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confusion about watering/feeding frequency (noob)

N

nice fella

Member
First grow here.

So I found out the hard way that I was dramatically overfeeding my plants by feeding them every 12 hours to 10% run off (3 gallon smart pots, elevated on a platform, draining into saucers).

I was told that A) Every time I water I should feed B) You can't over-water in coco C) Coco should never be allowed to dry D) Every time you water you should water until there is 10% run off.

...And yet I'm reading some guys feed their plants 6 times per day in flower. How does that work? Do they not feed until run off? What am I missing here?

Thanks.
 
M

madalasatori

Well-known member
Veteran
For the first week or so of veg you need a wet dry cycle so that the roots get established. Once the roots have started filling the pot you can start to feed once a day, then after a few days add another feed... and on.

If you aim for a little bit of feed to run off each time then that’s a good way of gauging it

Err on the side of caution at the start though - coco can very much be overwatered if a plants roots aren’t established

I’m not sure if that helps, I’m pretty high
 
N

nice fella

Member
madalasatori said:
For the first week or so of veg you need a wet dry cycle so that the roots get established. Once the roots have started filling the pot you can start to feed once a day, then after a few days add another feed... and on.

If you aim for a little bit of feed to run off each time then that’s a good way of gauging it

Err on the side of caution at the start though - coco can very much be overwatered if a plants roots aren’t established

I’m not sure if that helps, I’m pretty high
Click to expand...

I guess, to ask it differently...if I'm "overfeeding" via every 12 hours going to run off...what the hell are these 6 time a day guys doing differently? Extremely weak nutes? Not watering to run off?
 
CannaRed

CannaRed

Cannabinerd
nice fella said:
I guess, to ask it differently...if I'm "overfeeding" via every 12 hours going to run off...what the hell are these 6 time a day guys doing differently? Extremely weak nutes? Not watering to run off?
Click to expand...

Checkout cocoforcannabis. He explains it much better than I but I'll try:
As the coco starts to dry out ( either from evaporation or plant uptake/transpiration) the EC will rise because the salts are still there but now there is less water.
The growers that water up to 6 times a day do this so the EC in the coco stays around the EC of the fertilizer solution, they don't give it time to spike in EC from loss of water. And the small spike that did happen is flushed out the very next time of feeding/watering as long as watered to run off.

So it's not that you fed too high of an ec, it's that by waiting 12 hours the EC spiked because of coco drying.

But like said above, I find that you get better results by starting this after you have well development roots.
 
CannaRed

CannaRed

Cannabinerd
Also if you know it's going to be a long period before watering again you should lower the EC. That way when it spikes from drying out, it won't be as detrimental
 
Fixer

Fixer

Active member
nice fella said:
First grow here.

So I found out the hard way that I was dramatically overfeeding my plants by feeding them every 12 hours to 10% run off (3 gallon smart pots, elevated on a platform, draining into saucers).

I was told that A) Every time I water I should feed B) You can't over-water in coco C) Coco should never be allowed to dry D) Every time you water you should water until there is 10% run off.

...And yet I'm reading some guys feed their plants 6 times per day in flower. How does that work? Do they not feed until run off? What am I missing here?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


I'm feeding plants four time a day until they run off about 10%. I use 4 gal. of Perlite to 50L of coco. From what I understand it's essentially a hydroponic system. You want the coco to remain wet and feed it at a constant EC. I put plants into flower and straight into a four times a day feeding cycle. I build the roots by potting up to five gallon pots a couple of weeks before flower and let the coco dry completely before I water. I'm with CannRed see cannaforcoco. Great explanation.
 
N

nice fella

Member
Thanks. I'm reading the recommended link.

I'll be honest...I thought I could get away with just following a guideline and not properly understanding EC, PPM, etc.

I don't fully even understand what you guys mean when you say maintaining EC. I assume it's in reference to quantity of nutes.

I won't insult you by asking you to explain this to me. I'll read up.
 
CannaRed

CannaRed

Cannabinerd
Ec stands for electrical conductivity. It's a measurement of how well the solution of nutrients and water conducts electricity. the more fertilizer salts the higher the EC.
 
N

nice fella

Member
But salts. people keep talking about salts. That my coco is probably old an shitty therefore I need to get out the salt.

The fuck does salt have to do with this?

Thanks.
 
BigPhil

BigPhil

Active member
Veteran
nice fella said:
But salts. people keep talking about salts. That my coco is probably old an shitty therefore I need to get out the salt.

The fuck does salt have to do with this?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

By salts they mean.... When you feed with nutes and it dries up the nutes solidify leaving behind what looks like salt.

When you crop or repot. The empty used pots will have like a white coating inside. This is the salts they are talking about. Or sometimes it collects on the threading on nute bottles as you use them. Or around the nute bottle caps.
 
budsnblunts

budsnblunts

Well-known member
Veteran
If you are feeding enough til run off I would think salt build up isn't an issue. Try lowering the quantity you feed each 12 hours. I used to give mine about 200 ml every few hours and found they just pumped. Coco receive oxygen through watering. This is why you have heard you can't over water coco. You can fill it with stagnant oxygen deprived water how ever.
 
Fixer

Fixer

Active member
nice fella said:
But salts. people keep talking about salts. That my coco is probably old an shitty therefore I need to get out the salt.

The fuck does salt have to do with this?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


EC is also expressed as PPM parts per million. It's a measurement of how much nutrient is in the water. The more nutrients in the water the more conductive it is. Water without some form of minerals dissolved in it doesn't conduct electricity. You're reading about salts because that's what's used convey the nutrients to the water where they dissolve and provide the plants with what they need to grow. For more see https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=64696
 
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