1st Coco Grow - Defoliate??

KanaGirl

KanaGirl

Member
Hi all, this is my first grow in coco, and only my second grow ever (1st grow was in DWC about 15 years ago).
Anyhoo, these were all started from seed about 4 weeks ago. I am using only dry, slow release amendments. Light is ES300.
I topped about a week ago, and have been tucking larger fan leaves.

QUESTION: Should I start some defoliation? Which leaves should I be taking off? Thanks in advance ;)

mj1.jpg mj2.jpg
 
G.I.JOSE

G.I.JOSE

Well-Known Member
I would give a light the defoliation, especially if you plan to use LST. It'll give your girls more light penetration to build other colas. The girl was looking great BTW. Cheers! -G.I.JOSE
 
eyeballsaul

eyeballsaul

Well-Known Member
Highly debated subject but at this stage i think absolutely, any leaf thats covering a shoot remove and watch the shoot stretch up, train, train and train some more.
 
KanaGirl

KanaGirl

Member
G.I.JOSE said:
Thanks! Glad I could help. Cheers! -G.I.JOSE
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I noticed you're using the Earth Dust - are you liking it? I'm using Dr. Earth right now, but when I purchased my ES300 I noticed they also have the dry amendments. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!
 
G.I.JOSE

G.I.JOSE

Well-Known Member
Earth dust has been really good to me this is my first time using the dry amendment and doing an organic grow. The base portion of the earth dust was phenomenal! I have still yet to pH water for the plants! When it comes to flowering I was having some issues with the Boost. I got in touch with the general manager Dan from the green Sunshine Company( where Earth dust comes from.) He explained to me that the reason why I'm having so many issues is because I'm not watering frequently enough. When I upped my water I began to see better and healthier growth. If you're just starting out growing and want to save some cash from buying alot of newts I highly recommend giving it a shot. You only have to feed three times for the entire grow. The first is one week prior to planting, 2nd is 1 week prior to flip, 3rd 30 days into flower. Easy peasy! If you need more info please let me know oh, I'd be happy to share more details. Cheers!
-G.I.JOSE
 
KanaGirl

KanaGirl

Member
G.I.JOSE said:
I almost forgot. If you are growing 100% coco you will have to pH unfortunately..
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Thanks for the info. I am growing in 100% coco (almost - I added about 3% perlite), so have been PH-ing water. So far, Ive been enjoying how easy the coco/dry amendment grow has been going - much less work IMO than DWC. Sounds like the Earth Dust is similar to Dr. Earth. Only thing I've had to supplement is CalMag, but that seems to be a given with coco.
 
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G.I.JOSE

G.I.JOSE

Well-Known Member
True story..lol how many times do you have to feed , how much does it cost and how much do you get? Sorry for all the questions, I might switch.lol
 
KanaGirl

KanaGirl

Member
G.I.JOSE said:
True story..lol how many times do you have to feed , how much does it cost and how much do you get? Sorry for all the questions, I might switch.lol
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I buy the Dr. Earth from Amazon, it's relatively cheap IMO (at least for my small grow). I bought the "Premium Gold" All Purpose (4-4-4) for about $11 for 4 lbs and the the "Flower Girl" Bud and Bloom (3-9-4) for about $13 for 4 lbs.

I amended original coco with 1/2 cup of 4-4-4 per 5 gallons, and after 4 weeks top dressed at 1/2 cup per 5 gallons, and threw in just a tbsp of the flower girl. I will top dress one more time before throwing into flower, with a 50/50 mix of both feeds. The nutes are all organic and sounds like a similar feeding plan as the Earth Dust (3 times throughout grow).

Obviously, not sure how these girls will finish out, as I'm only entering 5th week - but they look healthy to me, and are growing vigorously. Like I said, only supplementation I've had to do was for Mag deficiency which I noticed happening on a couple of my plants. However, I think it's only due to the coco substrate, which is known for needing additional Mag. I have hard water where I live, lots of calcium in the tap, so I think it's just the Mag that was deficient.
 
KanaGirl

KanaGirl

Member
Here's a pic of the girls this morning. I just did the top dressing yesterday. You can see evidence of the Mag deficiency on that bottom leaf, top left corner. New growth all looks good, so I think I caught it in time ;)


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G.I.JOSE

G.I.JOSE

Well-Known Member
That is CHEEP!! :o $59 for Earth Dust.. imma stick around if you dont mind, I wanna see how they do! Beauty pic wander lush greens! You starting a journal? If and when you do hit me up! Cheers!
 
KanaGirl

KanaGirl

Member
G.I.JOSE said:
That is CHEEP!! :o $59 for Earth Dust.. imma stick around if you dont mind, I wanna see how they do! Beauty pic wander lush greens! You starting a journal? If and when you do hit me up! Cheers!
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WOW, that is EXPENSIVE!! Maybe I will stick with Dr. Earth if it continues to do well throughout the grow.
I am definitely keeping a journal - and will update as I go along. I will probably veg for a few more weeks and then flip!
 
G.I.JOSE

G.I.JOSE

Well-Known Member
The only difference between yours and mine is that Earth dust is 4 tablespoons per gallon. But I can't wait to see what comes of your grow. Good luck!
 
KanaGirl

KanaGirl

Member
G.I.JOSE said:
The only difference between yours and mine is that Earth dust is 4 tablespoons per gallon. But I can't wait to see what comes of your grow. Good luck!
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Thanks @G.I.JOSE - Sounds like the Dr. Earth is a less expensive alternative all around. Recommended dosage is 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) per 5 gallons, so only about 1.6 tbsp per gallon - instead of 4 tbsp/gal of the Earth Dust!
 
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