COCO COIR First Coco Grow!

[apacin0]

Hello Good Day to you all!

Today I officially just started my first coco grow. Here are the details:

Medium: Coco ~75-80% / LECA ~20-25%
Nutrients: General Hydroponics Flora Series
Equipment:
Viparspectra P1000 100W LED Grow Light (Samsung LM301H Diodes)
Outlet Timer
GH Flora Trio + CALiMAGic
PH Down (Canadian brand w/ Phosphoric Acid and Citric Acid)
3-Gallon Fabric Pot
Hydrofarm 4” Inline-Fan /w Speed Controller
4” Ducting
Small Stationary Fan
Drain Table 25” L x 17.5” W x 22” H
Grow Room:
Closet 3’x21”

I am not very experienced, but I've brought a plant to flower before using DWC. I was recently given a full vial of mixed seeds from a former head grower at a legal commercial op. Unfortunately I have to treat them all kinda like bag seeds, but they should all be great cultivars and likely are feminized photos.

Hope to learn a lot and I have started a grow journal. Also I hope that if I have question, some of you can help.

Today is the beginning of Week 3 (Sprouted 8/26). I germinated directly in seed starter mix (peat moss/perlite) in a small food safe plastic container and transplanted this morning to a 3-gallon grow bag.


I will have a filter before it starts flowering by the way. I have to order one online. Cannabis is legal here, but I don't want the old man next door complaining lol, as I have the exhaust venting towards him.

[Gingerbeard]

If the old man next door has a problem, have him talk to me. I'll settle his hash.
I am completely unfamiliar with your medium setup. Have you done it in the past? Seems to me the roots will have issue when they hit the coco. Also, maybe issue drying out sitting in the LECA.
You teach me and I'll take care of your OMND.

[apacin0]

It's just an experiment. I was shooting for a 70/30 coco/pebble mix. I mixed the two thoroughly, except for the top layer you can see. Everyone uses coco/perlite because it works, but I just wanted to see the difference. The seed starter mix is a very small percentage of the whole medium. I only used it because I didn't have any grow plugs and I was still waiting for the coco to ship to me. I've only used clay pebbles in DWC. I've seen some companies, possibly in Europe, that are selling pre-mixed bags of 60/40 coco/pebble. I thought I would adjust the mix and try. Maybe their ratio is better or maybe it sucks as a medium. Just trying it out.

[apacin0]

https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/coco-peat-hydroton-leca-soil-replacement

https://www.natureslivingsoil.com/nls-blog/2023/5/24/post-7-perlite-vs-vermiculite-vs-clay-pellets-choosing-the-right-growing-medium

https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/blog-growing-cannabis-with-coco-coir-n545

Some articles I found in regards to clay pebbles as an alternative to perlite in coco coir mix.

[Gingerbeard]

It's not that I can't see the combination working.
I am familiar with anything growing in LECA needing a drip and have only heard of problems when people grow in coco without something like perlite. But that's me. I've only done soil and coco/perlite. Gonna watch.
Funny my reaction when I saw you growing herbs with weed. I went into stoned snob mode. You can't grow herbs with weed! But of course, you can.

[apacin0]

Yeah. I think with the right amount of fertigation it'll be just fine. I have a small water pump, but need some more irrigation supplies and a good timer to setup an automated drip.

Haha yeah I've been growing herbs, tomato, and other greens the last few months. Also have a small jalapeño plant (bottom left) that's flowering. Hopefully some hot peppers soon!

[apacin0]

Alright we're in business! I was able to pick up the irrigation supplies at local shops and I've ordered the short interval timer online. I've made my own watering ring with tubing and barbed tees. I could only find clear tubing, so I may tape them up to block light. I'll be playing around with pump time to dial in required operating time for optimal feeding.

[Bluey]

I like your willingness to experiment. Watching this closely. I'm a coco grower. Seed straight into coco or coco perlite mix. Either or doesn't really matter from what I've grown and experienced.
I strongly advise against using peat in anything cannabis related. As a medium it's pH is far to low to keep seedlings happy and it's very difficult to get it right.

[apacin0]

Thanks! I agree about not using peat because of acidity, also it's not a sustainable resource. I would not have used the leftover seed starter mix with peat moss if I had the coco available at the time. I transplanted it young and there was only a very small amount of the starter medium (peatmoss/perlite) left on it when I had it out of it's 1st pot. I'm hoping, and guessing, it won't affect the overall PH of the medium going forward. I was also giving it small amounts of PH'd nutrients at 5.8 since it sprouted.

[OldSoul]

I'm no expert by any means but when that thing starts developing pistols you're not gonna want any other plant stuff getting on them. Who knows, maybe you can grow spicy buds?

[apacin0]

Lol. Most will be gone/harvested, but that pepper plant stays in the corner.

[Ckbrew]

It looks like you are off to a good start. Some things to think about- How are you going to handle runoff from your tray, you may want more than one fan, if you move your exhaust vent opening to the top of the space you will draw off more unwanted heat, are you venting the air to the outside the building or using a dehumidifier and/or window fan, what kind of training are you planning? I follow the feeding schedules on the GWE site. Stay consistent on the pH of feeding solutions, I target pH 5.8.

[apacin0]

Thanks! Runoff falls through the perforated baking sheet that I'm using as the table into a plastic tote below. When the plants stop dripping I just remove the tote below and dump it on the plants outside. The exhaust will go up when I have the filter, I'm just lazy right now and only want to mount it up once. I have the air venting outside. There is very minimal heat inside the closet, only gets around 74-76F. I just have it for air exchange and humidity control. I don't know about the training. That's where I'm very inexperienced. I know much about keeping the plant going in terms of nutrients/environment, but not much about care for/during flowering. I'll figure it out, but probably LST. I've been following GWE guides since I found them 4 years ago. I stopped growing plants for a while, but happy to be back doing it again.

[Gingerbeard]

About growing weed in peppers.
If any y'all ever had the experience of tasting THCA crystals or some sort of weed extract, they are piquant. I'm going to postulate that growing peppers next to weed will make for higher %THCA because it will be more piquant.
Who remembers Tomacco? The science is exactly the same.
FYI:
Only four American states allow growing tobacco for personal use, and you need a license.
There are still at least 8 American states that do not allow home distillation of alcohol.
Currently, more than half of the American states and outlying territories allow growing marijuana for personal use without a license.
Whatever anyone wants to say about marijuana laws, it could be worse. As long as tobacco and alcohol have been around, we still see the nature of those beasts. Of course, there are a few dollars to be made in taxes.

[Bluey]

Any amount of dank bud stickiness getting into your eyes will burn the crap out of them just like chilli does.

Even after all these years it still catches me out. The only way I can avoid it is to shower straight afterwards if I've been working amongst the plants.

[Gingerbeard]

A full shower to remove stickiness after working your plants? Ha-ha. Bluey gardens naked!
I mean eeeewww! Bluey gardens naked!

[Bluey]

On occasion, yes. I am one with my plants. Zen

It not only gets on my hands but arms, head and chest. I wash my hands afterwards but you get it back on your hands if you don't wash it all off.

[apacin0]

Images of feeding. Hand fed today. Still working on irrigation. You can see it drains well into the tote below. I'll dump it outside later this afternoon.

I also moved the cannabis plant to the center.

[apacin0]

I just tested the pump and it does about 1 gallon per 60 seconds on low. I ran multiple tests and got around the same. I will use that as a baseline to setup the timer.

[Ckbrew]

Will there be more than 1 plant on the system? If so you should build all the system and branches and retest your delivery rate. Are you planning on a res tank to feed it? How often will it need to be refilled. How often will the waste tank need to be drained. The res should be lower than the feeders so if there is a failure and a valve stays open, it will not siphon out the entire res into the plants. The lower tub of waste should be emptied as soon as runoff is complete so as not to promote humidity and bacteria and mold growth.

[apacin0]

Thanks for the great questions. Single site so far. I have a 4 gallon bucket res with two air stones an air pump. I have the bucket sitting inside a 10-12 gallon tote with a lid on both to prevent algae growth. The res is well below the drain tray. I plan to dump the waste soon as it stops dripping. I'll adjust res size, pump speed (mine has 3 speeds), and operating time when I add more sites to the irrigation system.

[apacin0]

Still healthy. Growing very well. These Samsung diodes definitely seem to have great canopy penetration, I see so much growth between stems! I just topped today. I'll admit it was my first time. I used my fingers and a sharp disinfected knife. Also my peppers are growing!

[Gingerbeard]

You sterilized your scissors. Did you sterilize your fingers? Eeeeewwww!!!
I'm zooming in real close on pictures 1 and 2, trying to figure out where you made the cut and comparing it to your pepper.
Consider you topped your plant at a bad spot. At whatever node you decide to top, it should be done in the inch range above a leaf set, or just below without leaving nubs. When you train your plant, you will be pulling the new branches to the sides. This can split your plant even if you know what you are doing. The extra inchish you leave will help prevent this. Your pepper was topped at a similar place as your weed, but the pepper branches have not been trained... pulled to the sides.
There is FIMming, but this more than a FIM. I have never done it because one thing I see is you never know how much or where new growth will come from.