I will be putting this advice in my grow journal for both grows that ended today but I thought I'd post this separately too. Seven of the eight plants involved in these grows came from being rooted in coco then moved into hydro. A Blueberry was the first transferred. She was going to be a mother plant so she was put in coco. The idea was to cut clones from her and put those in the new RDWC setup. It was in a one gallon fabric pot where it was dying from being overfed. I moved her to the new hydro setup and saved her enough to flower out and harvest. She was cut down after nearly four months in hydro. She "shut down" just before harvest. When I pulled the root ball out from the bucket, it was falling apart from root rot caused by so much coco still stuck to it.
Today I cut down six clones that were parked in solo cups waiting for their chance to finally get into the big tent much later than planned when they were moved into a hydro setup. I washed these guys out better than Blueberry but still I found in places where coco was stuck to the roots, rot was happening. You might not have guessed it by their appearance above the surface. Luckily, I still got a nice harvest.
My advice for anyone else who finds themselves needing to do this is:
1. Ruthlessly wash out the coco from the roots. Use a kitchen sink sprayer, whatever. Get all of it you can without killing the plants from root damage.
2. Use Hydroguard full-strength and use it religiously. I only used micro doses of it throughout the grow and it may have still made a difference.
3. Consider giving yourself time between grows to clean out the entire setup and wait to cut clones or start seeds when you know for sure when you'll be able to move them into hydro because somebody might need a few more weeks to mature if you try to stay ahead.
It can be done, just be very careful about it and do not make coco to hydro transfers part of your regular growing routine.
Today I cut down six clones that were parked in solo cups waiting for their chance to finally get into the big tent much later than planned when they were moved into a hydro setup. I washed these guys out better than Blueberry but still I found in places where coco was stuck to the roots, rot was happening. You might not have guessed it by their appearance above the surface. Luckily, I still got a nice harvest.
My advice for anyone else who finds themselves needing to do this is:
1. Ruthlessly wash out the coco from the roots. Use a kitchen sink sprayer, whatever. Get all of it you can without killing the plants from root damage.
2. Use Hydroguard full-strength and use it religiously. I only used micro doses of it throughout the grow and it may have still made a difference.
3. Consider giving yourself time between grows to clean out the entire setup and wait to cut clones or start seeds when you know for sure when you'll be able to move them into hydro because somebody might need a few more weeks to mature if you try to stay ahead.
It can be done, just be very careful about it and do not make coco to hydro transfers part of your regular growing routine.
