Coconutters learning thread

[PlumberSoCal]

Tried coco after several months of research about 5 years ago and still going strong. I can’t grow in soil what I can grow in coco.

The big drawback is the amount of waterings or actually fertigations and the amount of waste water.

I’ve used pumps and hoses on timers from 55 gallon drums to fertigate 3-5 x’s a day depending on time of year and stage of growth.

I’m mainly growing outside in greenhouses so waste water can be directed or allowed to soak into the soil. Either way it cannot be reused in a circulation type hydro system. You can use it elsewhere in your yard or flowerbeds and then no more than once or twice a month. Same with trees, depending on the amount of waste water.

I’ve grown 6-7’ monsters in 1 gallon fiber pots. Not kidding about growth rate compared to soil and pot size.

Nutrients. When I started researching I learned about hydro Nutrients and what a soil less plant requires to grow strong and healthy. The name Master Blend was being used by several growers as well as the usual pretty quart bottles and the plain old Master Blend that cost pennies a gallon to mix worked just as well and I’m still using it today.

The basic tomato Master Blend 4-18-38 with added Calcium and Magnesium Sulfate worked well for my first several grows and I’ve been refining the percentages for the 3 life stages.

I start with a Concentrate: in 1 gallon water mix 80 grams of Master Blend. In another 1 gallon mix 80 grams of Calcium Nitrate 15.5 and another 1 gallon water with 40 grams of Magnesium Sulfate for a 3 part nutrient solution. I save gallon water, juice and milk containers and currently I’m mixing approx 12 gallons a day as I also have 8 pepper plants and several herbs in coco and a few Basil in Kratky.

For use mix the three in order with Master Blend #1, Epson salt #2 and the bottle of Calcium always last. This is important. Mixing incorrectly could make nutrients to the plant unavailable known as lock out.

For seedlings and clones: 1 gallon water with 2 oz of each parts 1-3.

Vegging plants: 4 oz of each parts 1-3 in 1 gallon of water.

Flower: 4 oz parts 1&2, 2 oz part 3.

I can amend the above basic with 6oz part 1 for 2 weeks between vegg & flower or even continue into flower to harvest.

I have added Silica when weather is extreem, hot or cold.

Seedlings to me are seed soak to 2-3wks of age. I give clones 1-2 wks on the 2oz half strength mix. As soon as you can get them on the full strength 4oz mix the faster they’ll grow and bigger they will get.

Flushing: people have reported a different taste of weed grown in hydro and some swear by flushing the last few days even a week or more before harvest. I don’t and have never tasted any difference between soil grown and coco grown. I’ve flushed plants and left plants to recieve full strength nutes side by side and could not taste a difference. I still flush on occasion especially when I’m breeding with groups of plants outside and prone to drying out, even in 3 gallon pots while I spend the day under someone’s house in the mud repairing a leak. It happens. Otherwise I don’t usually flush plants for the sake of taste. I am an ex cigarette smoker so take this with a grain of salt and see for yourself.

[duke]

hi plumbersocal i now grow everything in coco about 150 cacti and succulents ,potatoes,tomatoes,various fruit trees etc and get the run off from the drobes just rephed to refresh and as a bonus every 4-5 weeks they get a splosh of added silicon with there feed.
here hydro nutes are now very very expensive and i have looked at alternate sources we used before the bottled stuff was a regular thing chempack 1lb packs of garden chems npk and one with trace elements used to be cheap but now you need a bank loan.
my drobes use less than the other not weed plants which means tina complains less when i spend £50 on 5ltr dutch pro bloom and grow nutes which last me a year of perpetual growth.
flushing midway through flower i find a good thing for plant health and stops salt residue building up but as long as there not chock full of nitrogen i dont flush for the sake of it.
theres much debate i see on forums over flushing,some call you a moron and tell you all about heavy metal poisons and other myths and stoner legends ive heard and ignored a million times!
its what works for you that matters and i have had many compliments on the cleanliness of my weed i put that down to coco.
the oil made with weed from my drobes has been lab tested a few times and found to be free of solvent and residues just a very small amount of water.
no heavy metals!black sabbath entirely absent!
feel free to post any coco related issues or pics etc its good to share,peace

[PlumberSoCal]

Indeed it is! I’m not allowed to post pictures yet or I just can’t figure it out. I’m new so I know there’s some hoops and it takes time, no worries, I’ll get there. I’ve got tons of pictures, especially the purple Granddaddy Purple pheno. Tastes like Grapes and berries and an all purple plant, some almost a black. Beautiful.

[Cbizzle]

I got lax on a proper rinse and buffer and all I’ll say is JUST DO IT! It helps in avoiding pissed off plants.

[NoobNoob]

Did you water those daily from the start?

[Andrexl]

Yes,but not from the actual start or they ll drown

[NoobNoob]

This is where im at currently and im debating on whether or not to start daily feedings. Up until now I’ve let them get a little dry (40-50%) before the next watering

[Hamme]

I am just starting a coco grow in an eb and flow setting that i usually use for rock-wool. In the past i grew on the medium, so i am not new to it, tho i am to bricks.

Two plants per crate with about a galon of coco each. Watering goes automatic once a day for 15 minutes. During flowering i might switch to two times.

[Andrexl]

You can give them water Daily

[Hamme]

The Coco bricks i use have not been flushed. I did it with one and measured the drain. It read ec 0,21 so i decided to save me the trouble and just water the rest with the correct values. Ec 1.3 and ph 5.5.

[duke]

hi @Hamme only trouble i have had is with some of the cheap coco blocks it has not been buffered and this causes nutrient defs as it locks out calcium and makes it hard for the young plants getting going,best is to if not sure (should say on the packing)if its buffered or not is when hydrating the block use a good dose of cal/mag and leave it to sit a day or 2 before use,best never to have a drying period once roots are down and remember coco is a hydro medium so never allow drying out as it is what causes nutrient salts to drop out of the feed and get stuck in the coco/to the pot etc.clones you just want moist not wet though. good luck and do keep posting the pics,cheers

[duke]

hi @Andrexl unless you need to flush due to overfeed then best i have found is not to ever use just water, but a low ec feed keeps the rootzone and ph more stable and you basically starve the plant until next time you feed it,even when flushing dilute nutes removes salt residues by binding them ,not knocking honest just something i have learned to help me not bugger them up,often!

[duke]

hi noob they are def big enough to benefit from daily feeds now,good luck

[duke]

well said,i did not notice the coco was not buffered and it took several weeks to work it out and made the grow a little longer than planned!

[Hamme]

@duke i am sorry to hear that, for me it was more convenience that made me pull the trigger on the bricks than the low price tag. I wasn’t even planning on growing on coco until i ran into it. The coco feels moist and no different from the other brands i used.

So far it seems that the clones are taking on, but i will keep an eye on them!

[Hamme]

Here’s another update from my low maintenance coco grow. Flooding goes automatic once a day and later on i may increase that to two times a day.

The 230 lumen are a bit too much but i cannot dim the light any further.

[Gpaw]

Maybe a chunk of ‘shade cloth’ over the top of the tray?

That would cut the light until they get established.

Cheers
G

[Hamme]

Sounds like a good plan for next run! Thanks!

[duke]

hi a diffuser would help they just clip over the diode board and i find it of use in my drobes maybe your light seller has something listed,good luck

[Hamme]

It is a d.i.y. light but i might find something, thanks!