[HqFarms]

Hi everyone and thank you for taking time to look into my thread. I have a small personal grow to keep me smoking on the finest flowers that I can personally grow. I have tried many different methods and always fall back on my first love, coco coir. I know there are many coco threads and only a few great coco threads. My way is very similar to everyone else's. I just want to walk anyone who is interested through my methods, answer any questions you all have, give spot light to my favorite cultivars i hold, and something for me to look back on in the future. Please enjoy, and stay smoked out.

[MoosingAround]

Would you recommend mixing anything (EWC, Alfalfa, blood/bone meal) into your coco if you're feeding synthetic nutes??

Any thoughts on how to maximize Brix instead of Yield?

[HqFarms]

First thing is you need to give your plants exactly what they need. Top much nitrates will lower brix levels. Now fulvic and humic acids will help, so will amino acids. I wouldn't add any kind of blood and bone meal because you need life to break down those things for food and synthetics kill life.

[MoosingAround]

Originally Posted by HqFarms

First thing is you need to give your plants exactly what they need. Top much nitrates will lower brix levels. Now fulvic and humic acids will help, so will amino acids. I wouldn't add any kind of blood and bone meal because you need life to break down those things for food and synthetics kill life.

Have you found ANY amendments / dressings for coco to be useful? My goal is to simplify the nutrient solution; Ideally down to just Maxibloom (+ CaNO / MgSO on RO water).

The MB+Ca nutrient solution would be lacking in Humics, Silica, and Aminos. Soil grows have this solved with slow released amendments, what solutions have coco growers like yourself come to?

Would EWC + Mushroom/Kelp compost + DE (for silica) wash out of the Coco-mix before they do their duty?

Nitrogen fertilizer stimulates soil microbes, which consume organic matter. But these microbes consume more organic matter than what is added to the soil from crop and plant residue. As the volume of organic matter decreases, the soil’s physical structure changes as well, losing its sponge-like ability to hold water, air, and organic nitrogen.

"synthetics kill life" - If we can keep up the organic content so that the microbes don't starve themselves, do synthetics still kill life?

[HqFarms]

Yes it's the salts that kill life. You might as well go the soil route if you want to add things. I'm confused on why you rather use coco. Coco works great to aerate things but not so well, my opinion, as a base for amended mix

[gr866]

Originally Posted by MoosingAround

Would you recommend mixing anything (EWC, Alfalfa, blood/bone meal) into your coco if you're feeding synthetic nutes??

Any thoughts on how to maximize Brix instead of Yield?

I am running coco w/Canna Nute program, but I flush regularly with vermicompost tea. I think it properties help to remove excess salts. No science just observation.
Just saying.

GR

[MoosingAround]

Originally Posted by HqFarms

Yes it's the salts that kill life. You might as well go the soil route if you want to add things. I'm confused on why you rather use coco. Coco works great to aerate things but not so well, my opinion, as a base for amended mix

Coco w/ simple nutes works great, but stopping at a simple 2 part nute leaves out Humates, Mycorrhiza, Silica, chitin, vitamins, growth enhancers like Triacontanol, etc. I'm expecting that coco can be taken further without adding additional liquids to be purchased and measured for each res fillup.

How many bottled products are you using in your regime?
Do you use Mycos / Bennies?

There's a 2015 study saying that while Mycos can survive 40 ppm P and 1.2 EC, they don't create arbuscules (the weblike network) in hydroponic solutions.
Effect of mycorrhiza and the phosphorus content in a nutrient solution on the yield and nutritional status of lettuce grown on various substrates
https://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/elemen...ates_div__.pdf

In our study, the limited effect of AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) on the nutrient uptake
by plants may have stemmed from the low intensity of the formation of arbuscules
(0.25%). The low level of the intensity at which arbuscules are formed
means that there is no exchange of substances between the plant and
the fungus, which is why the nutritional status of plants does not improve.

The study doesn't expand on it, but I assume that the lack of arbuscules has to do with there being no clay for the clay-humus-complex to form, where the ends of the arbuscules opposite the root would attach. If that's the case, what can we mix with coco, and still treat the system as hydroponic?
Maybe adding Vermiculite? EWC?


For adding these, are you saying there's no point amending or dressing, and should only do Teas / store bought liquids?
Alfalfa - Triacontanol
Kelp/Seaweed - B vitamins
Crustaceans - Chitin
EWC/Mushroom - Humus
?? - Silica

Appreciate the discussion,
Moose

[HqFarms]

I don't think there is no point to adding anything like that. I have ran notill for years. My 50 gallon pots were on their 10th or so cycle. I just keep it plain and simple whether it be coco or soil. With coco I keep it super simple with just a two part base, heavy 16 to be exact and nothing else. For me adding any other kind of bottle doesn't improve anything except making my pocket lighter. I used to use osa28 for silica but found it was giving my flowers a different taste and a darker ash. I don't see the need to use bennies or anything like that because I veg for 10- 12 weeks. While the flower room is going the veg room is too. I get massive root systems and obviously plants in that time under 400w mh.

If you are looking for silica look into using aloe.

Coco is much simpler for me because all I use is a base, where with no till I incorporated knf (Korean natural farming) which really complicated my process. Taking care of my plants was the same but the difference was taking the time to make all my ferments and labs

[HqFarms]

I decided to pop all my princess haze by brothers grimm tonight. It is one of their new creations that I've held in my stash. I haven't seen anyone pop anything new but for their re- release of C99 and apollo 11. I'm excited for these babies and have been wanting to get them in some coco for a while now. I'll keep everyone updated. Cheers!

[HqFarms]

So out of eleven beans ten germinated. Out of those ten I am down to eight beside I tossed two because they were runts and not really growing. I'm not afraid to cull any plant. if they don't make my expectations, I trash them quickly.

The germinated seeds were placed in solo cups of tupur. Twice a day before the third set of true leaves, I sprayed the the coco with 6.0ph water. At the same time as the third set of leaves grew, roots started popping out the bottom of the cups sms that's when I start top feeding. I start with 2ml a gallon of heavy 16 grow A&B. After about two feedings I upped the amount to 4ml a gallon. Right now they are happy with just that.