COCO COIR The importance of using the right additives and nutes in the right ratio

[MCsumz]

Hey there,

So I'm here to share an absolutely noob nerve wrecking mistake of mine, as I am new to Coco and I have badly fucked up the nute schedule. Yet I find this very interesting and meaningful to learn from. So I had to take 3 years of break from growing unfortunately due to life situation issues. I could finally gather the money again for proper equipment and started over. This time around with low wattage HIDs and Coco coir. (I grew in soil and with a grow CFL bulb)

So basically I have a seddling at day 10 right now, which is doing absolutely awful. I had no idea why this is I was guessing all kinds of different things and I am a 90 % sure that I finally figured this out. The plant is doing also awful for this age also looking very unhappy. I have never seen anything like this before, on a forum the told me I was overwatering, but this is not the root of the problem IMO. Basically all new growth is weird, swollen, puffy and firm. Very similar to overwatering right? But the leaves are also way rounder than normal, it's just very weird. The taproot also appeared with a small slit in it due to over temps I guess but I still decided to give it a try. (Also partially my mistake.) Growth is also stunned AF and I'm getting pH issues. I think I finally got it. First of all what the fuck is up with pH meters? I bought mine from Aliexpress a couple years ago and calibrated it a couple of times before, but as I found out yesterday, they are fucking unreliable. At least the cheaper ones. I can't fucking ever calibrate it properly, cause there is a 0.2 difference always even between calibration solutions. -_-' So this first, meaning there have always been a +-0.2 difference in my nute solution.. Then drum rolls please! I was giving the plant enzymes with every single watering instead of just once per week. My God I know. I'll post you a pic of the plant from today, I've never seen anything like this before, also couldn't find anything similar on forums.

I would also like to ask, how the hell do you pH your solution? Do you use a pH pen, or the old school liquid tests? Cuz they can be trusted, but hard to be exact with. I need 5.8 exactly. How do you calibrate the pen? Or like get around this issue? Do you like allow a little ph drift or something? Any input would be appreciated!

So I am staring another seed right now, please give me some advice with pHing the nute solution for coco with an inaccurate pH pen or similar! Also any advice for a new Coco grower is appreciated.

Have a nice day and happy growing!

[yellow]

Ha ha, was quiet an interesting read. So moral of the story; dont cheap out on equipment?
hope you found the issue! As I personally know how frustrating things can get. Goodluck!

[MCsumz]

Thank you! Also for the sympathy. We'll see, but I have good feelings for now. Well yes, that is definitely important. Or you could also say, if buying a cheap pH pen, at least buy an accurate one, if it even exists for such amount of money. And the other moral is to not use enzymes with every watering only once a week! xd

[Toker1]

I do DWC and Ph should drift. If you hit 5.8 every time, nutrients that are absorbed at closer to 6.5 will be locked out. Add PH up or down until the desired level is reached. Test with pen or drops, both are accurate.
You calibrate the pen with calibration solution.
Cheap pens work well when you properly store them. I have had mine about 5 years ($10 ph pen) and only I only calibrate about 1 per year. Most I have ever seen it go off in the years time is by .1.

http://www.just4growers.com/stream/hydroponic-growing-techniques/how-to-take-care-of-your-ph-meter.aspx

[MCsumz]

Wow! Okay, thank you very much! I didn't know pH should drift, nutrient absorbtion capacity with soilless is new to me. Thank you for the reliable info! 🙂

[Bogleg]

I keep mother plants in a coco/perlite mix in one gallon pots. Once they get root bound I take a cut and start over.

I haven't grown from seed in coco, so I can't comment on the nutrient requirements from that aspect - but I do grow from seed in hydro (DWC as seedlings, then ebb and flow for flower), which is pretty similar from a nutrient schedule perspective.

For my moms, I use a half strength slightly modified (Greengene's Formula) Jacks 3-2-1 formula at half strength. When I water/feed, I always water to around 20-30% run-off and check both PPMs and PH. I use Apera meters - the PH60 and EH60 I think are the models. I store them in a storage solution that provides both an EC/TDS value and a PH value, so when I put them back in the cap with the storage solution, I get a reference point to check for calibration. As a hydro grower, regular PPM and PH meter calibration is a must, so it's a habit I already had when I started using coco.

I don't try to keep PH at specifically 5.8. Generally with my coco plants I just try to keep it around 6...anywhere from 5.7-6.2 I'm generally okay with (for run-off numbers - I always pH to 5.8 going in).

[Toker1]

You can trim away at the root ball, only take an inch or so off the sides. Replant in fresh soil (or whatever medium you choose) and you can keep your mothers around much longer.

[Toker1]

No prob. Here is a visual depiction. Calcium and Magnesium all need the 6-6.5 range to be absorbed. While Phosphorous, Boron, and Manganese need the 5.5-6 range to be absorbed.