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Is it possible to over water in coir?

S

Spanky

New member
First time growing in coir. I have read and re-read the tutorial. It says to use the first knuckle test, or feel about one inch into the mix and water when it feels dry. I also need to water until about 20 percent runoff to avoid salt build up and lock out.

Problem is, I watered my seedlings for the first time once they sprouted in solo cups...that was over a week ago and the mix never feels dry! Temps from 70-80. Humidity about 35 percent. Light breeze from a fan to make them barely shake.

They don't look over watered, no drooping, etc.

Is this normal? Should I expect to water a lot less often with coir?

Thanks!
 
Spank, I use coir only as an adjunct to my super soil, so I cant speak directly to your question. But yes, it seems likely to me that one can over water in this medium. Not saying you did however. Young plants use very little water so your medium will stay wet much longer than later on when they are bigger. If its damp DONT water. Over watering is the number one killer of small plants. Believe me- I know from experience. Make sure you have drainage out of those solo cups too. Good luck.
 
You don't need to water nearly as often as in soil. They will show you when they need water , wilting, drooping as long as they are still growing good with their leaves up ,they don't need water.
But everyone waters differently in coco, I love coco an treat it like soil, I only water when it's dry, some water everyday, but don't use as much water. Find what works for you an stick with it.
Good Luck Spanky.
 
I got this from a watering video, that was put out by CANA.

Weigh your pot 'bone dry' and get the number.

weigh your pot 'soaking wet' and get the number.

The difference between those two numbers is the amount of water your media will hold (in pounds).

Weigh your pots and water when 1/2 of the water you media will hold, has been used up.

After doing this for a while, you will be able to tell very well, when your pots are a light enough weight to be watered.

I do not recommend running the water so low as to wilt the plant.

My 2c.
 
This is exactly how I do it. Solo cups fully dry weigh 130 grams. Completely saturated the weigh 220 grams. I water at like 150-160 grams. 1 gallon pots dry weigh 1 pound, saturated 3 pounds. Water at 1.5 pounds. 7 gallon dry is 10 lbs of soil, saturated is 30 pounds I water at about 15 pounds.
 
I grow exclusively in Coco , I water every single day, feed every other day don't believe you can water too much. Works for me ☮️
 
Did you poke holes in the bottom of your solo cup (critical)? Also, you might want to raise humidity during sprout and veg, if you can...
 
I grow in coco and water/feed to runoff every day although last grow I did every second day for the first two weeks.
 
Thanks for all the great responses! The seedlings' have finally started to dry on the surface. Both are standing up well and getting third leaves.

Thanks for letting me know that it is normal for coir to hold more water than soil.
I forgot my seedlings won't drink as much as a bigger plant.
My solo cups have plenty of drainage..."If you have trouble filling the empty cup with water, it has plenty of drainage." I passed that test before starting seeds. But this is a good first place to look if there are problems!
I will raise the humidity once my plants go into their grow space...setting down a pan of water, with a large surface area has done the trick for me in the past.
I find it interesting that so many growers are successful with so many different methods of watering.
Since this is my first coir attempt, and only my second grow ever, I plan to use the first knuckle method and water only when dry.
My understanding is that I should alternate each watering: mutes and cal/mag, then clear water, then nutes, etc. All water going in should be in the range of 5.5-6.5 pH.
Also, I think I am supposed to always water to 20 percent run off and check that water's pH. The new and tricky part for me will be how to adjust the next water's pH based on the run off's pH. I expect I will need to start a new topic when this day arrives!

So nice to have a helpful and friendly community to turn to. Thanks again!
 
Your gonna do fine Spanky, you use your nutrients and-or your water to adjust your ph the best you can, without having to use much of the up-down solutions.
Yeah OzBud had a hellacious harvest on his Afghan Kush Ryder, I watched it the whole grow. Great grow.
 
as you may know, the pH range for coco is 5.5-6.5.
I try to aim for about 6. if the runoff is lower than 6 then next time I water I'll make the pH above 6 and vice versa. If the runoff is a bit under or over then just go slightly under/over 6.0 when you water. If your runoff is say 6.5 then water at 5.5 until the runoff pH comes down.
Always water with 5.5-6.5 and aim to get your runoff at about 6 if possible.
 
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