Coco coir vs soil with JACK THE RIPPER

aeviaanah said:

Ok so lots of people are saying to have coco coir dry out before re watering? it has already been over a week and it is still damp. with the coco being wet so long i cant feed as much as i would like to. how do you guys get about doing this? i just picked up grandma enggys h-2....humic acid. i also picked up botanicare's cal-mag. do you use as directed on back of bottle?
i cant really do the water nute water nute....or water water nute water water nute...how do i get them the required amounts of nutrients? so much time goes by before i need to water again.

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The directed concentrations on the back of most nutrient bottles are usually for larger established plants. I would cut the concentration in half at least and see how your plats respond. I only let the coco dry out for like two to three days then I water again, it is almost impossible to overwater in coco. the humic acid I always use at full concentration it is almost impossible to overuse that stuff.

newgrowth has a point about using half strength more often. i will try this method and see how it works....slowly work my way up till they are big. i will use this humic acid every water. what exactly does this do?

thanks for the info warlord. water with nutes every three days or so sounds about right...what you think? good point about hydro.

use the cal mag, make sure there's enough cal mag in the coco.

Guys not sure where you are getting your coco the natives? The salt issue was a problem years ago and the manufacture's relised they would sell more if it was washed in fresh water and PH balanced. Read the bag if in question.

If you use chem nuits salt buildup is an issue with coco. They even advise you to flush often. The recommend mix is 5 to 1. 5 parts soil 1 coco.

I us it and go organic all the way last 2 weeks water.

aeviaanah said:

Yea, I am still not sure what to do about the salt buildup...Ive asked on another thread but no response yet. Possibly you would know? Should i flush and remove excess runoff...or just continue as normal?

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I only grow in coco. Your best setup would be to add 20-30% big and chunky perlite then use Drip Clean from House and Garden.

The drip clean prevents you from needing to flush by eliminating any build up. You add it to your normal feed reg.

The perlite is for possible root rot. Coco used on young plants that are not all too thirsty can lead to wet spots in the medium that just don't dry up.

For that I also use roots excelurator by House and Garden. It prevents root disease by coating the roots. It also increases the growth rate of the roots.

I generally get any where from an inch a day to 4 inches of growth a day in coco.

aeviaanah said:

newgrowth has a point about using half strength more often. i will try this method and see how it works....slowly work my way up till they are big. i will use this humic acid every water. what exactly does this do?

thanks for the info warlord. water with nutes every three days or so sounds about right...what you think? good point about hydro.

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Humic acid is supposed to help flush salt build up and allow your plants to better absorb nutrients over a wider pH range. It is also a source of food for beneficial mycorrhizae. I have seen a huge benefit from it in Coco coir.

woodsmaneh! said:

Guys not sure where you are getting your coco the natives? The salt issue was a problem years ago and the manufacture's relised they would sell more if it was washed in fresh water and PH balanced. Read the bag if in question.

If you use chem nuits salt buildup is an issue with coco. They even advise you to flush often. The recommend mix is 5 to 1. 5 parts soil 1 coco.

I us it and go organic all the way last 2 weeks water.

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Salt built up has not been a issue for me yet, I just make sure I get at least 20% run-off after each water. I don't think a flush would be good for my plants in the middle of flower. The only source of nutrients in an inert media like coco are in the solution you feed it.

My plants are loving this coco they are thriving faster than i have ever seen before. I will post pictures soon showing the comparison of coco to soil. The plant in soil is bigger but this may be part due to the coco plant dealing with media change.

Attached is two pictures showing the comparison of soil to coco coir. Although variable differences were kept to a minimum I believe this comparison is not that accurate.

1. Lack of experience growing in coco coir.

2. Only one plant to represent each group. Ten to 15 plants is ideal.

3. Media change from transplant soil to coco coir and soil to soil.

The plant on the left is soil and the right is coco coir. As you can see the soil plant is 25-30 percent bigger and appears to be healthier.

I have not yet changed to 12/12. After transplant i will give a week or so then go 12/12.

With your mix of strains I'm assuming you start from seed. How long are these plants from seed now? About 7 weeks? Is the coir plant slightly lighter in color or am I seeing things? (I do that alot). Thanks.

the only strain i have started from seed is unknown all others are clone. the coir plant is the smaller of the two...the one on the right side.

i received small clones october 31st. about 8 weeks from clone give or take.

I like to add perlite,and lime to the coir mix.Canna is the best.

say u mix one nutrient and it is a 10-10-10 and another that is a 5-5-5 is the final product 15-15-15? how do you know when it is good and/or bad to mix?

a friend of mine just gave me a box full of nutrients, plus i have some....which would you use along with the coco and/or soil? (anyone feel free to answer)

veg:
supernatural gro terra 20-20-20
general hydroponics maxigro 10-5-14
age old grow organic 12-6-6
pura vida grow organic 6-4-3
fox farms grow big organic 6-4-4
fish emulsion organic 5-1-1

flower:
supernatural bloom terra 11-31-15
general hydroponics maxibloom 5-15-14
fox farms tiger bloom organic 2-8-4
age old grow dry fruit organic 2-10-20

supplements:
general hydroponics kool bloom 2-45-28
supernatural super boost 10-49-10
fox farms big bloom organic 0.01-0.3-0.7
bio grow 1.8-0.1-6.6
humboldts countrys own snow storm 0-0-3
general hydroponics flora nectar 0-0-1
general hydroponics chi 0.2-0-0.2
grandma enngys humic acid
cal mag 2-0-0
botanicare cal-mag
age old grow mycorrhizae


i know it is a big list...possibly you are familiar with any of these products and how they react with soil/coco?

Here are a few pictures of jack the ripper. The one grown in coco coir has started to show improvement when compared to her sister in soil. She has grow bigger than the soil plant, remember as a clone she was smaller.

The coco coir plant has larger fan leaves and appears to be growing with more vigor. Lights were switched 12/12 last monday.

I also through in a picture of the whole group. JTR on left BUBBA KUSH in the middle and SUPER SILVER HAZE far left.

looking good

thanks dirty...post some pics mang

week 2.5 of 12/12

i have been doing an experiment of coco vs soil...although with such a small number of plants, this experiment doesnt give us much data. i have tested one jack the ripper in soil against a jack the ripper in coco coir. i have been using gh gro, and maxi bloom. i have yet to add kool bloom. plants are just getting ready to start week three of 12/12. other additives include cal mag, humic acid, mycorrhizae, hco snow storm, and gh floranectar. ive been using a 400 watt hps, and water straight from tap. i have been watering every 5 days because plants are in 7 gallon pots. plants were treated exactly the same. DO NOT USE THIS POST TO JUDGE BETWEEN COCO AND SOIL...UNLESS YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE COCO SPECIFIC NUTRIENTS.

reasons to why i think soil plant is larger:
large pots which means less watering (coco should be watered more often)
not using coco specific nutrients
any others?
denser canopy

reaons coco nugs are SLIGHTLY more developed:
less main colas..less competition
less dense canopy...more light penetration


here are a few pictures showing comparison...take a look and tell me what you think. these pictures make plants look real close to the same size. pictures dont show true comparison...in real life soil plant appears to be waay more denser than pictures can show.


coco on left, soil on right


coco on left, soil on right


coco closeup


soil closeup

lets do this one over