1st coco grow-having trouble-need help

[CloudyAmberDay]

Was having trouble because of ill prepared coco coir block.

soak block ph 5-6, run water through it, test ppm. make sure you're not putting seedlings in 2.0 ec coco

then buffer it with a little cal-mag/very light solution.

I would just water my seedlings next time till cotyledons turned yellow.

been using 6/9 and everything is perfect - no need for any more help - thanks to everyone who contributed

The most intimidating part of growing in coco coir for the first time is the fear of failure and uncertainty.

If your brick/coco/bag whatever is properly prepared then water seedlings till cotyledons turn yellow and start feeding half strength 6/9 or 1/4 strength - then full strength once 10" tall or so...

Oh, and you CAN water with plain water in coco, it won't "mess" up the "cec" - it's not recommended but if they look overfed you can plain water and the plant will use the excess.

If anyone needs help with coco just post a question here and I'll do my best to answer you

This journal is over, have some weeks to go, smooth sailing though, the girls are beautiful, 6/9 is amazing. I thought I would never use a GH product....

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

I will only be keeping a select few.

humidity has been low 40-45

I've been worried about the white stuff on top (salt, right?)

I researched it and seen trichoderma, salt, etc.

ALL ARE 10 Days Old

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

thanks for all the help
I'm fixated on trying to keep things simple but at the same time play around with additives and NPK Ratios

 

[stoned40yrs]

I fed about 400 ppm ph 5.8 of dyna-gro grow and cal-mag also a little KLN.

In my head this was the "buffer" after thoroughly rinsing my botnicare cocogro-brick.

If that was a proper way to buffer than why did you have problems
Most guys buy loose, rinsed, buffered coco and can just feed the clones or seeds whatever formula they choose the first feed in full or partial strength and see no problems. You thoroughly rinsed block coco and your tap water didn't supply enough things like cal, mag and P that coco grabs and stores to become charged. So your first feeds the coco grabbed these things to store making what was left of your feed imbalanced. After a few feeds your coco becomes buffered/charged and it quits making imbalances. Try charging your coco next time with 1/4 strength nutes and 5ml/gal cal mag, let it soak for a few minutes. Then when you feed the first time the coco won't be grabbing stuff to hoard away No biggie though your seedlings look like survivors.

 

[sureshot66]

do yourself a favor and buy bags next time,gold label, botanicare etc...yea you ran them too hot cut your ppms way down, they look ok tho nice bounce back

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

If that was a proper way to buffer than why did you have problems
Most guys buy loose, rinsed, buffered coco and can just feed the clones or seeds whatever formula they choose the first feed in full or partial strength and see no problems. You thoroughly rinsed block coco and your tap water didn't supply enough things like cal, mag and P that coco grabs and stores to become charged. So your first feeds the coco grabbed these things to store making what was left of your feed imbalanced. After a few feeds your coco becomes buffered/charged and it quits making imbalances. Try charging your coco next time with 1/4 strength nutes and 5ml/gal cal mag, let it soak for a few minutes. Then when you feed the first time the coco won't be grabbing stuff to hoard away No biggie though your seedlings look like survivors.

do yourself a favor and buy bags next time,gold label, botanicare etc...yea you ran them too hot cut your ppms way down, they look ok tho nice bounce back

Wow, great info. Thank you so much.

Thanks for the tips on the bags, will grab those next time.

with the 180 ppm tap water should I do 1 ML cal mag every water? I have cal-mag+ 2-0-0 , I want to get some magical though. 1-0-0 better emphasis on calmag.

do you guys buffer 1/4 strength 1-1-1 NPK ratio for seedlings, veg transplant and flower transplant?

Whatever coco they go into...? thanks a ton

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

guaranteed analysis of veg formula

http://www.dyna-gro.com/Website pdf Files/Grow-Bloom sheet.pdf

 

[RetroGrow]

Wow, great info. Thank you so much.

Thanks for the tips on the bags, will grab those next time.

with the 180 ppm tap water should I do 1 ML cal mag every water? I have cal-mag+ 2-0-0 , I want to get some magical though. 1-0-0 better emphasis on calmag.

do you guys buffer 1/4 strength 1-1-1 NPK ratio for seedlings, veg transplant and flower transplant?

Whatever coco they go into...? thanks a ton

I never use cal/mag with tap water. Keep your PH @ 5.8, give or take a tenth or two. You don't really need to feed them the first week, just Rhizotonic, or equivalent.

 

[sureshot66]

I'm a noob and still learning

transitioning from promix - here's a few girls 8 weeks in flower

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=291248

I'm fixated on trying to keep things simple but at the same time play around with additives and NPK Ratios

youre a self proclaimed noob so heres my advice

keep it simple, learn the process, from start to finish..run targeted additives,ie beneficials for root zones, pk's in flower etc..if you run too many experiments(additives, techniques) at once you really dont get solid data on what was succesful,and take notes..do yourself a favor and get an ro filter it will save you alot of headache, just my .2

 

[GonjaLove]

That white buildup on the top is salt and its terrible for your babies. Keep your coco moist (not soaked) just moist. Right now in those cups you should be feeding about every 3 days. Once you have root development you can start feeding everyday then multiple times per day. Do whatever you can to get your rh up to atleast 55%. As far as nutes, more is not better in coco. You can pretty much feed 1.0 ec from the minute you have leaves of basic plant food. I highly recommend going with something simple the first time around. Canna, house and garden, or gh's flora micro and bloom with the h3ad formula. I use the h3ad and my babies love it. I just went through a lot of the same shit you are now. These are the the best tips that I received from people all across this page and they worked unbelievably. Keep it simple...more than anything get your environment dialed in, and keep that shit moist bro!

-GanjaJoe-

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

I never use cal/mag with tap water. Keep your PH @ 5.8, give or take a tenth or two. You don't really need to feed them the first week, just Rhizotonic, or equivalent.

Ok sounds good, thank you.

youre a self proclaimed noob so heres my advice

keep it simple, learn the process, from start to finish..run targeted additives,ie beneficials for root zones, pk's in flower etc..if you run too many experiments(additives, techniques) at once you really dont get solid data on what was succesful,and take notes..do yourself a favor and get an ro filter it will save you alot of headache, just my .2

Thank you! Solid Advice - been looking into getting a RO System.

That white buildup on the top is salt and its terrible for your babies. Keep your coco moist (not soaked) just moist. Right now in those cups you should be feeding about every 3 days. Once you have root development you can start feeding everyday then multiple times per day. Do whatever you can to get your rh up to atleast 55%. As far as nutes, more is not better in coco. You can pretty much feed 1.0 ec from the minute you have leaves of basic plant food. I highly recommend going with something simple the first time around. Canna, house and garden, or gh's flora micro and bloom with the h3ad formula. I use the h3ad and my babies love it. I just went through a lot of the same shit you are now. These are the the best tips that I received from people all across this page and they worked unbelievably. Keep it simple...more than anything get your environment dialed in, and keep that shit moist bro!

-GanjaJoe-

Great advice Joe, thank you brother man.

Those are all good line ups, I would get canna and almost did - I just get turned off by crap like their 80$ boost, etc.

H&G is expensive as hell. Not buyin that shizz - I would try using jacks all purpose all the way through before buying their 200$ worth of stuff.

The h3ad formula and lucas, ect. are all really cool, and big ups to the guys for doing all the chemistry and detailing schedules.

I've tried many different formulas and ferts. I love dyna-gro and the cost. I say I'm a noob but I've had a few grows under my belt since 2004 - I just like to play with every different way of growing and see what I like the most - hoping this coco beats my promix.

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

hope someone can learn from this or just ask a question, I'll help you

 

[stoned40yrs]

You don't need to add cal mag with most nute lines. I keep it simple and cheap and things turn out great. From clone/seedling all the way through veg I feed them GH Maxigrow. A $15 2.2lb bag will last me a loooong time. Don't even feed them the recommended dose of 1-2 tsp/gal. They get 4tsp in 5 gal of water and love the stuff. I only add a silica supplement and dripclean because in bloom I stick them on blumats with no runoff. You'll find out less is more with coco and you don't need all that expensive crap people are pimping.

 

[AloeRuss]

I like to use a little bit of Epsom salt. Fixes all kinds of deffs for me

 

[GonjaLove]

I like to use a little bit of Epsom salt. Fixes all kinds of deffs for me

Epsom salts can cause a lot more problems than it fixes...its not needed most of the time if fed properly with base nutes

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

You don't need to add cal mag with most nute lines. I keep it simple and cheap and things turn out great. From clone/seedling all the way through veg I feed them GH Maxigrow. A $15 2.2lb bag will last me a loooong time. Don't even feed them the recommended dose of 1-2 tsp/gal. They get 4tsp in 5 gal of water and love the stuff. I only add a silica supplement and dripclean because in bloom I stick them on blumats with no runoff. You'll find out less is more with coco and you don't need all that expensive crap people are pimping.

Ok cool, Thank you. Love the K.I.S.S. Thread although I don't think I would do bloom all the way through, seems to work fine for people. I love simplicity. Totally agree - I tinkle with additives - but less is more - so I try to keep it simple as possible while at the same time seeing if their is any benefit to things like hygrozyme, fulvic acid, etc.

I know hygrozyme can come in handy on recycled coco.

I like to use a little bit of Epsom salt. Fixes all kinds of deffs for me

1/8th tsp a gallon can do a lot of magic , good Mg and Sulfur. fixed

Epsom salts can cause a lot more problems than it fixes...its not needed most of the time if fed properly with base nutes

whhaaat?? Love me a 1/8th tsp of espoma epsom salt. They love the sulfur in flower! fixed

 

[Snow Crash]

Ok cool, Thank you. Love the K.I.S.S. Thread although I don't think I would do bloom all the way through, seems to work fine for people. I love simplicity. Totally agree - I tinkle with additives - but less is more - so I try to keep it simple as possible while at the same time seeing if their is any benefit to things like hygrozyme, fulvic acid, etc.

I know hygrozyme can come in handy on recycled coco.



tsp a gallon can do a lot of magic , good Mg and Sulfur.



whhaaat?? Love me a tsp of espoma epsom salt. They love the sulfur in flower!

Telling people to add a teaspoon of epsom salt per gallon of water is not cool hombre.

Epsom salt is ~9.8% Magnesium.
Let's say that 1 teaspoon of Epsom Salt is ~5000mg
And 1 gallon of water is ~3.78L

9.8% of 5000mg is 490mg. 490mg in 3.78L of water is 129.6ppm

So... 1 teaspoon of Epsom Salt adds 129.6ppm (at least!) of Magnesium, and even more Sulfur.

Being that a healthy Mg level is somewhere around 25 to 60ppm, your supplementation alone is more than 2x the high end suggestion. Add in what already exists in the water and the base nutrient program... yeah... that's how problems start.

1/8th Teaspoon of Epsom per gallon of water is PLENTY. You'll get 12-15ppm of Magnesium from that supplementation, which could be a 30-50% boost to that element from the base program. That's a significant enough shift to prevent deficiency. If I was looking to fight a genuine Mg deficiency (rather than one caused by an over-abundance of other cations) then a foliar spray is my choice. 1/8th teaspoon in a liter of water with some fulvic acid and a surfactant does the trick every time.

Your plants are looking good. I suggest bumping the Grow Feed to 2ml and alternating the Silica every other feed. Your runoff levels are great. If you'd like to keep some data in your journal I am a big fan of tracking the input/output EC of my nutrient solution. One time measurement "snap shots" won't tell you much but at the end of the grow you can plot the data on a graph and really see how different feed levels and different times of life affected uptake. Get better every grow! I'll be around for the ride.

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

Telling people to add a teaspoon of epsom salt per gallon of water is not cool hombre.

Epsom salt is ~9.8% Magnesium.
Let's say that 1 teaspoon of Epsom Salt is ~5000mg
And 1 gallon of water is ~3.78L

9.8% of 5000mg is 490mg. 490mg in 3.78L of water is 129.6ppm

So... 1 teaspoon of Epsom Salt adds 129.6ppm (at least!) of Magnesium, and even more Sulfur.

Being that a healthy Mg level is somewhere around 25 to 60ppm, your supplementation alone is more than 2x the high end suggestion. Add in what already exists in the water and the base nutrient program... yeah... that's how problems start.

1/8th Teaspoon of Epsom per gallon of water is PLENTY. You'll get 12-15ppm of Magnesium from that supplementation, which could be a 30-50% boost to that element from the base program. That's a significant enough shift to prevent deficiency. If I was looking to fight a genuine Mg deficiency (rather than one caused by an over-abundance of other cations) then a foliar spray is my choice. 1/8th teaspoon in a liter of water with some fulvic acid and a surfactant does the trick every time.

Your plants are looking good. I suggest bumping the Grow Feed to 2ml and alternating the Silica every other feed. Your runoff levels are great. If you'd like to keep some data in your journal I am a big fan of tracking the input/output EC of my nutrient solution. One time measurement "snap shots" won't tell you much but at the end of the grow you can plot the data on a graph and really see how different feed levels and different times of life affected uptake. Get better every grow! I'll be around for the ride.

Sorry about that, thought it was a great MG/sulfur boost in flower. Maybe a tsp a gallon to fix a bad Mg Deficiency? Thanks for the clarification!

I'm glad I read this (2ML of grow, about to feed), I do log the ins and outs as much as I hate having to do it, I do log everything. Even if I just put plain water, I log it.

Thanks for the help snow crash! and the clarification on the epsom salt. Need all the help I can get.

Will keep you guys posted on the progress.

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

Shoutout to snow storm, this guy really knows his stuff, gracias hombre!

They loved the 2ML Of Foliage Pro. Have dyna-gro grow and FP.

Here are three keepers

Three mutants (two tri-foliators) and one that came up with it's second set and won't go past that. Only side growth.

Two Sick ones - yellow spots....

I only have one question - What do I do with the mutants? 2 tri's are kalishnikova from greenhouse seeds. 2 of 4 tri foliated...33% more yield? chuck em? keep em?

Don't care for the other mutant, critical sensi star from delicious seeds. I could see topping it a few times to get it to maybe grow but no

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

Given their bad start they are coming along nicely