[FONT="]Hello,[/FONT]
[FONT="]After hundreds of hours of reading this forum and several attempts I still cannot seem to get the transplanting/pre-charging of coco right. The plants shoot up 3-4 weeks after transplant so I assume that I don't prepare the coco correct, they suffer from lockouts/deficiencies for a while and after the buffer is filled they recover.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Last time I actually used Canna so I have no excuse I know most people suffer from salt toxicities from fresh coco but I believe I "undercharged it". I always put the coir in a bin with holes on the bottom I check the run off of the solution I run through it. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This last Canna had very good EC levels of 0.6 EC and I poured a balanced solution of Micro/bloom, Silica, Epson and Nitric acid. EC 1.2-1.3 with starting tap water EC of 0.4 (about 170-190 ppm carbonates, 60ppm Ca, 10ppm Mg). pH of 5.8-6. [/FONT]
[FONT="]I only ran enough to get the run off to 0.8-0.9 ... Quite stupid. The plants look pale and weak.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I also must say that after I moisten the coco I squeeze every bit of moisture I can and put it in 4-6l fabric pots trying not to pack it down too much. I also try to water slowly. VPD is relatively good although unstable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]My questions:[/FONT]
[FONT="]1. I am considering the idea that perhaps by just running the solution through the media I am not charging it well enough. Do you think a thorough soak for some time and then wringing it out and using it will be better?[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. In this connection, and this might be a dumb question, but does the speed of watering influence the amount of cation exchange that takes place? In other words, does cation exchange need some time to occur or does it happen immediately as you are flushing the coir?[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. I know bagged Canna is supposed to be buffered but is it worth increasing the Ca and Mg in the nutes for the initial prep just to be sure?[/FONT]
[FONT="]4. How much do you tamp down the coco around the rootball when transplanting?[/FONT]
[FONT="]5. I notice the pH of the solution stays very stable if the rez is covered but increases if it is not. Is it safe to assume that this means it will also gradually increase in the root zone or is it that the coir chemistry might influence it in all sorts of ways?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks for your time
[/FONT]
[FONT="]After hundreds of hours of reading this forum and several attempts I still cannot seem to get the transplanting/pre-charging of coco right. The plants shoot up 3-4 weeks after transplant so I assume that I don't prepare the coco correct, they suffer from lockouts/deficiencies for a while and after the buffer is filled they recover.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Last time I actually used Canna so I have no excuse I know most people suffer from salt toxicities from fresh coco but I believe I "undercharged it". I always put the coir in a bin with holes on the bottom I check the run off of the solution I run through it. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This last Canna had very good EC levels of 0.6 EC and I poured a balanced solution of Micro/bloom, Silica, Epson and Nitric acid. EC 1.2-1.3 with starting tap water EC of 0.4 (about 170-190 ppm carbonates, 60ppm Ca, 10ppm Mg). pH of 5.8-6. [/FONT]
[FONT="]I only ran enough to get the run off to 0.8-0.9 ... Quite stupid. The plants look pale and weak.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I also must say that after I moisten the coco I squeeze every bit of moisture I can and put it in 4-6l fabric pots trying not to pack it down too much. I also try to water slowly. VPD is relatively good although unstable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]My questions:[/FONT]
[FONT="]1. I am considering the idea that perhaps by just running the solution through the media I am not charging it well enough. Do you think a thorough soak for some time and then wringing it out and using it will be better?[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. In this connection, and this might be a dumb question, but does the speed of watering influence the amount of cation exchange that takes place? In other words, does cation exchange need some time to occur or does it happen immediately as you are flushing the coir?[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. I know bagged Canna is supposed to be buffered but is it worth increasing the Ca and Mg in the nutes for the initial prep just to be sure?[/FONT]
[FONT="]4. How much do you tamp down the coco around the rootball when transplanting?[/FONT]
[FONT="]5. I notice the pH of the solution stays very stable if the rez is covered but increases if it is not. Is it safe to assume that this means it will also gradually increase in the root zone or is it that the coir chemistry might influence it in all sorts of ways?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks for your time
[/FONT]