1st time in coco, and im having some issues...

Hey everyone, this is my second grow; first time was in hydro and from seed, but this time I am growing some wifi in coco (60:40 of coco to perlite). The clones are about 5 days old and theyre under a 400w HPS which is 17” away on a 20/4 light schedule. Now initially I screwed up and didn’t condition my coco after I rinsed it (in a pillow case until it ran clear, so rinsed for about 20 min). But as of a day ago ive added ¼ strength of heads formula 6/9ml gal w/ 1ml cal mg a gal as well. They’ve been watered twice so im hoping that later today or tomorrow the coco has some nutes in it an allows them to perk back up. I also foliar fed them earlier with some B1… Any suggestions on what I can do to make them rebound quicker or what is wrong with them? It looks like they’re over watered but everywhere I’ve read, you supposedly can’t over water coco? At this point im wondering if I should just pull them and cut my losses and just go back to hydro. Thanks for the help everyone.


- BD

Let the top dry the first couple waterings to get the roots going. If youre doing the head formula right then I think you over watered. You don't really need extra cal with head formula just mag. It's hard to over water coco once your plant is established.

So when you say let the top dry, how dry are we talking here?

BDGrows said:

So when you say let the top dry, how dry are we talking here?

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Dry enough for your pot to weigh noticeably less when picked up. I let the top dry out completely the first 2 times I water. I wait until the top looks light brown instead of dark brown.

You absolutely CAN over water in coco, and it does indeed appear that is exactly your issue. Especially when they are young without a good root system. Once you have a good established root ball, it becomes much more forgiving but you should still try to give them the wet/dry cycle that helps with oxygenation and root spreading.

Learn the weight of your container dry, as you lift it, and try not to water again until it is noticeably lighter than when watered.