H3ad goes Coco

[Rosy Cheeks]

Maybe I can help you out dd.

Coco coir harvested when fully mature contain lots of lignins and cellulose. These fibers are tough and durable, the only natural fiber resistant to breaking down in salt water.

One of the most impressive attributes of coconut coir as a growing medium is the level of aeration and structure supplied to the rootzone.
Thanks to the tough and coarse fibers, more airspace is available for drainage and supplies the roots and soil life with higher levels of atmospheric oxygen (O2). Coir fiber will not compact over the course of the crop as with peat.

Although, re-use will slowly wear down the fibers. Mineral salts in the nutrient solutions corrodes, the bacterial culture will equally munch on them, and after a few grows the fibers will become more and more compacted and less resistant, meaning less oxygen for the roots.

I've never had waterlogged plants with new coco, even when the medium was drained to waste.
Although, with coco re-used a second run, I've had waterlogging in young, newly re-potted plants.

The Cation Exchange Capacity is also lowered as the coir's absorption capacity decreases.

I've also noted that re-used coco is more of a pest magnet than new coco. Therefore, I don't re-use the coir more than once.

If you want a medium that you can re-use over and over again, with just some cleaning, then hydrotones is your thing.

 

[one Q]

Maybe I can help you out dd.
Coco coir harvested when fully mature contain lots of lignins and cellulose.

One of the most impressive attributes of coconut coir as a growing medium is the level of aeration and structure supplied to the rootzone.

Are these the attributes that allow for such large plants in small pots? No one can explain that to me. Are they also what causes the lock out when the right ratio of nutes are not fed.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

It's probably part of it. Goot root aeration, in combination with a high Cation Exchange capacity and a natural ph close to neutral is what makes this medium very root friendly.

As to lockouts, you can't just single out one factor to explain it, since lockouts can have several different reasons.

 

[one Q]

As to lockouts, you can't just single out one factor to explain it, since lockouts can have several different reasons.

Yes, ofcourse. An exp grower that can read plants and knows what to feed and when, may not understand the requirements of coir. A grower may feed their tried and true low feed method but still get def. May bump up nutes but "lots of lignins and cellulose" get in the way. Follow me?

That's where my Q lays. So then I ask again, variables taken into account, is it the lots of lignins and cellulose that get in the way of nute uptake when not fed proper ratios.

The reason I ask is that, just as H33 stated, the standard Lucas isnt ideal for coir, too much K. I have found this to be true also, lots of Mg and N def. Just like H33 said. Im just trying to understand the mechanics of this coir stuff.

 

[phrank]

question for Grat3fulh3ad

question for Grat3fulh3ad

Grat3fulh3ad-

Do you feed with every watering?

phrank

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

yes, unless some variety or another happens to look overfed in which case I'll just water it for a couple of days.

 

[gdawg]

hey head ive been lurkin here for awhile now and just wanted to say excellent thread bro, k+. i switched from soil to coco about 3 years ago and never looked back. every run i seem to tune it in just a lil more. i have been using the pureblend pro nutes with hygrozyme only run to waste and getting great results with a low ppm. (with tap water) but i think next run ill be trying the gh formula on here with one table(own rez). run to waste thanks again for the thread and great info

 

[Weedman Herb]

Yes, ofcourse. An exp grower that can read plants and knows what to feed and when, may not understand the requirements of coir. A grower may feed their tried and true low feed method but still get def. May bump up nutes but "lots of lignins and cellulose" get in the way. Follow me?

That's where my Q lays. So then I ask again, variables taken into account, is it the lots of lignins and cellulose that get in the way of nute uptake when not fed proper ratios.

The reason I ask is that, just as H33 stated, the standard Lucas isnt ideal for coir, too much K. I have found this to be true also, lots of Mg and N def. Just like H33 said. Im just trying to understand the mechanics of this coir stuff.

It's the salts stored In the cellulose fibers that get in the way (Coconut palms exist how and where they do because they can store salts between cell walls and K is a mineral salt). It starts off slow but progresses exponentially ... Then the Mg (which is necessary to uptake and use nutrients) gets out of whack and the Calcium (the fulcrum in the Balance) becomes non effective. Tossing in CalMag doesn't help? They're present but rendered unusable. The plant can't eat and is showing signs of dehydration even though plenty of water is present. The gardener leaches everything out and leaves the plant for a few days without food, thinking they had overfed. Now the plant has gone from a salty hostile environment to a wet one with absolutely nothing to eat. This equation = Death. Flush and feed on a regular basis and these problems go away ... keep K at an acceptable ratio and the plant will use it ... too much and the medium will store it ... get lazy in Any medium and your plants will suffer.

 

[blazn azn]

Hi Grat3fulh3ad. I have a question about your calculations to get the ppm of each nutrient because from what I calculated, it seems that 6/9 of micro/bloom should give roughly 79 ppm N (5% N (from the micro) x reservoir amount (in gallons) x 6 ml. taking the amount there, divide by the reservoir amount (in milliliters) and multiply that by a million). Am I calculating this wrong? How did you get 97 ppm of N from 6 ml of micro?

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

Handy Dandy PPM calculator here...
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/articles/profiles.htm

 

[Dee9]

Thanks H3ad for all your input! I stopped killing my girls with epson salts thanks to you!

You are truly grat3!

 

[duddits]

Following h3ad's formula through flowering for the first time. I have vegged in the past with it and then used b'cuzz nutes I already had to flower. Plants always did much better with h3ad's formula and they look great now, about 5 days into 12/12.

Question:
I have AN Big Bud and some Canna boost accelerator. Will I hurt them and throw off the ratios if I use them? How and when would you use them?

 

[Dee9]

Grat3fulh3ad

Could you look over my nutes please?

N 103.00
P 71.00
K 208.67
Ca 150.00
Mg 22.30
S 75.00
=629.97

Nitrogen and Calcium are tied in one product
P and K are tied in another product
S and Mg are tied in a product

With a bit of jiggeling this is the closest I could come so far to Lucas/H3ad

Does it look ok?

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

Grat3fulh3ad

Could you look over my nutes please?

N 103.00
P 71.00
K 208.67
Ca 150.00
Mg 22.30
S 75.00
=629.97

Nitrogen and Calcium are tied in one product
P and K are tied in another product
S and Mg are tied in a product

With a bit of jiggeling this is the closest I could come so far to Lucas/H3ad

Does it look ok?

given the limitations of what is tied together that looks like the best you could do... I'd like to see more N and Mg, But the Ca and S are in high concentration already... Let us know how it works out, for sure...

 

[Dee9]

How's this?

How's this?

: :smile:

My plant is doing good on :
N 65
P 27
K 130
Ca 70
Mg 22.3
S 75

But with the adjusted ratios posted above, you reckon my plant might do better?

I toggled a bit and came up with the following



This might seem like a very stupid question, but how much of each must I mix with water to get to the percentages? Is it OK for me to use some nutrient mixes at 1/2 strength or would you reccomend always using a product full strength to come to a total mix?

would I have a total of 57.43 g per liter? Could you maybe point me in a direction?

 

[Dee9]

New Profile

New Profile

It was rough going, but I came up with this:


better than the previous one?

bit low on N and P, but I should think sativas won't mind.

Any thoughts or comments ?

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

I agree, a bit low on the N and P... but given the parameters of the nutes you are using, it'd be hard to up them any more... For long flowering sativas it should be no issue, but anything that grows aggressively is gonna show yellowing...

 

[Dee9]

For long flowering sativas it should be no issue, but anything that grows aggressively is gonna show yellowing...

No agression here bro. Only slow sativas. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

I thought it almost poetic the ppm coming to 420.

Keep well.

D9

 

[sirshamus]

hey H3ad, going to the store friday and wanted to double check with you. All I need is the coco and GH flora micro and bloom? Is correct ph a serious issue, I have a spring fed well with about 6.8 ph. What would you recommend....thanks for the help.

 

[krushonkush]

K.I.S.S....

K.I.S.S....

thats it!! everything will sound so good, flavor/aroma enhancer, bud start, big bug, and anything else you can think of! dont fall in the trap. only thing you may need is cal-mag.
I know H3ad said he does not use it but some will. My good friend right across town needs it but i dont.its all about the water. I also feed with hygrozyme every other week for a week. my water starts around 7.3, comes in at right at 6.0 after mix.than one drop of down 5.8-5.9 everytime!(I only mix per gallon) hope some of that helps. you gonna love it!!