[ballplayer 2]

Hi all looking for some advice about growing veggies in coco. I switched to coco (Atami B'Cuzz) because I simply cannot tolerate the acidity and pH craziness of peat. So I germinated determinate tomatoes and California Wonder Peppers in coco. Currently the peppers seem to be loving life in their six cell tray, I will transplant to 20 oz cups soon. The peppers have been getting fed at 5.7-5.8 pH and 300-340 ppm using GH 3 part. I typically water them 1-2 times per day depending on conditions.

Now for the tomatoes I have a question. I fear I may be underfeeding them. They germinated and started off very well at 300 ppm and 5.7-5.8 pH. I have now transplanted them to 20 oz plastic cups. They are a little lighter green than I would like, and are showing just a tinge of purple on the cotyledon leaves. They are definitely no longer seedlings and are beginning the early veg phase if you will. What would be the correct feeding amount for tomatoes this size? I saw a chart online that suggested tomatoes prefer pH 5.5-6.5 and ppm of 1400-3500. Surely I should not be feeding tomatoes a fertilizer solution of 1400 this early should I. I upped the fertilizer to 600 ppm (3 tsp grow, 2 micro, 1 bloom diluted to 600 ppm) today, watered through to about 20% runoff. Tomatoes are currently under 4 54W HO T5 Veg spectrum, 80 degrees, 40-45% humidity. Any ideas?

Thank you for the interest and help of all viewers and those who reply.

600 ppm sounds right at this stage. Step up the feeding a little at a time until you get to know the plants needs. ph of 6.0 should be right and up to 2.0 EC when they are fully mature bearing fruit, also hybrids need more nutes than heirlooms so if your growing hybrids you can push the nutes up to around 3.0 depending on the strain. Except in seedling stage, tomatoes need more P & K than they do N, this will make them go into a generative fruiting stage. they react to the nutrient change instead of photoperiod change. and keep an eye on your run off ppm the coco will hide nutes.

are you going to post pics of this run?

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[ballplayer 2]

Yes, as long as you are interested I should not have any problem posting pics. Couldn't hurt to learn how to post pics on the site here. Plus, you (as well as other viewers) can help me diagnose my potential plant problems; I'm sure there will be some. This is my first attempt at coco, and I already like it better than Sunshine Mix, Pro-Mix, etc. I hate peat moss.

What do you mean by coco hiding nutrients? Even when watering until substantial runoff each watering?

What do you mean by coco hiding nutrients? Even when watering until substantial runoff each watering?

The coco will build up nutrient levels with every feeding, if not flushed regularly with a low EC solution the nutes build up and cause lockouts, deficiencies and nute burn.
When you fertilize coco, the nutrients are being stored in the fibers on a molecular level due to ionic polarization. So a regular flushing schedule with low EC solution helps the nutrient molecules release from the coco bind to the water molecules and flush out the bottom.

[ballplayer 2]

Ok guys and girls please forgive my newbie-ness here. As I understand it coco tends to take in Nitrogen, Calcium,and Magnesium and give back Potassium and Phosphorus(not sure about Phos., but I thought I read that somewhere on here). I also understand that tomato seedlings tend to prefer a nutrient profile of :

N= 70
P= 50
K= 120
Ca= 150
Mg= 40
S= 56

And more mature tomato plants would prefer a profile of

N= 150
P= 50
K= 200
Ca=160
Mg=50
S= 68

So am I better off going with a solution a bit light on P/K and a bit heavier on N, Ca, Mg taking the coco properties into account? Maybe supplementing my Floraseries values with a light dose of CAL-Mag Plus.

I have a series of questions about flushing the coco. So what could I consider a low EC solution appropriate for flushing? 300-350 ppm? Is flushing to 50% runoff with this low EC solution one time per week adequate?

I have used the Flora Calculator on the GH website to come up with the following values:

7 ml Micro and 10 ml Bloom would yield the following profile:

N= 91
P= 62
K= 106
Ca= 94
Mg= 39
S= 52

Is this acceptably close to a decent value of what tomatoes might need at a young age?

What about the following formulas for more mature tomatoes?

When using 1 ml Grow, 11 Micro, 11 Bloom I get the following values:

N= 150
P= 69
K= 140
Ca=148
Mg=44
S= 59

Or when I input 8 Grow, 10 Micro, and 8 Bloom

N= 179
P= 61
K= 206
Ca= 134
Mg= 42
S= 57

Sorry to muddy up the lively conversation with all the formulas. Please excuse my persistence on this issue, I am just sick of failing and would like to attempt to be as prepared and exact as possible.

I will be more than happy to post pics once I get my tomato back on its feet. Frankly I am a bit embarassed of my results so far. My tomato in the 20 oz plastic cup is looking really yellow-green. The one in the six cell nursery pack is doing a bit better. My peppers are moving along relatively nicely ( Maybe because I have been using the same feed for both tomatoes and peppers. Too weak for tomatoes, just right for peppers?). I guess maybe I could post some pics anyhow, I'll try to get some up time permitting.

Thanks for the interest and help in my thread.

BP