Originally Posted by
The-Limey-Digit
Hello everyone, I have decided to put my method for growing in coco down due to more and more growers asking questions. It isn't anything fancy and I only use the basic nutes etc.. but it yielded me a gram per watt in 9 weeks of flower on my last grow.
So here goes, we will start by breaking it down into 3 subsections and I will start with the most important, ph.
I have found it is best to start them off, both cutting and seedling, at 5.60 with the odd feed going in at 5.70. As they get a bit older it reverses, so you are then feeding at 5.70 with the odd one going in at 5.60. This should avoid a calcium def, common in early life. Once full veg is underway you start feeding at 5.80 with the odd one at 5.60. As you go into the first 3-4 weeks of flower, 5.80 with the odd one at 5.90. If you suffer a calcium def at this stage calmag is used. Once in full bloom, maintain 5.90 with the odd one at 6.00 until chop. This ph schedule has given me 100% healthy plants.
Now for the ec, the next on the list for importance. From seedling or cutting stage, once you begin to feed,( first set of true leaves) start them off with an ec 0.20 above your tap water ec. Then, watch your plants. From this point, I only increase the ec by 0.10-0.20 when the plants ask me to do so. This is important!!! As long as they are maintaining an even colour, she is getting all she needs so the ec stays where it is, no matter how big the plant gets. I will only increase it if the leaves start to pale, 0.10 for slight paling, 0.20 if it is more acute. That's when she needs more!!! I haven't been over 1.20 in the last 5 grows.
Finally, watering schedule. There seems to be alot of misconception about overwatering coco. Follow this guide and you will never have any problems. Firstly, even at saturation point coco has a 70/30% water/air ratio and returns to this no matter how much water you put through the pot so as long as you have a good rootmass and good drainage, you "cannot" overwater them.
From seedling or cutting, start by watering/feeding, then wait until the pot loses half it's weight (usually 3-4 days) before repeating, no matter how wet or dry the coco is. When you have a few roots at the bottom increase to every other day. Once there are a few more roots showing feed every day. Every time you water/feed make sure you get a good run off and I mean good. I put 5 litres a day through an 8-10 litre pot with a good litre and a half to 2 litres runoff once in bloom. The runoff and feeding every day means that your feeds are always fresh.
Well, that's about it really. I hope that this guide has helped to make it less scary and both encourages people to try coco and also help them to use it effectively. It really isn't that complicated.
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