coco questions...

[daddyO]

hi, i dont talk much, I read a lot and when I cant find what, I need I ask

1. when hand watering coco in pots and allowing for runoff, how do peeps manage the run off?..are your pots in trays on a scaffold to leave clearance uner the pot? - just so the bottoms dont sit in the run off... then drain that res? or do peeps remove to a watering station and allow to drain before re positioning under the light? or On a flood/drain table?

Im in a restricted height environment (roof space, thats why the above question is quite important), max height 1.75m, in reality grow space 1.25m - its not a prob, been doing it for 20 years in soil...moving my big plants about (which they will be) to water to runoff will be nigh on impossible without disaster so i need to get an advanced idea of how to deal with this bit...

In soil I know how much water my pots take and runoff isnt as important, in even necessary in a dialled in grow. I havent done coco yet but curiosity got the better of me.

I did a comparrission grow with a buddy, same strain, one of mine and very stable, same veg period, same lights, the only diff was the meduim and grow style...organic Vs coco hydro...

My plant; 3 weeks veg under 400w mh from clone, 11L pot, bio grow/bloom/fish/molasses etc. Finished under 600w with 9 weeks flower, 4.5oz dry (best plant) - CoCo, same everything except canna a/B pk13/14....9.5 oz dry (best plant) from 11 pot.

soil was 0,75 GPW approx, poss a bit more on total harvest,

like i say curiosity has got the better of me...so i bought all the gear.

Hoping you guys can fiull in a few blanks as coco is a completely diff animal to soil, that much i do understand after 20 years!

cheers in advance

[joker_the_smoker]

hey daddyo. coco is great stuff for sure. every1 has there own way to keep pots out of run off. weather it be two peices of timber with pots on top and run off tray below.
i have on past two grows had large saucers with small mini saucers in the middle an pots sit on them. then use wet vac to suck out the run off. you will see some pics in the diary links. for my new flower tent i have invested in the rhizo auto drain system,yet to see this in action just yet.
as for height issues you want make sure you train them with LST or even do a scrog
you got all your equipment like ph meters , ec readers etc

[Viz]

1. Some use raised levels and have the water drain away, not possible in your situation I would suggest. The best bet is trays and then suck the water up with a wet vac, sponge. Others leave it (personally not a good idea in my view). What ever works is good under a restricted height environment a wet vac would be easy to use and not arouse any suspicions. Folks vacuum their houses.


2. Er not sure what the second question is.

Nice weight on your grows mate.

[Blue]

Exactly what the guys above have mentioned

As your already working under height restrictions raising your pots above run off trays might not be the best solution as your losing more height. I would go for the saucer option and use a water pump or vac to remove run off. This is the method I use its nice and simple and works well.

Remember to remove any run off within an hour or so of feeding as your plants will pull this back up into the rootzone. You need roughly 20% run off each feed to prevent salt build up

[daddyO]

thx guys. i butcher my plants so they go where they need to go. We have differing opinions mostly. Mostly I win Height is only a perception.

i think because my space is in a roof, the water element is daunting. In soil you can water once a week (ish), averages say just one or two spillages a grow. With watering twice a day this increases exponentially.

To be honest the answers were similar to my conclusion and I decided to use w/up buckets as trays, with 125mm drain pipe segments raising the pots to be above the runoff. and I think a simple sponge or two to mop up. Ill get it dialled so that my runoff will be a minimum. I already planned to run plain water through every 3/4th day to rinse through.

Yea joker, thx bud. I do have a PH pen but im not doing the ec route. im not scientific, im an artist. Im used to waiting a week to see a result in soil, ill just watch the plants and give em more or less..., I got up/dwn solution fo accracy and will ...'fluctuate in between 5.8 - 6.5 so the spectrum of the window is broard which helps get everything into the plants,... Quoting the growweedeasy guide!!!.

As I said i grow in soil and getting that right is more complex than people think, to get yield plus quality anyway. But when its dialled youre feeding the soil not the plant, and that means you dont have to feed so often, you just manage the soil and keep its health and food up...

we will see what happens

Im chatting about this here to save face with my grow bud, we been fighting for 10 years about good vs evil...so im 'cloak and daggering' ^^

[Viz]

All good mate, not sure you would need to flush your coco every week. But your method works for you so rock on my friend. Happy growing.

[joker_the_smoker]

All good mate, not sure you would need to flush your coco every week. But your method works for you so rock on my friend. Happy growing.

definitely wouldnt flush every day. theres no need to flush unless there issues or if your doing a flush couple weeks in flower to refresh the coco.. heard alot people say dont great coco like soil. like waitin wating a week an seeing if any issues these will show up quicker than soil.
would definitely go with an EC reader amigo am not scientific either get diary started mate

[The Aspie Toker]

I have my plant in a litter tray at present. If my plant[s] become too wide or too tall to take out of the tent to water, I place a bamboo cane underneath the tray (plant end) and let the feed drain away from the pot, then suck it up with a turkey baster. It does the job.

[RASTA]

A built myself a frame type thingy majig.

A growbag tray sits ontop of it. Pots sit on growbag tray.
N two basins placed under the frame. In position to collect runoff.

A empty the basins every couple of days. Ideal for me in flower. Saves me having to move plants.

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[RASTA]

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