Does anybody know the truth behind watering in coco. I hear you should water everyay and I also hear that you can treat like soil and water every time pot is light. What is better?
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Morning Dman, yeah, there are many truths, you got to find one you like.
Alot depends on how old your plants are, all i know you can't hardly go wrong with coco.Cfls for a week or two
315lec for everything else
Dug up Ms.topsoil, with perlite added
36x36x63 inch tent.
6inch - exaust - intake fans an scrubber
Smart pots
Molasses
Autoflowers -
I Do NOT grow in coco but it is to my understanding that during the first few weeks of growth watering when the pot is light is a good way to avoid overwatering but a mature flowering plant will require daily wateringsComment
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I haven't read anything definitive about it. That being said, I water every day. I shoot for two times a day. I think it provides a full menu of nutrition and replaces what's been used since the previous feed.Comment
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It’s my understanding that coco retains water well that’s y I mix it with my ffof at a 50/50 mix hopeing not to water as much in smart pots. My2$Comment
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Hi Dman,
I am in the middle of my first coco grow. I learned a lot from this forum and the tutorial, but you might want to check out AskEd's coco guide on Grasscityforums.
It does a great job of explaining the how and whys of coco.
I got a wide range of answers to your same question. Many were adamant.
Assuming you are in full stage veg, you might want to try both methods for a few days each. It helps if you take some pictures every day for each method as you can look at them away from the grow lights and get a day by day comparison of how they are responding.
In my limited experience, I have found that it is true that coco is very forgiving as far as watering. For myself, I am working on a schedule of nute and Calmag water. Day off. Two days of just pHed water. Nute and Calmag water etc. My plants never seem to show signs of overwatering. I also water to about 20 percent runoff and my plants never sit in the runoff water.
If you use the lift method, you might find the conditions in your grow space limit how quickly your plant dries. Therefore, you might not be able to feed them as often if you are waiting to water. BTW, I also learned they like much less than half dose nutes, but they like it more often.
I bet you are already aware that there can be Calmag issues with coco as well as salt buildup, and pH is much more important with coco. Ed's guide discusses this in detail.
Please post here once you have a method that works for you as it will help me learn from your experience! Good luck!Comment
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I know the truth! You can and should water coco every day (which is two words unless you're using it as an adjective by the wayOriginally posted by Dman2331 View Post
) Especially if you mix it with 25% perlite, which I recommend, coco drains away any excess water in just minutes leaving a moist medium with lots of room for air to get to the roots. Coco is awesome!
I strongly suggest using an air pot for even better air to the roots and awesome root growth.
Setting up an automatic watering system with a timer and a cheap aquarium pump makes life easy. My current White Widow grow is getting 24 hours of light a day in veg and gets watered every 8 hours with a dilute mixture of General Hydroponics Flora Series. It's growing so big and so fast and so lush it makes me laugh every time I open the tent.
Drian-to-waste works great with coco, but my latest setup drains to and pumps from a reservoir that I change once a week. It works a treat as the Brits say.
Here's Nebula's write-up on growing in coco, which is excellent, as always: http://www.growweedeasy.com/coco-coir
Good luck with your coco grow.Comment
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Hey St Buds, yes absolutely you can speed up the growth, try it you ain't gonna hurt nothin, feed like normal dose , but not so much . Save the rest for 6-8hours later, your plants leaves, are always looking excited for the next feeding, when you come back, fast,fast growing, even compared to supersoil, coco is much faster.
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If it were possible to overwater coco/perlite, my plants would be dead by now. I water a lot every single day, and now that they are in Flower with low RH, I often give two waterings per day. The coco/perlite retains sufficient O2 to prevent roots from drowning. You can choose to water less frequently, but that will result in slower growth. One of the benefits of Coco is that plants can get everything they need all the time, including water.Comment
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I grow in coco in 5 gallon pots and water once every 5 days learned to grow threw a few others years back and thats how we have always done it will great results. This has been my experience and with tht said I am off to read the link posted in the above commentComment
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I'm sorry if my posts have offended you, DAAS. I've been growing since the 70s and have just been trying to help out here a little bit lately along with reading up on what's new and interesting. There is an awful lot of confusion, BS, and folklore in the cannabis growing world and I do realize that I'm not bashful about pointing that out and trying to offer better advice.Originally posted by D.A.A.S.69 View Post
I agree that everyone grows a little different, but that's not the same thing as your seeming assertion that you can just pick what you want to be true.
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You ain't pissed me off, takes way more than that silliness, and I've been growing since the mid sixties, but that don't mean sh-t, I see young growers on here every week that can grow better than I can, an I'm proud for them, that's what Nebula set out to do on this GWE site, make it easy for new growers, an for older growers too,
But there is always more than one way to skin the cat. They have got to find what works best for them an their plants.
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How do i water every day, or multiple times a day if i'm supposed to wait until the top inch of my coco gets dry? I'd like to try watering every day, especially during these last few weeks but I over watered in veg, stunted them and have been treading lightly. If I water every day don't I waterlog the roots?
I can absolutely depend that a pot full of roots and coco/perlite will keep itself at optimal water : oxygen and I can run water through it every day, maybe even 2 or 3 times a day?
complete beginner
39" x 39" x 78" tent
315 Watt CMH
4" Phat Filter w/ 4" Hurricane duct fan
Automatic top feed into coco.
Mega Crop nutesComment
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My coco is never dry to the touch. If there is a little dry coco on top, I make a note and give extra water.
I would ignore the advice about the top inch being dry.
You cannot "waterlog" the roots in Coco/perlite... well I suppose if you kept them in a flood table...
I'd recommend daily watering till run-off. If you want, you can add a second watering where you give about 1/2 as much water and little to no run-off. I do my main watering at 8pm. I have 6 plants in 7 gallon fabric pots. At 8pm I give about 2 gallons total, alternating Nutes with Plain+Cal/Mag. When I add a second watering at 8am it is never more than 1 gallon and always is plain+Cal/Mag.
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> The attitude expressed in your comments seems to out of place for this forum. Can't we all try to be friendly.
I am trying to be friendly by sharing my time and experience with new growers who have questions.
>...there are many truths when dealing with human plans and intentions. The idea that there is "one truth" is positivism and may apply to chemistry or even botany, but it does not apply to horticulture. Humans have different goals, abilities, and limitations, which affect their "truth".
We seem to have different ideas about what the word "truth" means. Your definition seems to me to be closer to "opinion" than mine, which is more like "what is actually a correct understanding of the way things are."
I'll leave the last word on the subject to y'all. I have to go drain and refill my reservoir and then do housework. Happy growing!Comment
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DoctorJohnson
It doesn't have to do with fact/opinion - I am dealing with objective/subjective.
In hard science, the ontological reality you are trying to measure exists objectively. Your job as a scientist is to build an objective understanding or "epistemology" of it. The issue is that even in hard science, epistemologies are always subjective... (subject, for example, to the interpretation of our senses). Hard scientists work very hard to eliminate subjectivity and create knowledge that is as objective as possible (always still somewhat subjective though). In social science, there is no objective ontology (no objective truth). Social scientists also work to build knowledge, but we are under no illusions that the knowledge we build is objective, at least most of us... those who feel that objective knowledge is possible in social science are called (by themselves and others) "positivists". The post-modern turn in social science has made maintaining a positivistic attitude very difficult, because we have become very aware of how social "facts" are constructed and are subject to perspective. Economics is really the only social science that continues to chase the positivistic goal, and they do so by making assumptions about human goals which often do not reflect actual human behavior. The position of most economists is that there is one rational way, and lots of irrational people. Most social scientists take a very different approach and criticize economists relentlessly. Different people have different goals, especially when it comes to an activity like horticulture. Good social science recognizes those goals rather than imposing a priori assumptions on others who have different perspectives.
What I and others are responding to, is not your effort to help, but the arrogant tone you take while offering it. I mean, you even corrected grammar. And then you wrote "oh please...". I remember earlier your dismissive and rude comments about the Crohn's study that you offered with a great deal of self-confidence but without any actual knowledge or information. You talk on the forum as though you think you are smarter than everyone else. Nobody likes that.
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Hey dman. This topic escalated quick and it’s not the way usually things are around here. We take very seriously being nice and polite. I know it must be confusing who to listen but like some said everyone’s grow it’s diferent. Temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, dew point, VPD, plant size, water and nutrient uptake, medium, strain, ventilation,etc.... they all affect how much water you’ll need so there are no definitive truths for everyone. You will very quickly find what works for you don’t worry. And keep asking good question
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> When u get back could u post me some info on watering everyday in coco? Thanks
Here are a couple of YouTube videos that are terrible visually (just static shots of plants) but the voiceover has really good info.
https://youtu.be/hnxbj8o_PwQ <-- This one is my favorite.
I use Nebula's recommended Flora Series ratios, which is a diluted General Hydroponics schedule. Sometimes I dilute her mix even a little more, like with dwarves that don't handle beaucoup fertilizer as well.
I know it seems weird to water every day with coco, overwatering being the #1 sin in soil grows. But coco isn't soil, it's really more of a modified hydroponic grow with oxygenated nutrients being supplied all the time to the roots. It's easy and gives fantastic results. The only down side is having to water every day. That's why I set up my automatic recirculating system. I was super busy at work last week but the only problem I had after a week of not paying attention to my plant was that it had turned into a giant tangle of greenery!Last edited by DoctorJohnson; 02-11-2018, 03:33 PM.Comment
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