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the Hand Watering coco thread

Snow Crash

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Veteran
im not sure if this has been covered in the tread but what problems cause purple stems in coco?

is it a lockout?

cheers

Purple stems really just denote stress. This could be from excessive temperature swings, nutrient imbalances in the feed program, pest or disease, or a few other less common variables. It's also very common for young plants to experience some form of stress following a transplant. Then, there's just genetics... sometimes it's the purps!

Keep a constant temperature and a balanced nutrient profile (maybe a touch more N-Cal than everything else) and they should rebound nicely. Make sure not to let the coco go dry as the phosphates will precipitate with the abundant cations and lock out P.
 

Kozmo

Active member
Veteran
Hello all! I have had some sunshine coco mix and a full bottle of cal mag fall in my lap. Was thinking of puting them to use and grow a couple plants with the coco.

Don't know what else to use... I do have Dutch master root zone and Flora Nova bloom on hand if I can or should even use that. Any one interested in a little coaching?
 
Hello all! I have had some sunshine coco mix and a full bottle of cal mag fall in my lap. Was thinking of puting them to use and grow a couple plants with the coco.

Don't know what else to use... I do have Dutch master root zone and Flora Nova bloom on hand if I can or should even use that. Any one interested in a little coaching?

Sunshine has all kinds of stuff in it. I would not consider that Coco.
 

Kozmo

Active member
Veteran
For feeding I was just going to use the Dutch master Zone, the Flora Nova Bloom, and maybe Calmag. I heard somewhere when using LED's I might need a little cal mag. Not really sure though cause Nova bloom has those ingredients in it as well.
 

greenops

Member
Sorry if this has been discussed before.
I'm planning to veg some 15 clones in a tent for 11 weeks and I'm wondering if there's a minimalistic way to water them during that time? Once I move them in the flowering tent after those 11 weeks they will get the hydro treatment.
But as long as the flowering tent is occupied i wont have time to hand water those 15 clones everyday. can i get away with watering them every 4 to 5 days? Otherwise i may have to invest in a watering system
 

stoned40yrs

Ripped since 1965
Veteran
Sorry if this has been discussed before.
I'm planning to veg some 15 clones in a tent for 11 weeks and I'm wondering if there's a minimalistic way to water them during that time? Once I move them in the flowering tent after those 11 weeks they will get the hydro treatment.
But as long as the flowering tent is occupied i wont have time to hand water those 15 clones everyday. can i get away with watering them every 4 to 5 days? Otherwise i may have to invest in a watering system

The longest times between handwatering is guys using Hempy buckets as the reservoir allows you go up to that 7 days if necessary. Best results from more frequent watering but I would for sure use Hempy if you don't want to set up a drip system. There is a long Hempy bucket thread, check it out. I would stick with 4 days and not 5. I wouldn't go that long with large plants but clones in veg sounds very doable for 4 days. Actually if you aren't sucking all the air/moisture out of the tent other pots might work also. I go 3-4 days in 2 gal smart pots to build up a good root system, this wouldn't work for 11 weeks though.:biggrin:
 

RetroGrow

Active member
Veteran
Sorry if this has been discussed before.
I'm planning to veg some 15 clones in a tent for 11 weeks and I'm wondering if there's a minimalistic way to water them during that time? Once I move them in the flowering tent after those 11 weeks they will get the hydro treatment.
But as long as the flowering tent is occupied i wont have time to hand water those 15 clones everyday. can i get away with watering them every 4 to 5 days? Otherwise i may have to invest in a watering system

Not a good idea. You want them to develop hydro roots, which will happen if you water frequently. Coco is hydro, and should be treated as such for optimum results. As far as "getting away with it", you probably can if you're just trying to keep them alive. Depends largely on size of pots/plants. You don't want the coco to dry out. A drip system would be a better solution. You can set up drippers in Hempys if you want.
 

xxxstr8edgexxx

Active member
Veteran
ive slowly upped my ec recently in veg by a point or two a day and today i tested my runoff it was pretty good e.c wise. i watered in mb watered down to about 1.0 -1.1 plus a 1 mil per gallon bpb calmag and about 2 mil per gallon silica getiing to about 1.2 previous dauys have been .7 then .9 now 1.2. today my runof tested between 1.2 and 1.4 ecs on a 1.2 feed after testing a few different plants. all came back high ph though with anywhere from 6.4- 6.7 on the various plants i tested. it would seem my ecs are fairly good + or - .1-.2 variance but the ph has me concerned what am i doing wrong?
 

RetroGrow

Active member
Veteran
PH always rises after mixing. I always mix nutes a day or two in advance, then check and adjust/lower PH when ready to use. PH in coco should be 5.8, or a range of 5.5 to 6.0.
 

Agropop

Member
Hi, I would like to know if i need to cover the pots for outdoor grow with some plastic bag or something similar against rain, or not? This is my first outdoor grow in coco coir... :)
 

Snow Crash

Active member
Veteran
Hi, I would like to know if i need to cover the pots for outdoor grow with some plastic bag or something similar against rain, or not? This is my first outdoor grow in coco coir... :)

That is a very interesting question.

At first I wanted to say no, that you don't want to cover your coco. Mostly because of how it would trap heat in the root zone.

If you're in a cold, wet area, possibly with some bugs to contend with then I think that covering your coco might not be such a terrible idea. It's a truck load of work, and opens the door to other problems (like reduced air flow encouraging mold growth). If applied properly though I think you could get some benefit from this.

My suggestion would be a breathable fabric, like tent canvas. Ideally in a white/light color to help reflect some of the heat from the sun. This should help to keep pests out, keep most of the rain out, and with a lower risk of rot. Being able to remove the covering when the weather is nice could be beneficial. I imagine that how you "mount" the cover around the plant will require the most thought and planning for the best execution of this concept.

I do not think that you "need" to do this - But you could... There aren't a ton of outdoor pure coco/hydro growers so it can be tough to get a definitive answer on this from someone who has tried it. Why not give your idea a try if it makes sense to you and lets see what happens. Someone has to be first!
 
B

bonecarver_OG

there is no need to protect the coco from rain water. its highly unlikelly you will have a rain that will be dense enough to really rain a lot into the pot. personally i think any rain water that DOES hit your pot is a good help along the way...


on the other hand you might want to protect the coco against direct sunlight to make sure the water doesnt evaporate too fast.
 

RetroGrow

Active member
Veteran
Hi, I would like to know if i need to cover the pots for outdoor grow with some plastic bag or something similar against rain, or not? This is my first outdoor grow in coco coir... :)

Don't cover coco with plastic!
If anything, top dress with DE or something.
 

gobyebye

Member
My buddy told me let my small plants in 6" pots dry out till the plants are slightly drooping then water to prevent overwatering. My leafe tips even on new growth is slightly yellow in wondering if it's from over or under watering? I'm reading here to never let it dry? Any help my first crop in coco just switched from soil
 
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