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D
dramamine
Hey Justin! 
Just wanted to add that the rhizotonic has been working really well as a foliar spray for cuttings and larger clones, also. My humidity levels have gotten pretty low recently and the rhizotonic spray seems to help maintain nutrient uptake in the younger plants.
Just wanted to add that the rhizotonic has been working really well as a foliar spray for cuttings and larger clones, also. My humidity levels have gotten pretty low recently and the rhizotonic spray seems to help maintain nutrient uptake in the younger plants.
tokinblackguy
Active member
since my previous post, i have tried a few different feeding regimens over the course of vegging, but have since switched to the roots organics "master feeding schedule" for bloom. i alternate between the roots and the GO line for the plants i still have vegging. the GO line seems to encourage denser foliage and tighter node spacing in veg, so my feedings lean more that route. i also top dress per the roots feeding schedule which i asked about in another thread but got no replies, so i played guinea pig.
i have witnessed no problems alternating these lines during veg aside from what appeared to be a Mg deficiency on a couple strains when i wasnt top-dressing in the veg stage. i settled with the roots for bloom only because of the reports i've read of the the GO line not producing dense buds. i have no experience running it to full bloom myself so who knows, and i'm just experimenting here. i know the roots line gave me excellent results and some of my tastiest buds to date and down right respectable yields when i ran their basic feed schedule on my last crop.
to date, i still DO NOT ph my feedings. i just said fuck it, see what happens, these nute lines are supposed to be "ph stable". all i know is, i calibrated my ph meter, never had an ec/ppm meter cause i've always been a dirt farmer. my waters ph out the tap is like 7.3, if i let it set out for 24 hrs, it comes in at 7.15-7.2. after adding my bloom mix, ph comes in at 5.5. i tested runoff once or twice and it's at 6.5. i have no idea what is happening in the root zone as im a total newb to coco, but i would assume sort of buffering/ cation exchange thing is going on and the root zone area is somewhere near 6.0 +/-.
i wish someone else had some experience with this or similar to let me know what all is going on and if this may be detrimental. so far, everything is super healthy with the oldest plants right at 3 weeks bloom. i can say that bud set came in earlier on most strains as compared to my soil grows and i'm feeding everything at the same level, no tailoring feed for different strains. the only leaf loss experienced was from the one blade leaves after the cotylens(sp) and that may have been due to me transplanting too deep and letting those leaves get dosed in nutrient.
if i had my cam, i would document some of this stuff and get some opinions. the final smoke will tell all, as close to all organic in coco as i think you can get so you know im hoping for some tasty morsels.
i have witnessed no problems alternating these lines during veg aside from what appeared to be a Mg deficiency on a couple strains when i wasnt top-dressing in the veg stage. i settled with the roots for bloom only because of the reports i've read of the the GO line not producing dense buds. i have no experience running it to full bloom myself so who knows, and i'm just experimenting here. i know the roots line gave me excellent results and some of my tastiest buds to date and down right respectable yields when i ran their basic feed schedule on my last crop.
to date, i still DO NOT ph my feedings. i just said fuck it, see what happens, these nute lines are supposed to be "ph stable". all i know is, i calibrated my ph meter, never had an ec/ppm meter cause i've always been a dirt farmer. my waters ph out the tap is like 7.3, if i let it set out for 24 hrs, it comes in at 7.15-7.2. after adding my bloom mix, ph comes in at 5.5. i tested runoff once or twice and it's at 6.5. i have no idea what is happening in the root zone as im a total newb to coco, but i would assume sort of buffering/ cation exchange thing is going on and the root zone area is somewhere near 6.0 +/-.
i wish someone else had some experience with this or similar to let me know what all is going on and if this may be detrimental. so far, everything is super healthy with the oldest plants right at 3 weeks bloom. i can say that bud set came in earlier on most strains as compared to my soil grows and i'm feeding everything at the same level, no tailoring feed for different strains. the only leaf loss experienced was from the one blade leaves after the cotylens(sp) and that may have been due to me transplanting too deep and letting those leaves get dosed in nutrient.
if i had my cam, i would document some of this stuff and get some opinions. the final smoke will tell all, as close to all organic in coco as i think you can get so you know im hoping for some tasty morsels.
B
bonecarver_OG
im not familiar with the floranova series, maybe someone else can chime in?
You'll probably have to supplement that with CalMag. Be sure to use the GH supplements.. they do make a big difference. Good luck!
mgk
Was using the GH flora three part myself, not the Nova series, though. Everything was going fairly well. However, I switched to GH powdered Maxi Bloom just because I like to have a little more control over how much I am adding, and it lasts longer/cheaper. Plus my clones took off pretty damn fast, so flipped them to bloom. I started seeing what I think is/was Ca/Mg deficiencies with the flora three part.
The powder drops the PH quite a bit, whereas the three part fluid drops it, but not nearly as much.
I also still get higher run off readings than what I mix my nutes at. I generally mix until the nutes are at a PH of 5.5-5.8, let sit to stabilize, check again, then water. Run off is around 7ph for what ever reason.
Plants are growing and look healthy, so I am not going to worry about it.
The powder drops the PH quite a bit, whereas the three part fluid drops it, but not nearly as much.
I also still get higher run off readings than what I mix my nutes at. I generally mix until the nutes are at a PH of 5.5-5.8, let sit to stabilize, check again, then water. Run off is around 7ph for what ever reason.
Plants are growing and look healthy, so I am not going to worry about it.
never heard sweeter words spoken. that is the truth.
OK - So maybe some calmag to supplement with. I already have the FN grow and bloom so I'll start with that and add some calmag if the ph gets out of balance. I'm trying to keep this stupid simple since I am new at this. I'm using a 50/50 mis of coco and perlite and am hand watering- seeds have just sprouted. Any other supplements to keep on hand? Thanks for the input so far.
Ivan
Ivan
keylime
Member
I am brand new to coco coir. Have been growing DWC with hydroton for a few years.
I just planted my first 7 girls in coco less than a week ago.
My nutes are 3 part GH...at least till I use them up.
My run off is at a PH of 6.0, so I am happy with that.
I am wondering about my PPM. I just checked my nute tank again and it is at about 850 ppm, but my runoff is 1400 ppm. I started the coco without any nutes in it, and I've watered 3 or 4 times since planted. They look great, but why the difference in PPMs?'
keylime
I just planted my first 7 girls in coco less than a week ago.
My nutes are 3 part GH...at least till I use them up.
My run off is at a PH of 6.0, so I am happy with that.
I am wondering about my PPM. I just checked my nute tank again and it is at about 850 ppm, but my runoff is 1400 ppm. I started the coco without any nutes in it, and I've watered 3 or 4 times since planted. They look great, but why the difference in PPMs?'
keylime
D
dramamine
It's almost certain the high ppm are from salts that were already in the coco prior to you using it. A good idea might be to flush your containers with very low ppm/ec solution until you start to get lower readings. Then once that happens, give them a regular feeding so they don't get hungry. I recently got some of the botanicare cocogrow brand coco and when I tested the runoff of a little of it, the ec was at 3.4, or 1700 ppm! This was the hydrated ready-to-use coco, too, not the bricks. I think that this happens a lot, but when watered with a good amount of runoff, negative effects might never be seen, since the ec will start coming down with each feeding. Sort of a slow flush..
But it seems like the safest route would be to accomplish this flush all at once, as long as the plants are established enough to handle full watering. Have you seen any bad signs in the plants at all?
Good luck with them
But it seems like the safest route would be to accomplish this flush all at once, as long as the plants are established enough to handle full watering. Have you seen any bad signs in the plants at all?
Good luck with them
Calmag has nothing to do with pH.. not sure if I followed that or not.. it has to do with the fact that coco has a tendency to cause deficiencies in both Calcium as well as Magnesium.
mgk
70's rock
Member
This might be a stupid question, but does the nutrient uptake in coco vary with pH the same way as it does in hydro culture?
Another thing, last two grows i stopped adjusting pH. It's a bit above 8 from tap and goes down high 6 when ferts are added. Plants are just as healthy, actually yield is bigger. Is this pure luck or what? I read something about certain buffering agents in tapwater that does not exist in ro-water but i can't seem to find the info again.
Another thing, last two grows i stopped adjusting pH. It's a bit above 8 from tap and goes down high 6 when ferts are added. Plants are just as healthy, actually yield is bigger. Is this pure luck or what? I read something about certain buffering agents in tapwater that does not exist in ro-water but i can't seem to find the info again.
buckethead27
New member
New grower for about a year. Switched over to coco from FFOF once I started reading this thread a couple of months ago and then switched over to coco specific nutes 6 weeks ago.
Growing 6-8 auto flowering girls at different ages in 5 L containers in a 2'x3'x6' grow box with a 600 hid. Goal is to have 2 girls come in every 2-3 weeks. Also have a veg box 2'x3'x4' with cfl's and led grow panels.
Using half tap/half RO ppm's 100, half of the nutes Canna suggests...getting ppms up to 600 before adding 50 ppms of cal mag. After flowering starts adding another 50 ppms of PK-13. Adjusting PH to 5.8 after all nutes are added. Allowing at least 20 percent run off.
Does this sound about right? I thought I read somewhere that if you didn't feed full strength Canna nutes that you needed to add Cal Mag?
Thanks to BC and others in advance. I love my new hobby
Growing 6-8 auto flowering girls at different ages in 5 L containers in a 2'x3'x6' grow box with a 600 hid. Goal is to have 2 girls come in every 2-3 weeks. Also have a veg box 2'x3'x4' with cfl's and led grow panels.
Using half tap/half RO ppm's 100, half of the nutes Canna suggests...getting ppms up to 600 before adding 50 ppms of cal mag. After flowering starts adding another 50 ppms of PK-13. Adjusting PH to 5.8 after all nutes are added. Allowing at least 20 percent run off.
Does this sound about right? I thought I read somewhere that if you didn't feed full strength Canna nutes that you needed to add Cal Mag?
Thanks to BC and others in advance. I love my new hobby
Your right about cocos tendency to cause deficiencies in CalMag but I'm quite sure that it has also lots of doing with PH. I'm using sometimes cal/mag to get PH right, if I add CalMag don't need to use PH-. It gets straight 5.8 with my nutrients + tap water.Calmag has nothing to do with pH.. not sure if I followed that or not.. it has to do with the fact that coco has a tendency to cause deficiencies in both Calcium as well as Magnesium.
mgk
I'm also keeping my body pH right with magnesium (different form) because its quite strongly alkaline. Not sure about calcium but I think its acidic.
smoketrichs
Member
so for all you hand watering coco which house & garden nute should I get? the coco A+B or the aqua flakes A+B? Also should I amend the coco with anything? perlite, dolomite lite, ewc? thanks.
Get the Coco A and B as well as their other supplements. You should not need to add any calmag (I don't anyway) as a supplement. I run pure coco with no ammendments.
mgk
Get the Coco A and B as well as their other supplements. You should not need to add any calmag (I don't anyway) as a supplement. I run pure coco with no ammendments.
mgk
Well at least to the part about amendments. J.C.'s first run had 90/10, coco & perlite. Waste of money and time. The coco seems to have enuff air flow that perlite was not needed. Running now with no perlite and see no real difference. Roots still cranking....
buckethead27
New member
MGK, Do you run the Canna A and B up to nuke recommendations on Canna's chart. I've noticed if I do, very little PH adjustment is needed.
JC ...BC uses straight Coco, and you've been such a integral part of this thread, what were you thinking using perlite?
JC ...BC uses straight Coco, and you've been such a integral part of this thread, what were you thinking using perlite?
C
Carl Carlson
The answer to your first question is yes, but the pH of the coco is not really affected by the pH of the water. It's affected by the total alkalinity of the water. And seeing as how the pH of your water goes down from 8 to 6 when slightly acidic fertilizers are added (and your grow shows no ill effects), the water must have low alkalinity. This is good. R.O. water has almost none. I have very good tap water, the pH varies depending on the season, but I never mess with the pH of reservoirs. Only time I would change the water pH would be to soak rockwool cubes.
