What should I swap out for coco with an organic dry ammendment grow?

[Mehler4]

Long story short I got “Canucked” and am growing with coco 25 percent worm castings and gain green dry ammendments. Wondering what I should switch to instead, after doing some research it seems pro mix hp is a better option. I just want to be able to do the same style grow but swapping out the coco and not have issues. Please help me!

 

[weedstoner420]

What issues are/were you having? Did you add perlite or some other aeration to your mix?

 

[Mehler4]

Well some people on Reddit are saying they don’t see any issues in the big ones, I don’t see any on the left big one but the middle one, the right one is dark dark green, and then the solo cups u can see the issues. I’m trying to figure out what it is I’m ph water between 6.2 and 6.5

 

[Cream/City/Crumble]

Are you adding Cal-Mag or buffering your coco coir?

 

[Cream/City/Crumble]

Im using 50% coco, 20% organic compost, 20% perlite, and 10% worm castings. (Plus my secret blend of nutes) If you havent buffered your coco, the coco will draw all the calcium before your plants get it. And it looks like a slight calcium deficiency on your pics. You might see a few brown spots on leaves pop up. When i get some bricks of coco, i hydrate and seperate them, then rinse them really well (coconuts grow near the ocean so they have a lot of salt in them), thwn i put the coco in a plastic storage tote and add water until its about 1 inch above the coco and add about 1tbs of calcium nitrate per pound of DRY coco. Let it sit for 16-24 hours, drain the water then rinse the coco until the TDS is about 800-1000 PPM (my water is 400ppm). Since ive done that my yields tripled from 2oz to around 6oz per plant.
I

 

[Mehler4]

No I didn’t buffer it, but when I bought it it said it was pre buffered guess they’re lying? I use canna coco which is supposed to be a good brand, and I get the bricks so when I put water in it to expand it I had to fill it with water then I hand squeezed all the coco so it was somewhat dry when I made my medium blend. But no I didn’t add cal mag just castings 4-4-4 and some bloom

 

[FmSwayze]

Im using 50% coco, 20% organic compost, 20% perlite, and 10% worm castings. (Plus my secret blend of nutes) If you havent buffered your coco, the coco will draw all the calcium before your plants get it. And it looks like a slight calcium deficiency on your pics. You might see a few brown spots on leaves pop up. When i get some bricks of coco, i hydrate and seperate them, then rinse them really well (coconuts grow near the ocean so they have a lot of salt in them), thwn i put the coco in a plastic storage tote and add water until its about 1 inch above the coco and add about 1tbs of calcium nitrate per pound of DRY coco. Let it sit for 16-24 hours, drain the water then rinse the coco until the TDS is about 800-1000 PPM (my water is 400ppm). Since ive done that my yields tripled from 2oz to around 6oz per plant.
I

If you were to guess how many gallons of fresh water you run through after buffering?

 

[FmSwayze]

No I didn’t buffer it, but when I bought it it said it was pre buffered guess they’re lying? I use canna coco which is supposed to be a good brand, and I get the bricks so when I put water in it to expand it I had to fill it with water then I hand squeezed all the coco so it was somewhat dry when I made my medium blend. But no I didn’t add cal mag just castings 4-4-4 and some bloom

I'm doing the same but with Dr earth.

 

[Mehler4]

I'm doing the same but with Dr earth.

U having any issues?

 

[FmSwayze]

U having any issues?

Not yet. But they're just seedlings.

 

[Cream/City/Crumble]

No I didn’t buffer it, but when I bought it it said it was pre buffered guess they’re lying? I use canna coco which is supposed to be a good brand, and I get the bricks so when I put water in it to expand it I had to fill it with water then I hand squeezed all the coco so it was somewhat dry when I made my medium blend. But no I didn’t add cal mag just castings 4-4-4 and some bloom

I used then canna coir too. Good stuff, but i did have to buffer it again. After its been buffered and packaged it begins to degrade and sits on a shelf for some time, which will raise up the residue salts some. I also do it just to know for sure. The good thing about coco is you can reuse it multiple times youll just have to buffer it about every third grow. Even after buffering added about 3ml cal mag per gallon of water every other watering But i use RO water for feeding & watering.. Use less if using tap water. You would also do well to add some garden lime, about 1tsp per gallon of container size, its all the calcium youll need, increase intermittently if needed *THIS WILL RAISE YOUR PH* so be a little cautious cuz its easy to go up, hard to come down. You dont need much, but you do need a source of calcium. lime and gypsum are 2 popular ones for unbuffered coco. Coco loves to hold extra salts so make sure youre getting the 10-20% runoff and thatll keep your girls growing good and strong. Using black grow bags are nice cuz you can see the white stains of salt and calcium on the bag for a good heads up of when you need to flush. No need to ditch the coco you got it down and youre just dialing in the right formula that works best for you and your grow environment. Your plants will be ok just watch that ph & ppm and youll reap the rewards!!!

 

[Cream/City/Crumble]

If you were to guess how many gallons of fresh water you run through after buffering?

Usually an equal volume. 1 gal of water to 1gal of coco. I have had some really salt retentive coco that i had to do 2 gals water per gallon of coco tho also. Best and truest way is to get TDS meter, (they're like $10 at any hardware store) and check the runoff of the water. I like to get mine down to about 700-900 ppm, and thats flushing with water thats 400 ppm. Dont forget to measure your water you're flushing with and factor that in. If you absolutely can not access a TDS meter, i would stop flushing when the water runoff is clear.

 

[Mehler4]

I used then canna coir too. Good stuff, but i did have to buffer it again. After its been buffered and packaged it begins to degrade and sits on a shelf for some time, which will raise up the residue salts some. I also do it just to know for sure. The good thing about coco is you can reuse it multiple times youll just have to buffer it about every third grow. Even after buffering added about 3ml cal mag per gallon of water every other watering But i use RO water for feeding & watering.. Use less if using tap water. You would also do well to add some garden lime, about 1tsp per gallon of container size, its all the calcium youll need, increase intermittently if needed *THIS WILL RAISE YOUR PH* so be a little cautious cuz its easy to go up, hard to come down. You dont need much, but you do need a source of calcium. lime and gypsum are 2 popular ones for unbuffered coco. Coco loves to hold extra salts so make sure youre getting the 10-20% runoff and thatll keep your girls growing good and strong. Using black grow bags are nice cuz you can see the white stains of salt and calcium on the bag for a good heads up of when you need to flush. No need to ditch the coco you got it down and youre just dialing in the right formula that works best for you and your grow environment. Your plants will be ok just watch that ph & ppm and youll reap the rewards!!!

How much cal mag should I use for both plants that are already showing deficiency’s for a while and for new plants that are going to need it. Also how long does it take for the deficiency to go away after feeding the cal mag. I thought I read once a week to feed 3 to 5 ml but ur feeding 3ml every other watering?