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A few things that I've learned about growing in coco with a drip systm DTW

Hundred Gram Oz

Our Work is Never Over
Veteran
Ok let me chime in with what I've learned about coco. The majority of my growing life was spent growing with organic soil, I used bio bizz nutes with compost teas and it was great, I grew in 12Ltr pots and watered every 2 days, wet-dry cycles..... Now I was happy growing like that but then I started to grow in coco with drippers on strict orders from my very good friend and grow guru Bush Dr, instantly I was hooked, I seen, explosive growth rates, thick white root mass, and most importantly my yields went up 20-25%, etc.

Here's what I was seeing...

4 Weeks Root Growth

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5 Days Growth Comparison Pictures

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Coco is different from soil and it should not be treated like soil, coco is a hydroponic medium (soilless medium), some like to call it 'semi-hydroponic' because it is more forgiving than full hydro. The thing is, you can water coco like you water soil, every day or 2 and you will get soil results but if you water coco a few times per day you will really reap the rewards of hydroponic results in a more stable medium. When dialing the watering schedule it's important to take into consideration the size of pot that your using and the size of your root mass, for example if you pot up some freshly rooted clones into 6.5Ltr pots and start watering them 3x per day you will run into some problems. People like to say that you can't overwater in coco, I agree with them to a certain extent but you can overwater if you give them too much when they don't have a well developed root system, that's why it's important to harden off the roots and let 'em go hunting for nutrients at the beginning, this will help to build the root system. When I pot up a freshly rooted cut I let it have wet-dry cycles for a few days then I slowly up my watering, at the end of week one I'm watering once per day, I aim to be watering 3x per day by the end of week 2. Once the root system is developed it is very very hard to overwater, they will take all you can throw at 'em and ask for more.

I also think it's important to mention that coco doesn't require the same size of a pot compared to soil, I have grown plants at 9.25oz in a 6.5Ltr pot. Less is more, unless your looking trees, don't go over 6.5Ltrs, there really is no need plus if you have a pot that's too big you could run into overwatering problems and possibly root rot. I like to add hydroton at the base of my pots, this assists in drainage, I also add layer of hydroton at the top of the coco to help slow down evaporation. I'd highly advise you to do them 2 things. Stopping evaporation is very important, the process of evaporation removes water from the coco and leaves behind salts which will cause both PH and toxicity problems, macro and micro nutrients will get locked out with the excess salts in the coco. You want to keep coco WET so all excess salts are constantly being soaked and flushed out of the medium.

Once you water 3x per day your plants will start to grow super fast, FAT stalks, branching growing like crazy, it really is fun seeing the explosive growth rate. I feed 3 x per day right up until flower stretch is over then I bang up the waterings to 5x per day, just as the buds switch into swelling mode, the plants react great. You see, when you feed a plant you aren't just giving it fresh nutrients, you are also giving fresh oxygen to the roots, the nutrient solution saturates the medium and pushes out the stale O2, as the solution works its way down the medium it draws in fresh oxygen from the top, this is one of the reasons why I think multi feeding works so well with coco. Your giving your plants access to more fresh oxygen.

Now one of the huge advantages to growing with coco DTW is the fact that you are watering to you get a little run off each time, which goes to a waste tray/rez to be dumped later. That little bit of run off ensures that each and every time you water your plants (3-5x per day) you're also washing away excess salts, salt build up can be a problem in coco and you often have to flush it out to get rid of all the excess salts. Once you get that little bit of waste run-off from each watering you are effectively flushing it out every time you water, this means that you don't have to do a manual flush until the end of flower when you do the 'final flush'. If you don't already use it then I can highly recommend you check out a product from House & Garden called, Drip Clean, I'll not go into the science behind it because all that information is easily accessed on the internet but this product will ensure that excess salts are washed away, Drip Clean attracts salts and other build up, it helps to purge them from your medium, and it also does a great job keeping your drippers clear.

Another thing that I've noticed about growing in Coco DTW with multi feeds per day is that it's much better to feed 'little but often' just like how a bodybuilder or an athlete breaks their daily caloric intake into 6-8 meals a day to keep their metabolism in peak working order. Well from my experience the same applies to plants grown in coco, instead of watering your plants at a high EC/ppm once every few days, break it up into 3-5 smaller strength feeds each day and watch how your plants react but remember to have a developed root system before you use the multi-feeding. Once I start the multi-feeding I like to keep the EC at 1.3/650ppm (that's including 0.4EC tap water), I let the run-off tell me if the plants require more or less feed. If the waste EC rises by a point or 2 then I know they are getting too much so I adjust my EC accordingly and vice versa.

OK I've been babbling too much but if your growing in soil and want to experience something new and IMHO better, then give Coco DTW a whirl, everyone that I've helped convert has never looked back infact their gardens are thriving and they are getting the best yields that they have ever experienced. If you would like any advise post here so we all can share information.

Here's a few more pictures of plants grown in coco with a run to waste drip system...

KarmaTrain - 8 Weeks Harvest
Grown in 6.5Ltr pots

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Tent Shot
54 Days Flower

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Chem D Side Bud
31 Days Flower

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I'd like to give a big thank you to Bush Dr, he is an excellent grower a has lot of experience, without him I'd most likely still be growing in soil. Thank you Bush Dr!


Peace
HGO
 
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Bush Dr

Painting the picture of Dorian Gray
Veteran
Nice one HGO, words from the wise indeed, probably the best advice anyone thinking of trying coco could get :thank you:

Only thing I'd add is that keeping your pH constantly in the right area, 6.1 - 6.2 is better for your plants growth rate than adjusting it around following the instructions on the nutrient bottle as you go from veg to floral growth ..... pH must be correct for coco to function

As a mod you can make this a sticky, please do so ..... perhaps one in the coco and one in the vertical forum ..... this and vertical growing are the path to success IMHO :peacock::peacock:

BD:tiphat:
 
This is great info!!!!! The big factor is pot size. If u water 3+ times I think u really need to have 2 to 3 gallon pots for the best results. With 5 gal smart pots I find that every other day is best, with heavy roots once a day.
 

azad

Buzkashi
Veteran
Great thread mate!! Well detailed explanations of the inner workings.
Thanks mate..stay well and grow strong!!
 

teemu shalanie

WeeDGamE StannisBaratheoN
Veteran
nice thread < good info , I just started doing coco dtw, but I didnt use any hydroton , just str8 coco, next time I try it out ,..can we see what you are doing for a drip system?, I thinking I'am going to make some hydro halo's, or something ,....nice work
TS
 

UnknownProphet

???do?Pu?ou?uU
Veteran
Man I spent over 6k setting up a new room and I purchased everything for a pro DTW system, but I'm just so used to hand watering fresh batches of nutes that I can't seem to setup my DTW system. Also I'm closing in on week 3 so they're not as easily moved around.

I know the benefits of DTW with multiple feedings, I've seen it first hand and the body builder analogy is spot on. I love my coco and soon enough I know I'll set up my DTW so I can actually go out and have a life, and when that happens I know I probably won't go back to hand watering.

BTW you say you feed for X amount of times per day...do you feed at seconds or minutes? I figure around 14-45 secs? I wanted to eventually give them feed 3x per day at 30 secs to 1 min at a time, depending on flow rates.

Anyways great read and I know this will help some out there without a clue about coco or dtw.

PS....YOU CAN DEFINITELY OVER WATER COCO...Head is off his ass for saying you can't. Like you said if the root structure is massive and i consider massive as much if not more roots then coco, then yes you basically can not over water them, but you really still can. Smaller plants are very susceptible to over watering especially directly after an initial transfer without a structure root system.

Just had to throw that in there, because I felt people read what Head said as 100% truth, when they weren't reading between the lines.

Up.
 

Bush Dr

Painting the picture of Dorian Gray
Veteran
Coco is different from soil and it should not be treated like soil, coco is a hydroponic medium, some like to call it 'semi-hydroponic' because it is more forgiving than full hydro. The thing is, you can water coco like you water soil, every day or 2 and you will get soil results but if you water coco a few times per day you will really reap the rewards of hydroponic results in a more stable medium.

I also think it's important to mention that coco doesn't require the same size of a pot compared to soil, I have grown plants at 9.25oz in a 6.5Ltr pot. Less is more, unless your looking trees, don't go over 6.5Ltrs, there really is no need plus if you have a pot that's too big you could run into over watering problems and possibly root rot.
Peace
HGO[/CENTER]

Note watering times and pot size reference ^^^^

This is great info!!!!! The big factor is pot size. If u water 3+ times I think u really need to have 2 to 3 gallon pots for the best results. With 5 gal smart pots I find that every other day is best, with heavy roots once a day.

^^Missed the whole point :wtf:
 
D

DHF

Here we go.....again...so many truths and 1/2 truths with coco cuz NUTHIN`S written in stone when all medium consistencies vary SOOOO much across the board......and yes Bush Dr......

You can most definitely overwater coco as UP brought up with underdeveloped rootzones in smaller plants , and Head and I butted heads about this yrs ago when his thread started , but it all goes back to the consistency and quality control of the medium you purchase and try ta grow with......

The pre-bagged fluffy stuff that most folks use has less problems with compaction and holding water , but I`ve seen many many folks kill plants thinkin they hadta keep waterin their coco plants when in actuality they`d bought the bricks/bales , crumbled em up , hydrated the shit out of em , and had pots full of "coffee grounds" mushy shit that wouldnt dry out nor drain properly so O2 could be replenished in said rootzone from multiple feeds and fall over dead from drowning/choking......now.....

Got growbro`s that run flood and drain tables with 1 gal pots of aerated porous coco like HGO`s preachin , and pull big plants outta little pots , so yes....multiple feeds per day allows the rootzone to compact and bulk up in smaller containers cuz they don`t haveta dry out to send out "feeder" lateral roots and everything they need`s provided with hydroponic "like" feeds.....but....

I ran #5 smartpots fed once a day as an insurance policy from only goin to my setups once a week with dialed environment and had no problems whatsoever fillin the bags with roots and air-pruned to prevent root spinning where all plant energy could be concentrated on foliage and rootmass building till end of stretch , and with a rootball that size the plants had no problem with nutrient uptake , transpiration , and swellage by end of cycle......many ways ta skin a mule.....

And just like HGO says coco is a hydroponic or "semi" hydroponic medium , it`s actually a "soiless" medium that has to brought under certain parameters and made aerated and porous before yas can dial the shit and make bitches explode like HGO does.......

Gotta know a copy of the rules with coco ......but ......I get this every day from folks at many sites how easy coco is to dial with hydroponic like growth tendencies , and .....

I bite my tongue cuz they`re using the expensive pre-bagged/cal/mag charged shit that`s pretty much bulletproof with the knowledge of cation exchange capacity of cal/mag through end of stretch , and then potassium once full fledged bloomage is in force......anyways....

Coco DTW rocks with dripclean and HGO`s pics are proof in da puddin.....but...there are no constants with coco folks.....too many variables with quality control from manufacturers even from pallet to pallet......and for the kicker.....

I`m pretty sure after much collaboration with many experienced old head growers that the pre-bagged shit has been mostly responsible for rootborn insects by providing heated up warehouse stored environment for the eggs and larvae to hatch , proliferate , and all but be at epidemic proportions in all the med card states.....anyways.....that`s another thread......

Sorry fer cloggin yer thread Bro.......I just try ta keep it real...and...

Peace....DHF.....:ying:.....
 
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PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
I totally agree with everything that hundred gram has said. There not one peice of information that is not correct or needs to be changed. good post bro!! K++


However DHF is also 100% correct. its a slippery slope ive been in coco for years... sometimes i seem to "lose" what i was doing and have a bad run... but then its just back to the basics...
 

PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
Note watering times and pot size reference ^^^^



^^Missed the whole point :wtf:


kinda but hes right if your running 5 gal coco its just way to much medium and you will never need that much. Also your roots will take alot longer to take hold and watering to often to soon is forsure death of the plant due to over watering....
 

PuReKnOwLeDgE

Licensed Grower
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I have been considering trying a single pot of coco, I always use canna coco in my soil mix so I have some bags laying around. I was thinking of trying a big pot, because there is no way I am watering 3-5x a day, I would rather water it like I do my soil, every 2-4 days depending on environment and transpiration rate. Poopy remeber when I helped you move those BIG ASS TREES, how often were you watering those things? Any reason why I shouldn't try a large pot for the fun of it? If it gets rough I can just throw it out no prob to the compost pile. Not considering a switch ever but i have never grown in coco and am curious to try. Also poops glad to hear the power outage didn't make it out your way, man I was sweating it yesturday in the storm we had here. I can hear a neighbor down the road who has a generator running, scary shit! I am on day 54 and the last thing I need is a fucking power outage. I am def getting a generator sooner then later.
 
D

DHF

Respect Poopy...and HGO`s my boy and he knows it.....Hell.....his GF told me ta go get my OWN groceries ta make his delicious lasagna last week cuz I sent my GF while bullshittin and hittin bongs......so...

Guess that kinda makes us fam.......in a "Cross da pond" kinda way....:moon:....but....

I think the folks in da UK and Euro locations are havin WAAAAY more luck with coco than my medville growbro`s....

Fuckin salty ass inconsistencies in each bag from bag to bag , pallet to pallet with NO guarantees your gettin the same shit yas bought last time this time.....and then there`s the bug larvae.....

I bought the cheap shit from vgrove.com by the pallet and had it drop-shipped at my buddy`s landscape supply house back when it was cheap....Now they got the same price as botanicare , or damn close....and...none of the dry bales ever tested the same.....ever...

Yas gotta sift out the dust before hydrating/charging to prevent the coffee grounds mushy shit consistently and mix the stringy fibers with chunky perlite and chunks/husks for an excellent porous mix that the perlite will help with moisture retention.....

Anyways....Gotta know a copy of the rules with coco......or....you`ll continue to have issues.......

Peace....DHF....:ying:.....
 

PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
I have been considering trying a single pot of coco, I always use canna coco in my soil mix so I have some bags laying around. I was thinking of trying a big pot, because there is no way I am watering 3-5x a day, I would rather water it like I do my soil, every 2-4 days depending on environment and transpiration rate. Poopy remeber when I helped you move those BIG ASS TREES, how often were you watering those things? Any reason why I shouldn't try a large pot for the fun of it? If it gets rough I can just throw it out no prob to the compost pile. Not considering a switch ever but i have never grown in coco and am curious to try. Also poops glad to hear the power outage didn't make it out your way, man I was sweating it yesturday in the storm we had here. I can hear a neighbor down the road who has a generator running, scary shit! I am on day 54 and the last thing I need is a fucking power outage. I am def getting a generator sooner then later.


Hey man those big plants we moved were in 10 gal pots i watered every other day maybe 2 i think... depending but the thing that i have problems more often then not is salt build up but if your running your premix organics i would love to see it in plain coco....

As for the power outage good to hear you didnt get hit either... a couple of my friends did and i was up north and we lost power at the hotel. The whole way down i was like pls pls pls lol.. Opened the door and heard my a/c running lol yea...

but lighting hit something at my house my tv is fried and i think the cable box may have gotten fooked to or maybe the satellite.

O yea and not to high jack the thread but when them finish up im in need lol get at me.
 

PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
Respect Poopy...and HGO`s my boy and he knows it.....Hell.....his GF told me ta go get my OWN groceries ta make his delicious lasagna last week cuz I sent my GF while bullshittin and hittin bongs......so...

Guess that kinda makes us fam.......in a "Cross da pond" kinda way....:moon:....but....

I think the folks in da UK and Euro locations are havin WAAAAY more luck with coco than my medville growbro`s....

Fuckin salty ass inconsistencies in each bag from bag to bag , pallet to pallet with NO guarantees your gettin the same shit yas bought last time this time.....and then there`s the bug larvae.....

I bought the cheap shit from vgrove.com by the pallet and had it drop-shipped at my buddy`s landscape supply house back when it was cheap....Now they got the same price as botanicare , or damn close....and...none of the dry bales ever tested the same.....ever...

Yas gotta sift out the dust before hydrating/charging to prevent the coffee grounds mushy shit consistently and mix the stringy fibers with chunky perlite and chunks/husks for an excellent porous mix that the perlite will help with moisture retention.....

Anyways....Gotta know a copy of the rules with coco......or....you`ll continue to have issues.......

Peace....DHF....:ying:.....

yea trust me i wish the companies that supplied the coco was consistent. lol..

i think canna has been the most consistent ive used.. I havent had any problems with it having high ec out of the bag that ive noticed. I used to run alot of b cuzz but even that started to get
iffy. I also have mixed and matched but what i found best is strait coco. No perlite chunks or anything of that sort... maybe hydroton on the bottom couple inches but i find even that is not needed.. But i dont water 3 times a day so maybe it would be if i did.
 
kinda but hes right if your running 5 gal coco its just way to much medium and you will never need that much. Also your roots will take alot longer to take hold and watering to often to soon is forsure death of the plant due to over watering....


Exactly I was just further elaborating on the point that the op touched on. A lot of people hear about these 3 to 5 waterings a day and try to do it in 5# or bigger and then it turns to coffee grinds. Most of the multiple waterings with all the roots like the op are in 2 to 3 gal pots.
 
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