Grow Mediums 1st time watering coco - need some help

[JAYAR]

Wassup everyone I have some questions about the first watering for seedlings. I just measured my tap water and it measures at 565 uS which I think converts to .57 EC. For the first time the water need to be .8 EC right?

Do I add Canna Rhizotonic until the reading is up to .8 EC or do I add a little of rhizo, a little of A and a little of B until it's at .8?

Last question is should I flood the 3.4 gallon pots until the water drains or should I water about a cup or two instead?

I'd appreciate the help y'all. Btw I'm germinating 2 black creams and 1 think different right niow.

 

[RebelRoy]

hi bud..

lets see if i can help you out alittle..


quote from Canna:

Always run the nutrients in any water applied to the medium at a minimum of 600 ppm or EC = 0.8

now, keep in mind that this is propobly ment for photo strains..so i go alittle lower than that in the beginning.
I`ve only used a+b.. but those who ise Rhizo, use it from the very start i belive "My 2 cents"

In the beginning i only feed a couple deciliter at a time around the plant.

here`s a quote from another thread regarding the same things.. you even answered in there

Interesting stuff..coco loco..never heard of or seen it.

I`ve never used fox farm..or that kind of coco.. but here`s what i use to do (using canna coco pro)

i mix a solution to around 400 ppm with some Canna a+b... (cal/mag and rizotonic would be preferable)

water my coco troughly B4 i pot my sprouted seed..then after that..i use the same nute mix to keep the top moist..like Jayar said.. we want that drysycle for the roots to develope!

best of luck with that germ bud
:Sharing One:

 

[JAYAR]

thank you rebel roy you kind sir yes i've been prepping pretty hard cuz I want this grow to go perfect. I think I have the general idea but I've been reading conflicting thoughts on the first couple of waterings.. and since i'm about to cross this bridge I dont wanna f it up lol I will only water a cup in the beginning cuz i would rather underwater than over water ya know.

now, keep in mind that this is propobly ment for photo strains..so i go alittle lower than that in the beginning.
I`ve only used a+b.. but those who ise Rhizo, use it from the very start i belive

Thank you for that input cuz I did not think about that lol since my tap water is already strong ill just add rhizo and see how it goes.
:Sharing One:

 

[JAYAR]

Should I dry cycle the waterings or should I water/feed every day?? Im just reading on here since coco is hydro the roots always need to be wet. Like a dwc setup where the roots soak in water 24/7... I think. The thinking is peeps use the dry cycle to let roots search for water... but that's in soil right? Since this is coco should the roots always be saturated with fresh oxygen/food rich water?

For example if I have the pot saturated.. the next day it's still gonna be soaked. But I add fresh water anyways and replace the old water.. keeping it wet at all times.

What do u think rebelroy??

 

[RebelRoy]

its many diferent ways to go my friend. you should read alittle around here in the coco section about it. lots of info in the stickies.

What i do.. in the beginning i water only a few desiliter (seedling stage) to keep the top around the stem moist.

in veg i water around every other day, in flower - once a day. (with 20% runof)
depends on pot size aswell how fast it will dry out
i never let it dry completely out..but i let it dry out quite abit. but thats me "My 2 cents"

here is a writeup done by Truu

Hand watering-
Basically this is the "soil" side to growing with coco. You will be watering just like you would water soil. Being that coco is alot more fiberous than soil, and that it doesnt compact, it will take alot less to water coco than soil. Coco has the great ability to distribute water evenly throughout the container. I've even watered 1 spot before and eventually the whole pot will become soaked.

Coco will generally hold about 20% oxygen when fully saturated. Mixing your coco with additional aeration products is a good idea. Products such as perlite, and hydroton will help greatly in increasing the drying time of the medium. Also, keep in mind that adding these will also decrease the time between watering due to your medium drying out. Its also a good idea to put a layer of perlite or hydroton at the bottom of the pot to increase aeration and give those roots a good place to breathe.

Hand watering times will vary depending on the mixture you use for your medium. When starting seedlings in coco, it is recommended that you water every other day - or daily, depending on how fast your medium is drying out. You really want to let the coco dry out some so that the roots will go in search of water. One important thing to remember is that the top if coco will almost always be dry, this is not an indicator as to how wet/dry belowe the surface will be. As your plants get older, slowly work your way up to watering once a day, or more if you have the time to do so. As they begin to flower and start drinking tons of water, your plants may force you to water more than once a day. Always use the "lift & weigh" method to judge weather or not the plant needs to be watered.

Drip system-
OK guys, this is the type of growing that ol' Truu recommends. This is the type of coco growing that will get you those good "hydro" results. A drip system requires that you have a resevior with a pump that will pump nutrients to your plant at set times through a dripper, or a drip ring that sits on top of the soil. As the coco gets saturated it will begin to drip the water out of the bottom of the pot, now this is your choice as to what you do with it. You can either use "drain to waste" - wich is discarding the wasted water once you are finished with it. Or use the not so popular method of - recirculation. I personally recirculate mine because of the ease of use.

Using a drip system will make growing easier for you, and also easier for the plant. Being on a set schedule allows the plant to feed multiple times a day. As the water runs from the top of the soil through the container and out the bottom, the water is drawing in oxygen past the roots. The roots will thrive on this, and if you do it multiple times a day, well then you are helping the plant achieve a greater growing enviornment! When watering you will want to achieve about 10-20% runoff. This allows the coco to become fully saturated, and so that the coco gets a good flush to rinse out previous feedings.

It should be mentioned that drip systems, or any type of growing with a resevior, do not work so well with organic nutrients. Drip systems will also require that an additive such as "house and gardens - drip clean" must be used to keep the drip lines clean. It also helps prevent salt build up in the coco. You will want to keep some kind of aeration in your resevior, such as a air stone, or even a pump on a timer to keep the water moving. And your plants will also need to sit on a table that will allow the runoff to drain properly away from the pots so they dont sit in water.

and from C.E2

Watering:
I will talk about how wet the medium should be, as a lot of people get it wrong in the beginning.

By the way, you can either water by hand like a normal soil grow or use a drip system, which is more preferable in coco for the later stages as it helps the wetness of the medium stay more stable than a hand watering schedule, which in turns keeps pH more stable and keeps the plants happier.

If you want to hand water make sure you water slowly as the coco medium is quite easy to dislodge. So if you water fast you will notice that your roots are floating ! Not good ! In both cases, you need around 20% runoff to keep your medium healthy. You cannot overwater coco, the more water you give, the better, you just waste water and nutes though.

During the first **two to three weeks, the coco medium should be treated somewhat more or less like soil though, not too wet, until the root system is fully established. It is recommended that you use rooting tonics like Canna Rhizotonic to get your plants to root up as fast as possible. Never let your coco dry though ! Once the surface looks a bit flaky you need to water.

**: I want to make this point clear. Its not a matter of days or weeks. You need to wait until the root system looks established enough to start taking the full hydro experience It might take two, it might take five, depending on the condition of your medium, whether you use root boosters, and the general health of your plants and roots. As mentioned earlier the soil-like treatment for the first few weeks encourages the roots to dig deep and form up well.

Once your plant is all rooted up, you can, and should, keep your coco medium wet at all times, since the pH of the medium will change a bit as it gets drier, and even if the coco has pH buffering, that is best left to combat the pH fluctuation that occurs when the plant feeds and leeches ion from the medium. Within a week or two you will start to notice thick fuzzy white hydro roots shooting out.

Keeping the medium properly watered eventually gets harder and harder as the plants becomes big and start taking up quite a lot of water, and this is why a drip system is better as it helps keep the coco wet all the time. If you want to go with hand watering, you will probably need to water once a day starting from week 2-3, (once per 2-3 days prior to that), and probably up to two times a day. This will vary with how big your plant gets, how much the strain itself drinks, how much you ventilate, your Rh, and temperatures, etc.

The idea is, just keep an eye on your medium and keep it wet.
And also, always have your water pH at around 5.7-5.9, that is the best range.
If anything tho, go lower, not higher, down to 5.5.

 

[JAYAR]

thanks bro