sometimes i make funny misstakes.

i was cutting holes in 130 small plastic cups and smoking spliffs before planting those seeds.. now yesterday we realize there was 2 that didnt have holes in the botom - and they have been about 1 week without water - atleast. since to be able to suck from the tray it needs to be able to have holes hehe.. they were alive - a lsdc and a PTK pure from tomhill.. so we got some sturdy genetics here they obviously got sorted out -lets see how they go.

[Xtrakritical]

You potheads have a funny sense of humor!

Just stopping in to say hello friends

Xtra

i `prefeer to refeer to panic inducing f*ckups to that - makes it feel beter it was funny

the funny part is the seedlings were still alive with a healthy root system - even grown like in "soil" style - but obviously they are much smaler

this is our kali mist astroboy moms - our fave phenos of the cross from holygong


around the 2nd of january:








after 23 days


last pics - the kalimist moms before a bit of special treatment. and they have given 30 + clones already,

[muddy waters]

hi bonecarver,

i have a coco problem. maybe.

i'm wondering if you or anyone else has any experience using coco as part of a soilless mix? i live outside of the U.S.-Europe-Australia hydroponics industry's range so I work with strictly raw materials. My mix I've been using for a year or two now consists of basically 1/4 of each of following 4 ingredients: coco, castings, vermiculite, and sand. to this i'll add some bokashi (an organic amendment from anaerobic decomposition of fish wastes and other stuff), some raw bone meal, some dolomite lime, and that's it. nitrogen is supplied via watering with diluted urine, and some comfrey and kelp tea is used during flowering, along with ash water.

i have had decent success with this formula, for instance here's nirvana ppp in 1.5 liter bottles:




however:
i'm working with some clones now, in smaller pots with the same basic mix, and i'm getting obvious signs of deficiency or pH problems: those twisted, leathery leaves, yellowing leaves (with no response to added nitrogen), signs that look like Mg shortage yet no response to watering with epson salts water. so i need a crash course on coco i'm afraid. i use a fairly cheap brand and i wonder if it could be that i didn't wash the coco beforehand to get rid of seasalt? or what about this tendency of coco to lock up magnesium--what causes that exactly? if anyone wants to venture a guess i'd be much obliged

thanks

If you didn't wash the coco before hand then that's almost certainly your problem.
Not all coco contains high levels of sea salts as some coco is grown inland.
But most if not all brands of coco contain high levels of potassium, and should be rinsed before using.
I don't think coco locks up magnesium, it's just without that initial flush, the excess potassium doesn't allow room for any magnesium within the matrix of the coco
or something like that

[gaiusmarius]

Originally Posted by muddy waters

hi bonecarver,

i have a coco problem. maybe.

i'm wondering if you or anyone else has any experience using coco as part of a soilless mix? i live outside of the U.S.-Europe-Australia hydroponics industry's range so I work with strictly raw materials. My mix I've been using for a year or two now consists of basically 1/4 of each of following 4 ingredients: coco, castings, vermiculite, and sand. to this i'll add some bokashi (an organic amendment from anaerobic decomposition of fish wastes and other stuff), some raw bone meal, some dolomite lime, and that's it. nitrogen is supplied via watering with diluted urine, and some comfrey and kelp tea is used during flowering, along with ash water.

i have had decent success with this formula, for instance here's nirvana ppp in 1.5 liter bottles:




however:
i'm working with some clones now, in smaller pots with the same basic mix, and i'm getting obvious signs of deficiency or pH problems: those twisted, leathery leaves, yellowing leaves (with no response to added nitrogen), signs that look like Mg shortage yet no response to watering with epson salts water. so i need a crash course on coco i'm afraid. i use a fairly cheap brand and i wonder if it could be that i didn't wash the coco beforehand to get rid of seasalt? or what about this tendency of coco to lock up magnesium--what causes that exactly? if anyone wants to venture a guess i'd be much obliged

thanks

in coco one of the big rules is if in doubt flush it the f... out, lol. yes a good flush before you start is essential, speciaally with the cheaper brands of coco. i assume you have no ec meter to tell you what level of salt build up you have in your medium. if you do measuring the run off will let you know right away if you have heavy salt build up.

normally speaking after the flush things should get back on track with a normal feeding. as you don't want to flush all the nutrients out and leave nothing for the plant to use.

the other thing is that some strains are more easy going then others. it might be that you need some good cannabis specific flowering nutes hesi coco a+b comes to mind. a bit cheaper then canna and just as good.

using urine is mainly interesting for vegging plants isn't it? lol, this post has brought back the feeding your plants with piss thread on overgrow. man was that a funny and interesting thread.

anyway, i'm no expert at using urine and such, but i do know that epsom salts are a bad idea in coco. maybe thats causing the problem?

good luck sorting it out.

[muddy waters]

guys, much appreciate the info. i still need to read up on the chemistry and art of coco; i'd been able to neglect it previously as i was buying a slightly better grade, musta been pre-rinsed. well... from now on, i'm a soak the funk out of it, alright.

[muddy waters]

sorry gaius, forgot to address your question about urine: i use it interchangeably with fish tank water and i use either throughout the life cycle of the plant, but once flowering has really set in, i'll use less or more diluted. the bone meal (P) and ash water (K) are my flowering ferts.

im with gaius about the flushing - when in doubt flush with ph adjusted water.

yeah - id be carefull with adding any extra salts into coco - id rather give them quelates. urine has a lot of salt in it - might also be part of the trouble.

try buying coco nutes over the net if u can. thats my only tip - and the second is to use only well documented coco. does ur brand have a webpage with extensive informacion?

i use israeli coco for rose growing - its od but it hs found its way here in spain. brand is calle PELE or something. i find it really good. but check up on the analysis of the serious companies. trust only the well known brands, because cocofibre is easy to produce but a bit costy to prepare for best growth condicions. therefore go for the a bit more expensive brands.

second note - spain and israel are two countries that use de salinified seawater in the tap water and it has faily high salt levels. the israelis are doing really interesting hydro experiments. i presumed since we are pretty much in similar areas the israeli coco works very well. even though i still mix my water down about 50% with distilled water. but the israelis are experimenting with quite high ec salty water wit good reults. i think they use in those cases nft since it flushes continuosly.

coco in it self (the good brands) has a low ph around 5.5 to 6 and that is too low for soil growing anyway. might cause problems maybe also in this case.

dificult one muddy

ah check if they have root damage.

peace all