Coco Soil Growers Thread

[triconomics]

I am experimenting.

If you don't want to use expensive coco nutes and or hydro nutes but want to use coco you will have to add all your own.

http://concentratesnw.com/

I can't recommend them enough.

Don't even bother looking anywhere else for a better price. I have already done that.

Coco 80%
Vermiculite by sight
Compost/Nursery mix 20%

Coco 50%
Vermiculite by sight
Pine fines 25%
Compost/Nursery mix 25%

Mix your vermiculite and coco seperate. First wet your coco bricks in a 20-60 gallon garbage can then mix vermiculite/and or pine fines.

Keep it seperate from everything else.

Fill up your pots this is for a 2 galon to 5 gallon pots step it up for bigger ones, half way filled then mix in a little nursery mix and mix it.

Add your nutes now.

1 cup micro of Glacial Rock Dust or Azomite: volcanic trace minerals

1 cup Calphos - Soft Rock Phosphate

1/8 cup Sulf of Potash

1 cup of your choice of meal ferts for veg one that is high in Nitrogen.

1 cup optional still in test of another fert meal of choice

1/2 cup of Lime with the magnesium

Optional add 1 cup Humates

Optional add Advanced nutrients Tarantula and if you want secondly add Piranha after seeds sprout for the first 2-3 weeks of veg.

This is safe to germinate your seeds in. Mix your nutes and half full pot then add more of your coco mix to the top half add a little more nursery mix. Plant seeds and water.

No more ferts needed for the entire grow. Soil is re-usable up to logical viewable standards.

 

[triconomics]

I am experimenting.

If you don't want to use expensive coco nutes and or hydro nutes but want to use coco you will have to add all your own.

http://concentratesnw.com/

I can't recommend them enough.

Don't even bother looking anywhere else for a better price. I have already done that.

Coco 80%
Vermiculite by sight
Compost/Nursery mix 20%

Coco 50%
Vermiculite by sight
Pine fines 25%
Compost/Nursery mix 25%

Mix your vermiculite and coco seperate. First wet your coco bricks in a 20-60 gallon garbage can then mix vermiculite/and or pine fines.

Keep it seperate from everything else.

Fill up your pots this is for a 2 galon to 5 gallon pots step it up for bigger ones, half way filled then mix in a little nursery mix and mix it.

Add your nutes now.

1 cup micro of Glacial Rock Dust or Azomite: volcanic trace minerals

1 cup Calphos - Soft Rock Phosphate

1/8 cup Sulf of Potash

1 cup of your choice of meal ferts for veg one that is high in Nitrogen.

1 cup optional still in test of another fert meal of choice

1/2 cup of Lime with the magnesium

Optional add 1 cup Humates

Optional add Advanced nutrients Tarantula and if you want secondly add Piranha after seeds sprout for the first 2-3 weeks of veg.

This is safe to germinate your seeds in. Mix your nutes and half full pot then add more of your coco mix to the top half add a little more nursery mix. Plant seeds and water.

No more ferts needed for the entire grow. Soil is re-usable up to logical viewable standards.

I actually think it's best to not use anything other than Pine Fines and Coco-peat!

Whatever percentage you want it doesn't matter really........50/50 70/30 ect....

The nursery mix does seem to nute burn the leaves.......

But I have had much better results adding that extra cup of ferts like soybean meal ect.....

And the Pine fines if you can find them are a great addition as if you can find a nursery that carries it will more than likely be a steal compared to the prices of coco. Also I notice better plant vigor with pine in the mix with the coco. I am no longer mixing with compost/nursery mix.

I am going to run a 70/30 pine/coco side by side with a 70/30 coco/pine next to see which medium set-up gives the better results. Mainly because pine fines are considerably cheap and much easier to acquire than coco-peat.

 

[ninky323]

I got given some coco soil from a person who uses it for tomato plants and i put my clone in it (clone just started to root). think its just straight coco soil nothing mixed with it (if possible) ?? i just put the clone straight into it .What should i feed it? should i mix it with something??

 

[abe23]

Hey triconomics,

I've been doing the same experimenting lately trying to find a balance between the fast growth of coco and the 'fire and forget' of potting soil. My mix was was about 70% coco, 25% fox farm ocean forrest and maybe 5% perlite for shits and giggles.

I have two different phenos of NL x Skunk#1 going in this mix and what's been intriguing is that one of them is totally loving the mix and growing faster than I've ever seen and the other one did fine at first but then started looking burned and now they're falling a part completely. I checked the ph (in the low 6s) and flushed multiple times to no avail, they're still just withering away. Not really sure what to do anymore, so I think I might add some light grow nutes to see if that does anything and if it doesn't I'll just go back to soil for that plant or try straight up coco for them.

Bottom line is that it seems to me like it mostly depends on the plant your growing and it's feeding habits....anyone have any similar experiences?

 

[triconomics]

Hey triconomics,

I've been doing the same experimenting lately trying to find a balance between the fast growth of coco and the 'fire and forget' of potting soil. My mix was was about 70% coco, 25% fox farm ocean forrest and maybe 5% perlite for shits and giggles.

I have two different phenos of NL x Skunk#1 going in this mix and what's been intriguing is that one of them is totally loving the mix and growing faster than I've ever seen and the other one did fine at first but then started looking burned and now they're falling a part completely. I checked the ph (in the low 6s) and flushed multiple times to no avail, they're still just withering away. Not really sure what to do anymore, so I think I might add some light grow nutes to see if that does anything and if it doesn't I'll just go back to soil for that plant or try straight up coco for them.

Bottom line is that it seems to me like it mostly depends on the plant your growing and it's feeding habits....anyone have any similar experiences?

Just make sure to use pure coco to germ seeds in. I learned the hard way trying to make it work mixed with nutes.....it doesn't... lol......but the nute burn happened a little and I lost one plant I think it is certain temperments of different plants.

I have switched now to using a drip system and I just throw all my nutes in a reservoir so I only use my soil mix without worrying about adding DRY nutes. The plants seem to like the hydroponic nutes better. But it could be I use a lot of enzymes and such that wouldn't be in my dry nute mix.

I am actually going to have to start over with my experimenting for soil mixes for a drip system.

How I have it laid out here is correct for soil if you want coco. But pine fines does not work as a soil but I think it will work as a drip hydroponic medium. So I am moving on to something new which makes it so I don't ever have to worry about anything which is odd because I like to mess around. But maybe it's a good thing.

For what I am doing now I just mix perlite with coco and stick a dripper in and it grows than I just have to decide when I want to put it into my flower tent. I have drippers there too from my flower reservoir. One reservoir for veg and one for flower with the pumps in each. Very simple.

 

[Dr. VonDank]

Easy as 1. 50% perlite----2. 50% coco--------3. 1 TBS dolomite lime per gal of mix. Use any nutes you want---650 ppms for veg and 850ppms for flower. thats it!!! easy...

 

[triconomics]

Easy as 1. 50% perlite----2. 50% coco--------3. 1 TBS dolomite lime per gal of mix. Use any nutes you want---650 ppms for veg and 850ppms for flower. thats it!!! easy...

Yea it's very easy, I don't measure nutes though no need to. I just dump in the amount I think it needs. Just set timer for once a day to water I have drippers that I can adjust the amount of water so I can control the amount of nutes that way too if a plant is responding negative.

I forgot about the dolomite that is probably the only thing other than coco and perlite to add, your right. I will do that next time.

I think my set-up is much better as you get the best of both worlds of soil and hydroponics in a very simple easy format.

I am using the Dutchmaster Foliar Ionic spray veg nute for my new germed seeds and use it until they get to where I think they can handle full veg nutes it has seemed to work great so far but it is very simple to stick the dripper in and adjust the amount of water and thus nutes that it will get each day.

I got the idea from of my set-up by learning about hydroponics and came up with my own middle ground.

I use all my same materials as before 2 gallon perfect pots just no nutes added. Still use the trays but generally there is no run-off.

 

[Dr. VonDank]

You brought up a good point. There are allot of ways to get things done and I think one of the most satisfying things a grower can do is create and try new things and methods. We all have a little DIY and chemists in us ( I picture a guy with safety glasses and a lab coat mixing two different colored liquids)---lol. Sounds like your happy with your results and that great. Also sounds like your into foliar feeding and ionic formulations. If so I have a little info for you:
1. wicked growth foliar spray-------thrive alive organic green bottle with vit B and Humic acid combo in an ionic mix
2. You can purchase an deionizing tube for your RO unit retro fit for cheap-----"all your feeds and sprays can be deionized".

 

[triconomics]

Thanks,

You just gave me a good idea. I added the humic acid Diamond nector to my ionic solution. I need to buy the green bottle stuff. I might just use my reservoir that I have to water once a day and only put in a few things and not much nutrients and just do Foliar feeding for both veg and flower. I planned on switching to some type of bonsai soil anyway. We will see anyway. Thanks for your input it has been very helpful.

 

[triconomics]

Second: I found a deionizer filter that will fit my RO system. It is a Carbon/Deionizer resin filter. So I can upgrade it very easy that way.

 

[Dr. VonDank]

very cool-----I added one to each of my ro units as well----I picked them up online from a fish store----lol. It helps keep the nutrients from binding and causing lockout---I bet we will see the new R/o units available from the hydroponic companies as they get all of their best ideas from us experimental growers---,,,,,...............lol

 

[triconomics]

So, just some rough thinking I have I might add a second reservoir to my flower tent in the future and run half my tent bonsai soil/purewater and do foliar feeding throughout it's entire life cycle. I am thinking for nutes Ionic grow and Ionic Bloom with the Green Bottle Stuff and the Red Bottle stuff with Humic acid that I found elsewhere along with Piranaha and or Tarantula.

The other half I am going to use my soil mix but my main issue with it is the shipping costs associated with acquiring all the needed things, 50 lbs cost 40 bucks each to ship and when you buy something that costs only $15 dollars you start to look for alternatives like I did. Anyway, I am going to use coco soil with perlite and lime. I will add 1 cup of probably Soybean meal or cottonseed meal. And 1 cup of micro nutes like the glacial rock dust. And my automatic watering reservoir I will add Tarantula and Sensizyme to the water solution.

Now I need flowering nutes so I might do half of my half to experiment with or over 2 crops do one where I use a hydroponic flower nute along with my enzymes and one where I add my DRY flower nutes like cottonseed meal, Soft Rock Phosphate and Sulfate of Potash as my flowering nutes but all mixed in before hand but starting my young seedlings out with a foliar solution until they are big enough to be transplanted into my nute soil in 2 gallon pots.

That is just a rough draft but since I have it all figured out seperately it sounds right to me at the moment anyway. So I will test more proper which system is the better. Because though I am getting good results using hydro nutes I am of the opinion if I used the enzymes in my DRY soil nutes mix running it through my drip system with pure water it would give me the same explosive growth that hydro growers rave about.

Anyway, I am going to replace both of my carbon stages with the Carbon/Deionizer filters. Expensive but I think it will last longer than only relying on one of them to do the job. They actually make R/O system specific Carbon/Deionizer filters.

http://www.apswater.com/shopexd.asp?id=5947&Product=OS10M1_Organic_Scavenger_Filter

 

[triconomics]

And just a correction about Germination, it wasn't because I added my nutes when germinating as I was germinating with the coco-gro plugs that rise up when watered. I think it is ok to use them if you water everyday but I wasn't after I transplanted them to 2 gallon pots as I was doing soil and hadn't hooked up my automatic drip system for watering everyday. The roots seemed not to take very well probably cuz of drying out or something due to the nature of the grow plugs. And I made a comment a while back on here about Sagarmatha seeds not germinating and that still stands they are shit seeds. If the seeds were viable they still would have sprouted in my coco-grow plugs. It would have been my fault if they died later though due to not taking in soil after. I tried to germinate 6 of my own seeds in my fertilizer mix from the start in my 2 gallon pots some worked some did not. But I have discarded that idea all together, I was just experimenting with the idea as I didn't like transplanting with soil. So now I only germinate in my LOOSE coco-soil in small pots.

 

[skiz1989]

Any problems with just using pure coco though?

At the moment i got some white rhino in a coco/peat moss/vermiculite mix (i would use pure coco if i coudl but ran out) and it seems to be doing well. I dont really see why you would bother with anything else?

Coco seems very fluffy so i dont really see why you would add vermiculite? Does it really help that much?

I think if you mix to much stuff around it will be hard to work out the nute levels you need as x% of this and x% of that would cause the cationic exchange to vary greatly so you owuld kinda need to sacrifice a grow to get an idea of holding capacity.

I mean with all the nutes out there these days that tailor to coco i dont see why you would go anything else

Thats my two cents anyway, may be talking absolute shit though so?

 

[terrance.jbatey]

deff go the cocco with a bit of peat......got outdoors hydroes growing in coco and indoor hydroes as well........coc is deff the way to go about it.....i do experiment tho.....but preffer to do so in outdoors situations

 

[terrance.jbatey]

does anyone know if u can use coco for ebb and flow and or d.w.c or is it more prone to root rot??????....bn meaning to give it a try.......will do soon......let yall know how it goes...any feed back from anyone who tried this method let me know how it went......with pics if at all possible...blaze on people.......

 

[WAZZER]

does anyone know if u can use coco for ebb and flow and or d.w.c or is it more prone to root rot??????....bn meaning to give it a try.......will do soon......let yall know how it goes...any feed back from anyone who tried this method let me know how it went......with pics if at all possible...blaze on people.......

I personly haven't but know couple blokes who have r.d.w.c two different types of 30l pots they lock in gives the bottom 1 foot in for the water 13ml ring in the bottom and 10 air stone connected to it and 13ml hose from holding tank to bottom pots running non stop so the water in bottom pots dont heat up from the air pumps. one goes 50%coco 50%perlite for the top pot the other bloke goes half of the top pot perlite and the other half 50 %perlite 50%coco.