[Jesco]

Hi All,

I will be starting my first indoor grow soon.

(35 years experience growing outdoors - 0 years experience with indoors

I think I am well sorted in most aspects apart from the nutrient side of things. I have pretty much settled on using Nutrifield as they seem to have a good rep and are easily available to me. I already have bags of their coco perlite anyway, so I figure it might be simpler to stick with the brand.

I have spent hours here reading various threads on the topic and frankly, I'm more confused now than before. You could fill a book with all the various inconsistent regional terms and abbreviations for the same things, which makes learning anything difficult.

And Nutrifield's own site doesn't help either, it's hard to tell what you really need because everything is written up like you need all their products... which is obviously not the case.

So, I'd like to ask a few basic questions here on nutrients and what I should use.

- Firstly, I still don't understand what 'EC' refers to, can anyone please explain this to me?

- I've seen many comments about variations in nutrient strength being dependant on strain? This I simply don't understand at all as I've never encountered this growing outdoors... help please!

- Measuring PH - do we measure the nutrient mix and/or the coco perlite mix itself?

I understand that silica an additive is important - and why - so will get some of that.

But do I use their Coco A&B, or Elements A&B, or...? They have 13 different products.

Can somebody set me straight on what is necessary and what is optional? I assume I just need Coco A&B as the basic nute... but not sure.

Any help here most appreciated!

[Goldust]

Hey Jesco

EC = Electrical conductivity
https://www.hydroponics.com.au/how-do...-conductivity/

Ph i just measure the nutrient mix myself

yeah you dont need every product they sell
but if using coco use Coco A&B

[Jesco]

Originally Posted by Goldust

Hey Jesco

EC = Electrical conductivity
https://www.hydroponics.com.au/how-do...-conductivity/

Ph i just measure the nutrient mix myself

yeah you dont need every product they sell
but if using coco use Coco A&B

Thanks for that Goldust old mate I thought that might be the case but needed confirmation. Trying real hard to make my first grow a good one with the least amount of mistakes!

[Rondon]

All you need is the coco a&b. And its cheaper and has more goodies than Canna..Atami...Cocotek...House and Garden...and most.of the rest. They came out with a bunch of reformulated (new names amd fancy labels too) additives that are all like the rest and dont do much if your growroom and varieties arw dialed in. Ive used them....not much than the base nute alone...like all the rest. But for the price...the base nutes are damn good. It has silica and kelp already in it.

[sunnyside]

Jesco...give me a private message. I can help

[ozzieAI]

good luck with your grow...i remember my first time indoors...

maxibloom all the way for me...one powder...can be used in most mediums...amended soil for me...have used in coco with great results

main thing that helped me is that never let salt based nutrients dry up in the medium...if it does then salt forms...bad jojo...coco water a few times a day...drain to waste is my preference...but reticulated works just fine...just a bit more fiddly...

using hps or leds?

[Rondon]

Iam almost positive most coco coir growers are completely overwatering and overfeeding thier crops with too big of pots. The ideal (and Canna backs me up on this) is to water/feed until runoff (about 10 - 20% is PLENTY for accumulated salt flush out) and NOT feed again until the palnt or the environment has made the pot 40 to 60 % lighter than it was saturated ( field capacity). Then water again until the 10 - 20 % runoff. Canna calls it a " water gift" and its based on square meter of plant canopy...regardless of plant count which doesnt mean much if your count is in proportion to the canopy managment. Alot.of growers might be suprised that you cant muti daily feed (with runoff) maintaining that high metabolism where they drink (or environment takes it) 40 to 60 % per day. Smaller pot is your answer. Canna is in agreement basically and so are the pro veggie greenhouses. Of course they use fancy high tech moisture sensors and depending on crop steerage techniques and greenhouse climate that day they might let crop substrate medium go from field capacity all the way up to 70% (almost completley dry but not wilting -thus "steering" the crop into fruiting). But with most hobbyist (and your not using slabs or an immovable trellis)....the simple pot lift method can tell you all you need to know. Of and if you have fungus gnats and cant seem to get a good control on them. ...its likely you are watering/ feeding WAY too much. Sure once roots in final pot are heavily established its hard as hell to overwater coco coir...but it still isnt ideal. And its wasteful. Again....i can almost guarantee ALOT of coco coir growers are using too big a final pot...and hammer thier pots daily - soaking the coco coir to field capacity daily...and thats not how ya do it....at all. If in any doubt....visit or read up on the big greenhouse veggie growers methods...they might have moisture sensors and fancy dosatrons and huge stock tanks....but that doesnt matter. We would do wise in the hobby industry to employ and adapt what the big greenhouses are doing these days.

[Snapsy]

In addition to that nutrifield has PK heavy, which is great in blooming. Very similar to canna's PK 13/14. I have all the above ferts for an outdoor pot based coco grow and they work absolutely brilliant. I've also got some crystalic, bud burst and some root enhancer but they are superflurious to a basic healthy grow.

[Snapsy]

Originally Posted by Snapsy

In addition to that nutrifield has PK heavy, which is great in blooming. Very similar to canna's PK 13/14. I have all the above ferts for an outdoor pot based coco grow and they work absolutely brilliant. I've also got some crystalic, bud burst and some root enhancer but they are superflurious to a basic healthy grow.

Sorry the quote didn't work, when I said 'in addition too' I meant coco a & b the primary ferts.