AskEd's Coco Guide

BudsForLife · Sep 22, 2017

Can/should i use H2O2 in any way for my plants if I top feed? I use coco and canna coco nutes. I just harvested the tops of my plants but have left the bottom half cos I didn't lollipop quite enough and my scrog canopy was super dense. Now i'm left with a few ounces of unripened buds and exposed stem cuts. Not sure whether to foliar, add to top feed or just leave it out entirely.
Suggestions from anyone who is EXPERIENCED with H2O2 much appreciated.
H2O2 i've got is Growth Technology Liquid Oxygen 12%.
(I also have liquid silicon)
Cheers.

smguffer · Sep 22, 2017

I'm not experienced with any of this. I have red mixed opinions about using h202. And I have not heard anybody recommend foliar feeding during flower

black2grey · Oct 16, 2018

Lindsay 420 said:

Ok people is it normal for a plant grown in coco to start randomly sticking roots up out of the coco everywhere lol????? I noticed tonight when watering my girl in 50lt tub that she's got an insane root sytem looks to have taken over the tub but I've got roots which are quit thick sticking up out of the coco into the air and a really thick one running around the outer edge of the tub at the surface also ??
Click to expand...

My first grow I'm using a cococoir mix and have seen the same thing. No issues yet. Maybe add a little cococoir on top to cover them and moisten.

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growbigtmac · Dec 14, 2018

AskEd said:

AskEd

My screen name is an homage to Ed Rosenthal, he was my first grow teacher with his AskEd columns and books, and we share the same first name and attitude toward helping other growers In that spirit I'd like to make an Asked Coco FAQ section here. I don't claim to be any kind of expert, but I'm sure willing to help find an answer and share what I know from my experience. I'll add to this as time goes by.

Q: Can I Just Use Coco Instead of Soil?
A: Yes you can, but… there is a learning curve and this is like jumping from soil to hydro. If you have hydro experience, then you should have no problem with coco. If you have only grown with soil then you may have some trouble if you don’t have a grasp on the basics of hydro. If you have not used soil or hydro, then you have the same chance with coco that you would have with hydro – some get it the first time, some don’t.

Q: What is the proper nutrient ph lockout scale for coco?
A: Use the hydro scale.

PH nutrient scale

Q: What is the proper ph for water and nutes for coco?
A: Adjust your water and nutrient mixes to 5.8 and you should be good. Coco is very forgiving either way, but I don't recommend going over 6.5 or lower than 5.0.

Q: What is the proper way to measure the ph of coco?
A: Ph is a touchy subject with some people, so I offer this as advice and not some scientific certified whatever. There are lots of opinions on soiless ph measurements, these are the ones I agree with and have proven accurate in my grows.

Measuring runoff ph is not accurate with soiless mediums, especially coco. Here is one method that works well:
1 - Place 1/4 cup of coco in a large glass or bowl. If measuring from an existing plant, dig a few inches below the surface and grab a sample from there. Be careful not to tear the roots too much.
2 - Add 1.25 cups of distilled water (1:5 ratio) and stir
3 - Let this sit for 1 hour
4 - Stir the mix again, and drop your ph meter in there. If you're freaked out about that you can filter the mix through a paper towel into a glass.
5 - Let the meter stabilize for at least 2 minutes. This is your medium ph reading!

Coco normally comes in around 5.5 - 6.5. I don't recommend trying to change the medium ph with any kind of flushing or treatments, even if it's close to 7.0. It really doesn't hurt anything to try, but really it's not needed. Coco is pretty stubborn about maintaining the ph it wants to maintain, I find it's easier to adjust the water/nutrients if needed. The problem is that if you run 10 gallons through and get the coco to adjust .5 points let's say, the coco will get back to it's original ph within a week or two. You'll be fighting a never ending battle LOL

Just ph everything going in to 5.8 and you should not have any ph problems with coco. When diagnosing suspected problems, use the hydro readings. For example, Magnesium locks out in coco at 5.7 and lower, where as in soil it locks out at 6.4 and lower. More reading on soiless ph.

Q: What's the proper way to flush coco?
A: First off, coco is about the easiest flushing medium there is, you will come to really love this quality if you've ever suffered through a 3:1 flush of soil. Adding perlite will make this process especially easy.

All there is to a flush is pouring twice as many gallons of water as you have gallons of container, a 2:1 ratio. So if you are in a 1 gallon container, pour two gallons of water through. Do not let the water come over the sides of the pot, it needs to go through the coco to wash out built up salts. Do this at least once a month/4 weeks as a rule of thumb. You can flush every week if you have the time and energy LOL

If you have a TDS meter, capture some runoff after each gallon is almost through. First readings are normally 600-1200ppm for me. When your readings are down to 50-100ppm, you are done. I've flush a 3 gallon plant with as little as 2 gallons. This is typical ass kicking behavior of coco.

PH your last gallon or two to 5.8. Preferably adjust all your water (don't be lazy!) but it's not absolutely needed, just at the end.

You can add nutes to your flushes if you like. There is a train of thought that pure water flushes stress a plant. I don't agree with that theory, but I don't see any harm in adding nutes to the flush water. I would suggest anything below 600ppm. Personally I prefer plain water with a drop of super thrive.

Leaching agents can also help release salts, but coco is so good about flushing they really don't make much difference that I can see. I've used Botanicare's Clearex, it did not work much better than ph'd RO water in my numerous tests. But it didn't hurt anything!

Note: These readings are based on using purified water (distilled/RO) with initial readings of 0-20ppm. If you are using tap, get your ppm reading and add to all figures.

Q: Are there different types of coco?
A: Yes! There are several types of coco, including blocks that you can use instead of rockwool, mats for NFT systems, plugs for cloning and seeding, you name it. For this guide, I'll mention these three common types:

Fiber Coir – This is what you want for growing, it’s ground up a little more and perfect for container growing.

Piece Coir – This stuff is super airy and awesome for loosening up soil or fiber coir. Not a good choice to use by itself though.

Coco Chips – This is really landscaper grade coco, and if you are growing outside this has many benefits, especially as a mulch. Not a good choice as a medium though.

Click to expand...

Fucking amazing Ed great write up just read the whole thing and I learned some new stuff, love it! Thanks for passing on the info seriously man

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GrowBeerBrewWeed · Dec 29, 2018

Twas Ed who led me down the road to growing in coco. I just wanted to post to thank him.

Wolfmoon2682 · Apr 30, 2019

What is it? 9 years later and this guide is still helping newbies like me get going! You two are awesome! Thank you. I hope you're both doing well.

Popeye · Aug 8, 2019

High Ed. I recently went full ebb and flow fill and drain buckets. Girls are flipped and I was running 1050ppm and 6.2 ph. All good. Checked ppm today and it was -37ppm. WTF. Meter is accurate with tap water. Time to flush but is that normal. I’ll be pulling up a chair if you don’t mind. Thanks
Popeye

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ncaligrower420 · Sep 2, 2019

growbigtmac said:

Fucking amazing Ed great write up just read the whole thing and I learned some new stuff, love it! Thanks for passing on the info seriously man

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Click to expand...

Anybody use an sensi bloom coco? I have been using it and full strength seems like its too much. Even for 5 ft tall plants in 7 gallon containers under 1000 watt hps. Anyone else have experience with feeding? And maybe have figured out you only need 75 percent of full strength or something like that?

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ncaligrower420 · Sep 2, 2019

ncaligrower420 said:

Anybody use an sensi bloom coco? I have been using it and full strength seems like its too much. Even for 5 ft tall plants in 7 gallon containers under 1000 watt hps. Anyone else have experience with feeding? And maybe have figured out you only need 75 percent of full strength or something like that?

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Click to expand...

Sorry. Didnt mean to post here

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Maconiero · Jan 24, 2020

amazing guide!!!

Another_Noun · Jan 25, 2020

Hi and sorry if this has been asked already:

I charged my coco, but don’t need it just yet, so is it safe to store for awhile?

humanaquarian · Jun 19, 2020

Just read through this, and it was very much appreciated. Flushing was where I was at with this grow and this helped. I also realized I had a mag deficiency, this is all due to not flushing and too light of a feeding schedule. Thanks ED!!

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