Hello Talkers after seeing a few similar questions asked regular I thought I'd put together some basic info for beginners growing with coco medium and canna nutrients.
Il start with the first most important tools for the job.
PH Meter
Managing your PH whilst growing in coco is vital for your plants to grow at peak performance. The ph of your solution determines how effectively nutrients are absorbed at the root zone. For coco a PH of 5.8 is the sweet spot. This will see you through from start to finish covering the uptake of most elements. Try altering your ph to 6.0 in flower, this will allow easier access to elements needed throughout the flower cycle.
There's many ph meters on the market today but bare in mind buying cheap will only lead to buying twice. The brands to look out for are essentials and bluelab, both accurate and reliable brands.
Your meter will need to be calibrated regular, I find monthly is fine when using either of the above meters. Calibration fluid is easily available online or at your local hydro store in bottles of Buffer4 and Buffer7.
To adjust the Ph of your water you'll also need a bottle of Ph down, most on the market being very similar. (81% phosphoric acid)
Adjusting PH
Adjusting the PH is the last job when making up a feed. After mixing your nutrients and additives into the water to the correct EC test the ph to see where it stands and then add a few drops of ph down giving it a good stir after, testing with your meter until you reach the desired PH. (Go easy it's highly concentrated)
EC Meter
An EC meter determines the total amount of nutrient salts dissolved in the water. Using a meter allows you to fine tune your feeds and stay on top of your solution long before it drifts out of the desired range. The same rule as above applies, buy cheap buy twice. Bluelab and essentials are again both accurate and reliable brands.
Something to bare in mind when purchasing your Ec meter, is EC truncheons come factory calibrated and require no further calibration where as the digital meters will need regular calibration using CF calibration fluid.
Background EC
Your background Ec is the total amount of dissolved salts already present within your tap water. These are known as trace elements and usually consist of magnesium and calcium.
Your background Ec needs to be taken into account when making up a feed or starting your plants on nutrients in the early stages.
Hard water areas will show from a range of 0.4 and above on your meter. If your in a hard water area start your seedlings on Rhizotonic and ph,d water for the first week before using any nutrients. Then gradually add in small amounts of A and B to raise your Ec one point at a time.
Soft water will show on the meter as 0.2 and below. When using soft water take into account there is little to no trace elements within the water. Feed from the off to ensure traces are available for plant growth.
Coco
What you need to remember when growing in Canna coco is this medium isn't soil. It is completely inert and contains no nutrients or additives other than the ones you add to it whilst feeding.
Despite what some may say it is very hard to over water coco once you have an established plant due to the aeration and structure of the substrate.
Also due to its excellent aeration and drainage no additional extras are needed i.e. Perlite or clay pebbles. This medium is perfectly fine as it is straight from the bag.
When buying any other brand to canna always check its contents as some on the market are not ph buffered and can also contain a high amount of salts resulting in an Ec of around 2.0 which is far from ideal. If this is the case flush 3x pot size with tap water until your run off numbers come within range before potting up your plant or seed.
Watering Schedule/Run Off
Start your seedlings on a wet to slightly dry cycle in the early stages. By doing so you'll encourage the roots to search out for moisture and in turn build a bigger faster root mass. It's the same principal for clones, water every other day for the first week until the root system is established.
Once you have an established root system you can start with daily water/feeds. Water to at least 20% run off every time to ensure any residual nutrient salts are washed out from the root zone and always remove the run off after, as leaving the plants sat in run off will throw out the ph at the root zone as the coco and roots absorb it.
Don't allow your coco to completely dry out it needs to be kept moist throughout.
Rhizotonic
Rhizotonic being a root stimulator stimulates new root growth and enhances overall plant health. It will also aid in the recovery process of any plant subjected to stress. The recommended dilution rate is 4ml per liter but you will achieve the same results in coco at 2ml per litre and save yourself plenty of money.
Add your Rhizotonic from the start of the seedling stage at 2ml per litre throughout veg up until the second week of 12/12. Mixing it into your water before any other nutrients or additives.
Canna A,B
The most vital part of your coco regime. Your A and B contains all micro and macro elements needed for plant growth. These base nutrients are to be added to your water at every feed depending on your background Ec up until you start the final flush before harvest and are available in both Hard and Soft water versions. Be sure to match the nutrients to your water.
Once adding your vegetative or flowering additives i.e. Rhizotonic or pk you then add your base nutrients. Starting with A and then your B both added in equal amounts testing the solution with your Ec meter until you reach the EC required.
So to recap, all additives and boosters are to be added to your water first, then followed by your base nutrients to make up your EC, followed by ph adjustment.
PK 13/14
There are a few different ways to use pk through flower but the easiest way for a beginner is to use it in the following amounts during the flower period.
Week 4 - 7.5ml per 10L
Week 5 - 10ml per 10L
Week 6 - 12ml per 10L or full strength
Bare in mind high amounts of phosphorus can have a detrimental effect on plants. Go easy with it.
Boost
The canna boost is to be added at the first signs of flowers/pistols, add it into your water at a rate of 2ml per litre up until you start the final flush. This additive isn't a must and similiar results can be achieved using just the three products above.
Ec stages
No two plants are the same and feeding requirements varie depending on environment, plant health, strain and phenotype so the following is a guide only and not an exact schedule.
Seedling stage - Ec 0.4-0.6
Early Veg - Ec 0.6-0.8
Late Veg - Ec 0.8-1.1
Early Flower - Ec 1.1-1.2
Mid Flower - Ec 1.2-1.4
Late Flower - Ec 1.2-1.4
Flush - Tap Water
The Ec feeding schedules from nutrient company's are not designed for cannabis. Following there high strength charts will cost a fortune and most likely over fertilise your plants.
Flush
When your plants reach maturity you can begin the flushing process. They'll be no need for any nutrients, additives or ph,ing. Tap water stood for 24 hours is just fine.
By not ph'ing your flush water your locking everything at the root zone out and forcing your plants to use up there stored nutrients, leading to a clean chemical free smoke.
Water daily with tap water to plenty of run off. 7 days is ample when running the pk schedule above. If you decide to run your pk throughout the flowering period in high amounts a 10 day flush would be better to ensure your plants are clean of chemicals.
There's many different methods out there for coco growing and the above is a tried, tested and simple method for beginners. If you can add to this or have any questions feel free
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