Not sure what I did to my coco test

[SmokeyMcChokey]

So this is a little side thing I'm playing with.

Drip coco chow mix dtw. Two freebie autos running from the same pump and drip res to the same runoff tub on the same table.

One seems happy enough albeit slightly slower than what I'm used to in rdwc. The other one is a different story. I don't know what I've done to it. It's got some deformed sets and some rust holes going on. Im just curious if anyone has some thoughts.

They are still under a couple 23 watt cfl at about 4"-6" off.
Room is pretty steady in the 65 to 80 range rh about 70%.
Res is aerated well water with megacrop to 300 ppm. pH has been a little low in the 5.6 range but nothing absurd.

Pics will demonstrate that one is chugging along fine the other not so much. The good one is blue dream matic from fast buds the sick one tangie auto from blimburn. Show me what you got

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

I almost feel bad for the poor thing the more I see it theore I just want to put it out of it's misery

 

[ANC]

You started it off in too big a bag. Now you have problems with the roots not being able to breathe or eat properly.
If you stay with those bags, water around the edge of the bag and let the roots look for the water.

You can likely move up to 350ppm. I think 300 is a little low unless you have organic amendments in like vermicompost.

Also, bring the bulbs down to 2" max, you can get closer if you stay on top of not letting them grow into the light.

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

You started it off in too big a bag. Now you have problems with the roots not being able to breathe or eat properly.
If you stay with those bags, water around the edge of the bag and let the roots look for the water.

You can likely move up to 350ppm. I think 300 is a little low unless you have organic amendments in like vermicompost.

Also, bring the bulbs down to 2" max, you can get closer if you stay on top of not letting them grow into the light.

Ya dont say on the bags huh? From everything I've heard it's ok to start autos in their final pot. Also I doubt it's the pot size that effected only the one but not the other.

And as far as watering around the edge I can give that a try but it's a coco coir with about 30% hydroton and 20% perlite so it's plenty light and drains extremely well. By the time it is about to feed again only the bottom inch or two of the bag is damp. So I assume that means the bottom 3 or so inches is wet too.

I've got 1gph emmiters on there and feed for 15 minutes 3 times a day. So each gets about 3/4 gallon a day with about 75% of that being runoff at the moment while the roots are developing.

I bumped the lights off a bit as they were excreting little droplets on the edge of the leaves and I didn't want to burn them. The height is just fine they are still not stretching or reaching and I'd rather not burn them. I harvest this weekend and then they'll move into the corner of the room under a 600 mh. So they are just being held over there for now.

And finally I did agree and mixed a new batch at about 450 at this stage. Basically I intend to treat this as a dtw hydro setup

For what it's worth the janky looking one had some fresh looking new growth. No rusty bits on it yet

 

[ANC]

Yes, autos don't like being moved.
You need to outsmart them.
Either use a smaller bag with more regular smaller waterings or water in a way that there is not too much water for the seedling, nor is it too easy to get to.

Start by watering close to the seedling and water in a wider circle every time you water. When you reach the edge, start making the watered circle wider. Until you water the pot quite well every time.

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

Yes, autos don't like being moved.
You need to outsmart them.
Either use a smaller bag with more regular smaller waterings or water in a way that there is not too much water for the seedling, nor is it too easy to get to.

Start by watering close to the seedling and water in a wider circle every time you water. When you reach the edge, start making the watered circle wider. Until you water the pot quite well every time.

Man I'm not going to spend the time and effort to alter feed locations and stuff so if that is indeed the issue the poor little bastard is doomed.

 

[ANC]

I would just hand water them for the first 2 or 3 weeks. After that, when they start drinking the auto fertigation is a nice addon.

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

I would just hand water them for the first 2 or 3 weeks. After that, when they start drinking the auto fertigation is a nice addon.

Man I got a 1 year old, a full time job, a bunch of freelance stuff going and the usual home life maintenance. I'm lucky if I even see these things once a day. No way I could go hand water them 2-4 times a day

 

[vertnugs]

May not be any thing on your part?

Maybe just the plant itself?

Let that bitch ride and see what gives is my 2 cents,she may be da bombdiggitty,she may not.

 

[ANC]

I raised a baby not too long ago.. It can be done, it is not like a hundred plants. Those are so small it will take like 5 minutes every 3 days.

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

I raised a baby not too long ago.. It can be done, it is not like a hundred plants. Those are so small it will take like 5 minutes every 3 days.

Every 3 days? This isn't dirt. This is coco. If I let it go 3 days without watering it would be dust. And I've seen multiple sources recommending not to ever dry out your coco or it gains hydrophobic properties. Also I've read that to gain the most from using coco multiple daily waterings is ideal. Similar to an ebb and flow system of which I have lots of experience

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

May not be any thing on your part?

Maybe just the plant itself?

Let that bitch ride and see what gives is my 2 cents,she may be da bombdiggitty,she may not.

Yeah this is just side stuff. It's sort of a viability test to get a reasonable setup for my mom to get into she has been bugging me for a set up for years and I thought ok maybe some autos in coco could be easy enough once we set up the room for her to just do bucket swaps every few days. These two are just going to grab the corner of my main room after harvest and when I start my new 4 site scrog

 

[ANC]

I know, but don't get everything wet to start with.
It is like a rolling ball of moss, every time you can water it a bit more

 

[vertnugs]

Yeah this is just side stuff. It's sort of a viability test to get a reasonable setup for my mom to get into she has been bugging me for a set up for years and I thought ok maybe some autos in coco could be easy enough once we set up the room for her to just do bucket swaps every few days. These two are just going to grab the corner of my main room after harvest and when I start my new 4 site scrog

Lol that's funny shit cause i am in the middle of getting some things set up for my mother in law.

Woman can grow anything on the damn planet.....but you give her some of the devils lettuce it's a shit show lol poor mamma.

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

I know, but don't get everything wet to start with.
It is like a rolling ball of moss, every time you can water it a bit more

But it starts out wet... It was a brick I rehydrated. Once primed you don't dry it out

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

Short follow up. They are still both chugging along patiently waiting for their new home.

The sad looking tangie is still getting rusty spots. Not sure why but it doesn't really seem to be slowing it down. Maybe the tangie in it is just really sensitive or something.

I did precharge the coco with like 200 ppm of pH'd calmag water but haven't really been adding any more. I think megacrop has some in it. Maybe I should add a couple hundred more ppm of Cal mag. My well water has a decent amount of calcium in it so who knows.

Frankly I don't really care as long as it keeps going and doesn't harbor some buggies



The sad tangie auto


The blue dream matic'


The cookies I made last night. Oat meal raisin is so good. I think we know which ones belong to the wife

 

[Wrrrrl]

The spots are calcium def. I have a good amount of calcium in my tap water and still need cal-mag. For seedlings I use 2 cap-fulls of calmag plus in 32 oz of water ph to 6 and mist once a day Edit: just until they get a little bigger and the spots stop. Then stop the misting. Need good ventilation too. Some plants just need more cal than others. I don't know about any other calmag product dilution rate, use your own judgement but it needs calcium.

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

The spots are calcium def. I have a good amount of calcium in my tap water and still need cal-mag. For seedlings I use 2 cap-fulls of calmag plus in 32 oz of water ph to 6 and mist once a day. Need good ventilation too. Some plants just need more cal than others. I don't know about any other calmag product dilution rate, use your own judgement but it needs calcium.

Yeah I mean I go a couple hundred ppm in my nutrient mix. I'll need to do a bucket swap tomorrow or maybe Monday. I'll give a couple hundred ppm more f calmag and see what happens. I have heard coco binds to calcium so it's easy to get to mag tox levels if you push calmag too hot. Hopefully there will be a middle ground for these two. I'm certainly not going to hand water or use another pump to set up multiple drip res

 

[SmokeyMcChokey]

And really though calcium deficiency bad enough to eat up all of the second set of leaves. Seems crazy to me but hell if I know

 

[Wrrrrl]

I have seen a cal def in coco get pretty bad, especially in seedlings. But don't take my word for it, get other coco grower opinions. But I tell everybody growing in coco to take most of their advice from other coco growers since it's not like soil nor like dwc either. Best of luck!!