsing would ruin the crop. Also about how runoff PPM and PH meant nothing. The best harvest I ever had i micro managed the feed and what came out.

Just saw a new GH chart saying to flush as often as every 3 feedings. Has consensus changed, and frequent flushing is best? It is listed in notes to right of chart.

https://gh.growgh.com/docs/Feedcharts/GH_FloraSeries-DTW_03216am.pdf

Loc Dog said:

When I first switched to coir, everyone was going on and on about cation exchange, and how rinsing would ruin the crop. Also about how runoff PPM and PH meant nothing. The best harvest I ever had i micro managed the feed and what came out.

Just saw a new GH chart saying to flush as often as every 3 feedings. Has consensus changed, and frequent flushing is best? It is listed in notes to right of chart.

https://gh.growgh.com/docs/Feedcharts/GH_FloraSeries-DTW_03216am.pdf

Click to expand...

You always had to flush the medium with plain pH adjusted water to rinse off the salt build up if using mineral based nutrients. Some coco-nutes are organic so flushing may not be as important as with mineral nutes, so maybe that’s why people get things confused.

I haven’t used GH nutes or other mineral based nutes for a long time but you will end up with salt buildup issues if you don’t flush the medium atleast once a week. Is flushing every fourth day a must like GH recommends, I dunno, but you should flush the medium atleast once a week if you’re using mineral based nutes.


I can’t see how flushing the medium once/two times a week would ruin your crop? Internet is filled with bro-scientists. Just feed them with nutrient solution right after you’ve flushed the medium with plain water and I seriously doubt your plants will notice anything negative.

Better feeds with low EC than plain water, coco is better with some
exchange routinely.

Dropped Cat said:

Better feeds with low EC than plain water, coco is better with some
exchange routinely.

Click to expand...

I chart what goes in and comes out. If off, I adjust PPM or PH to offset. People that talked me into coir (from hydro) said to just feed and ignore runoff.

I don't post about run off, too many weirdos bicker about it.

Seems you have it locked down.

I grow in 16oz cups and the plant is easily put off balance
without regular monitoring.

I buffer with pH down to help regulate uptake.

It’s always good to have little nutes/water come out off the pots, this way you make sure you’ve watered the whole container, but also you can, and prolly will, run into pH problems if you don’t have any run off.
..and with no run off you will get salt build up happening faster.

So water till you see some coming out of the pots and flush the pots atleast once a week, esp. when you’re using mineral nutes. But you want to see some run off watering even if you’re using organic nutes or you might run into pH problems, atleast I did with BioBizz nutes when I thought run off isn’t so important with organics. It is.

Do you aerate your feed, before feeding?? GH says to do so for hydro, which many say coco is, but wondering if that is only for recirculating hydro. I figure it gets a lot of air as solution goes through coco. Just starting 3rd week of first GG4 run in 3 years. Think not using MH light for growth may have caused problem when switching to intense LEDs. Seemed to have lost green color awfully quick. Hope they have enough nutrients and strength for a good result.

Ugh, LED's, don't get me started...

Loc Dog said:

When I first switched to coir, everyone was going on and on about cation exchange, and how rinsing would ruin the crop. Also about how runoff PPM and PH meant nothing. The best harvest I ever had i micro managed the feed and what came out.

Just saw a new GH chart saying to flush as often as every 3 feedings. Has consensus changed, and frequent flushing is best? It is listed in notes to right of chart.

https://gh.growgh.com/docs/Feedcharts/GH_FloraSeries-DTW_03216am.pdf

Click to expand...

i use this sometimes never had a problem with it I’m in coco and I don’t flush every three times that’s for sure

Loc Dog said:

Think not using MH light for growth may have caused problem when switching to intense LEDs. Seemed to have lost green color awfully quick. Hope they have enough nutrients and strength for a good result.

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If your plants have gone pale green/yellowing under COBs/leds you prolly have your plants too close to the lights or you’re running your lights too hot. Calmag will help abit to keep the leaves greener but you still need to have a fair bit of clearance between COBs and your plants or the high intensity photons will fry your plants.

I’m fairly new to COBs/leds and it took a while till I figured why my plants go pale and the leaves feel dry and it was because I had my COBs running abit too hot and I couldn’t raise the light any higher in my cab and tent.


I have a 75w Cree CXB 3590 COB in my veg cab and I can only run it at just over 20 watts when my plant tops are 50cm away from it or my plants start going pale and the leaves to feel dry and crispy. Same in my flowering tent where I have 3 x 75w Cree COBs; I can only use about 85 watts of the maximum 225 watts when my plants are about 60cm away from the lights or I’ll start frying them. The light (photons) from white COBs is that intense.
So if you’re running your COBs (Vero 29s was it?) at 50 watts each, I’d estimate you need to have something like 80 cm of clearance between the plant tops and the COBs.



What I have read is that light intensity (watts) and the distance between COBS/Leds and the plants don’t go hand in hand = you can have higher luminosity at the level of plants/tops when you have the light far enough away from the tops, compared to if you have the lights very close to your plants and running them with less watts.
..So if I have to have 50-60 cm clearance between the COB and the plant at 25 watts I could maybe crank the COB to full 75 watts if I could raise the light to 100cm above the tops because there would be enough air molecules to dissipate some of the energy of the photons before they hit the surface of the leaves.

..English isn’t my first language so I hope you get what I mean.
So you need to dial in your light abit better which can be a bit tricky before you get the hang of it.

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No need for higher feed strength under COB lights compared to HPS/MH, just abit more calmag.
Your plants will bloom just fine if you get your light dialed in better but the leaves will stay fairly pale thru the rest of the grow cause the plant's energy goes into bud production, not so much on fixing the fried leaves.

I will measure tomorrow when lights come on. Must be at least 30 inches, and running 100 per COB. Wish I had a umol meter to set them up. Maybe I could use less electric with same results a little closer.

I think jumping from t5's to LED may have been bad. I usually go 2 weeks of MH before LED.

100 watts at distance of 30 inches (about 75 cm) could be too hot, I think. I’d dial them back to maybe 75 watts or even less for 30 inches. I doubt you have to go under 50 watts at 30 inches but even 75 watts could be too much. I can’t lift my Crees high enough in my tent to get 30-40 inch clearance so I can’t tell you how my plants would behave with 50-75 watts per COB

I’ve read that Vero 29s bleach plants even more easily than CXB3590 Crees, and with my Crees even with 30 watts per COB at about 25 inches (around 60cm) is on the limit. Esp. during the winter when the air is too dry and the leaves look abit shitty already because of that.
.. And I have glass lenses over the COBs which should help defuse the light beams abit so that hot spots won’t harm the plants as easily as with bare COBs.



The leaves on plants start to wilt abit and/or the edges curl under the leaf quite fast (in 5 minutes +) when you turn your light too hot for them. Even 10 watts too much per COB can have a dramatic effect on plants.
Here’s a plant that is abit over the limit but not completely fried by COBs ..and it’s maybe abit low on calmag too:





When you’re just over the limit the plants won’t turn yellow or pale that much yet, but the leaves start looking like the humidity is too low and the air too dry; they start to lose their waxy, shiny look and develop that matte look on them as you can see abit on that photo


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Yea maybe it’s wise to dial white Leds down abit for first few days when you change the lighting from fluoros to COBs/leds cause fluoro light is much, much softer light, not nearly as intense as white COB light.

Makes no sense to leach the coco medium every 3rd watering.

Here's the world's largest tomato hydroponic farm grown in coco coir. Couldn't imagine them leaching the coco medium every 3rd watering.

[YOUTUBEIF]bRyBKWqLzI8[/YOUTUBEIF]

Absolem said:

Makes no sense to leach the coco medium every 3rd watering.

Here's the world's largest tomato hydroponic farm grown in coco coir. Couldn't imagine them leaching the coco medium every 3rd watering.

[YOUTUBEIF]bRyBKWqLzI8[/YOUTUBEIF]

Click to expand...

I would never do it either. I check runoff and adjust new feed accordingly. When I first used coco, people where pontificating that rinse at all would ruin cation exchange, and destroy the crop, which sounded like BS to me. Was just surprised by GH saying to rinse at all.

I feed just until I see a little runoff then I let it re-absorb then I’ll give it a good flushing once a week

GoatCheese said:

You always had to flush the medium with plain pH adjusted water to rinse off the salt build up if using mineral based nutrients. Some coco-nutes are organic so flushing may not be as important as with mineral nutes, so maybe that’s why people get things confused.

I haven’t used GH nutes or other mineral based nutes for a long time but you will end up with salt buildup issues if you don’t flush the medium atleast once a week. Is flushing every fourth day a must like GH recommends, I dunno, but you should flush the medium atleast once a week if you’re using mineral based nutes.


I can’t see how flushing the medium once/two times a week would ruin your crop? Internet is filled with bro-scientists. Just feed them with nutrient solution right after you’ve flushed the medium with plain water and I seriously doubt your plants will notice anything negative.

Click to expand...

flushing&dripping? it definitely makes it easier, especially when you apply a standard recipe for every "crop living cycle", as GH,Canna, Hesi; Bio Nova... suggest. On other hand, considered how fast crops responds to any feeding, i could say that it's possible doing it without any dripping. just... paying attention and being aware of what you're doing.


Then... I 'v honestly found out that some dripping is more than recommended during first flowering stage and middle flowering; especially when we talk about big pots, which are difficult to manage since you cannot exactly understand how deep has gone yours. Got Chease says it good but i'm not sure that two flushing a week could be a good strategy. in this case, you'll be better change your feeding prog, i bet

some empirical observation collected during my free time induced me to state that some kind of strains seem sometimes to take even an advantage by getting a lil drier than usual, so...




all the best

though then that run-off doesn't drip down straight when you feed your pots. it takes its time. sure, if it's not completely dry.

so, feeding 'till it runs off could mean a great shower

B.T. Herb said:

Got Chease says it good but i'm not sure that two flushing a week could be a good strategy. in this case, you'll be better change your feeding prog, i bet

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Actually I didn’t say you have to flush 2 times a week and I’d flush only once a week if I’d be using mineral based nutrients but I haven’t used mineral nutes in over a decade and I’m usually growing in soil, thou I’m trying another small coco grow atm with BioBizz nutes.


..But i definetly would be running pH adjusted water once a week thru the coco if i'd be using mineral nutes



Peace

GoatCheese said:

Actually I didn’t say you have to flush 2 times a week and I’d flush only once a week if I’d be using mineral based nutrients but I haven’t used mineral nutes in over a decade and I’m usually growing in soil, thou I’m trying another small coco grow atm with BioBizz nutes.


..But i definetly would be running pH adjusted water once a week thru the coco if i'd be using mineral nutes



Peace

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I have only been running GG4, in last 6 years, and was told early on that it is a lite feeder, so I do not get excessive buildup (650 PPM Max). After a couple of months of growth and 2 weeks flower, was only 100 PPM high and PH was 5.2 to 5.7. I just lowered 200 PPM and upped to 6.3 for 2 days.

Absolem said:

Makes no sense to leach the coco medium every 3rd watering.

Here's the world's largest tomato hydroponic farm grown in coco coir. Couldn't imagine them leaching the coco medium every 3rd watering.

[YOUTUBEIF]bRyBKWqLzI8[/YOUTUBEIF]

Click to expand...

The guy was stating that they have no bugs in there .

Exactly 3.45 in that video a big bug flys by lol