Coco growing, hard water & CalMag

[ZigZag]

Yeah, I prep my coco with cal/mag and add 2 ml/quart too, but on alternate feeding days. Seems to work well though right now I have 2 out of 8 that are showing slight signs of magnesium deficiency but I can’t nail down why- everything’s good: temp, humidity, ph in and out, watering and feeding schedule, etc. The info with the seeds said Zkittlez needs lots of nutrients. I’ve been giving them full strength so I guess I’ll try boosting that up for a few feedings and see if that helps.

[jamesphoto]

Thanks, your experience is helpful. I've decided to use the Canna CalMag. Same ratio. If I begin to see crazy shit happening I'll make a change. I'm excited. I'll have some new plants in the pots in a few weeks.

[changeofpace2014]

I think every feed chart is for RO water, with EC 0.00 and that is why when following the feed charts with tap water, it requires a "lot of dilution" at the end of mixing for the target EC.

[MagicMike66]

I’ve only ever grown in coco using canna products. I always add 1ml of cal mag per litre or water with no issues. I tend to stop after a few weeks of flower. Whether it’s right or not it seems to work for me and my set up

[ZigZag]

I've had similar experiences growing in coco, which I do to reduce insect and other pesky problems indoors. Never had any issues with pests or mold or anything else except PH and nutrient imbalances_ pretty typical in coco, especially if using new nutrients .
I also add a good dose of Cal/Mag when i prep the coco before planting so I don't need to add it for a bit once the new seedlings are in. My experience has been that when using low concentrations of nutrients with seedlings that I can get a cal/mag deficiency that needs correction early on. This helps prevent that.
I also have started using a slightly higher PH during the early veg stage_ about 6-6.5, it seems to help prevent Cal/Mag deficiencies since those are more easily accessible to plants between PH 6-7 or so. Then once the coco medium is well established I back the PH off to 5.8-6.2 for the remainder.
I also flush with plain water at PH 6.0 every three weeks to clean out any accumulated salts.
Our water runs about 7.8 PH out of the tap so it needs adjustments.
Happy growing!
ps;_ I prep the coco by washing it 3x in water at PH 6.0. Then I add a fairly strong Cal/Mag flush and then a nutrient flush at 1/2 strength. Seems to work pretty well.

[3Berries]

My epiphany this year after many was my potassium issues were the nutes I was using being way unbalanced. And for the last two years I've had what I believe to be the cure on hand. I will find out in about 3 months.

[PuravidaC]

I am really glad to finally see this conversation! When I switched to coco, I added cal/mag as directed on this grow site for coco grows and immediately had issues with bronze spots taking over plants. This issued plagued me for several grows until I found a photo of cal/mag toxicity and it looked like my plants. I finally put it together that my municipal water was hard and I didn't need to add cal/mag. Haven't had any issues since I stopped adding cal/mag. I do use it when I rehydrate coco brick but no more after that. Good luck!

[changeofpace2014]

I have not used there products but was recently considering, especially there coco, because it sounds like it is processed with higher quality, however at the end of the day, it is stii coco coir and will / probably require cal mag additive. I would have a bottle of there cal mag on hand just in case.

[3Berries]

My well water is hard at about 450-500 ppm at ~90/10 Ca/Mg and a pinch of iron. So after going through the rainwater and hard water only grows with issues haunting me I went with a 50/50 mix last time. Worked very well and I did not add too much more Ca. I did continue to add some Mg. Next grow is the same but adding some Langbeinite to each mix, it's 2K/Mg sulfates. I'm short on the K in my nutes I use I suspect.

[Blowdout2269]

You can get home tests also.
You could use this to compare to the city report.

[jamesphoto]

So you are using it in the very beginning getting your coco ready for plants? That's what I got out of the above article. Thanks for that good advice!

[jamesphoto]

Excellent article. Thank you!

[jamesphoto]

No soft water. Looked on the towns website and no water report there. Will keep looking. Thanks

[jamesphoto]

No soft water. Looking on the city website I don't see any water report. I will reach out to them and ask though. Thanks!

[Mr.furley]

I run the Canna line presently on .3 Base E/c city water and do not use a calmag on the regular.

I hydrated new coco with it as the binding of calmag on coco is extreme so if it is setup right in the beginning and the water source includes calmag then unless I start having problems I do not use it.