I used to grow years back in compost with no problems whatsoever. Just started growing again and decided to use coco as i read so many good things about it. What a nightmare. I lost 15 clones all went yellow, the roots did not grow and eventually nearly all have died. I thought it may have been root rot as when i got the clones they were in rock wool and i think i over watered them. However i have just started off some new seeds having lost lots of time and money. I put two in compost and two in the canna gain both in a 60 - 40 perlite mix. so 10 days in. The ones in the compost were growing quicker and bigger and all of a sudden the ones in coco went yellow fell over and died. I have had enough -what do people think the problem may be? I am using the A+b nutrients.
Hard to say. How much A&B are you using? Are you using Rhizotonic or anything else? Did you rinse the coco before hand? Is it Canna brand coco or another brand? How often do you water them? I have found starting plants in pure, clean, coco works better than in mixes with perlite. I prefer the perlite mix in the transplant container. Once the roots are established. The more information you provide the more accurate the diagnosis will be. It is my assumption your media is improperly charged and/or you are watering or feeding incorrectly. Just a guess.
I agree with SCMC, i germinate right in 100% coco with NO nutrients until they are 4-5 days old for 1/4 strength canna coco lineup (A+B, rhizotonic and Cannazym). The rhizotonic is crucial for developing a solid root structure. If you are watering them the same, its an issue either way. Soil retains water much easier than coco(especially w perlite). So you might be under watering the coco. 60/40 ratio will make it dry out real quick with a small, aerated pot. I only feed when the pots feel light, not by the look of it.
Guys thanks so much for replying. I have reached the "out of my mind point" The brand is Canna its the professional plus one. The clones i got first of all were all rooted and in rockwool cubes before i put them into the coco perlite mix. As i say i initially thought it was root rot as i had never had plants in rockwool before and i was pretty sure i kept them too wet. I lost 12 out of 15 rooted clones. The others are still alive barely but after 8 weeks - yes 8 weeks. they are about 3 inches tall and look as rough as fuck. Brown thready roots and the coco was still very wet. Although i have tried to dry them out before watering as i read that can "cure" root rot. The seeds i germinated was done in wet tissue paper as i have always done in the past. Then put into the coco/perlite when the white shoot was about 2cm long. The two in compost are fine but the other two in coco just went yellow and died after about 5 days when they first started growing proper leaves. There was one more seed that i put into a coco/compost mix and that is now beginning to go yellow also. I started to feed at approx half strength maybe a little less with the A+B nutrients. I have not treated the canna in any way as i did not believe it was needed now? I realize that this was the case years back because of salt from the initial treatment where it was made. I have not used rhizotonic as i do not know what it is or that it was needed - was not told about it where i bought the stuff. I also wondered if it could be the light as i am using a HPS 600w and know this is really for flowering. But if this were the case surely the ones in compost would also have problems? I will be getting the right light for vegging at the end of the month. I have bought one of those PH,water/light testers and have as you said been watering when the pots felt light. Up until i had problems with the seeds i was convinced it was just root rot so the confusion is huge now. I did take clones from the plants with what i thought was root rot trying to save the situation and put those into straight coco using clonex. they were in a gently lighted place in a heated propagator -None rooted. I will also add that the PH is a bit high 7 according to the tester i got. (not sure if i trust it as it was a cheap one and it gave the same reading from the garden soil). But i have just grown two plants previously in compost that were fine. Is it acceptable to use vinegar to lower the PH? Wish i could just go out and buy everything now but cash is more than tight. Thanks for your help. Space.
I am assuming the bag says "Canna Coco Professional Plus" (the marketing gimmick at its best, it's not just "professional" it's "plus!"). I know nothing of this product as it is available only in the UK. You will get more reliable advice from other UK growers which are not overly abundant here (despite those that are here whom are normally extremely "vocal"). Maybe try one of the UK growing sites like ICMag or the UK420 one. My guess here is that a clean, pure, unadulterated coco is not "plus+" Plus indicates to me that they put something extra in the bag to condition it somehow. I find Canna's concept of a safe pre-charge to be very different from my own and if I did ever buy their coco again I would most definitely rinse it clean before using. While most people are all up on Canna's dick I find their coco to be over priced and over charged, and their nutrient system deficient in k+mag for flowering cannabis. Wash the coco. If only for peace of mind. Rockwool is difficult for many growers to transplant with in coco. More commonly you will see root plugs like RapidRooters or just pure coco as a rooting medium for clones in coco operations. Root rot occurs in anerobic conditions caused by too frequent watering. The only "cure" for root rot is to water when required and to break down the dead root mass with beneficial bacteria and/or enzymes. This is a purpose of Cannazym. This could be as much your watering frequency as anything else. I start my seeds in plugs or in pure coco and it works much better than paper towels and trying to transplant a delicate tap root. Keep the media moist until the plant is above ground. Then ebb between totally saturated to nearly dry (it should be several days between waterings). Young plants and immature root systems can most definitely be over watered in coco. Approximately half strength tells me, literally, nothing. I don't know what you consider full strength to be. Is it 4ml/L? 2.5ml/L? Did you use more than half, or less than half? Because if 4ml/L is full-strength to you then a little over half would be 2.5ml/L... Which is full strength for others... I have no idea why this arbitrary and useless term is so commonly used when "half-strength" tells us no valuable knowledge. Especially when it takes less time to simply state "I used Xml in X liters." And you don't have to listen to my tirade about it either... Being that getting nutrition to your plants is the ultimate issue here you might want to be a lot more accurate in your descriptions, including measurements, if you hope for some proper advice. You should familiarize yourself with the brand you have put so much money, time, and faith into. If you are having trouble with a particular product then why avoid learning more about the product from the manufacturer? Canna-UK.com is the site for you blokes I believe. There is a wealth of information on the site of you are willing to engage yourself. Rhizotonic is a root supplement designed to assist young and rooting plants. It is derived from Algae mostly. There are other products which are designed to work together to complete the NPK ratios for Bloom, including Cannazym and PK13/14. This is a waste of energy really, and not giving them the best start possible, but it should work fine. While the overly strong orange light is not helping any I do not think it is the cause here. Like you said, if the lighting were the problem then all the plants would be having an issue. You may as well toss it, those probes do more to damage your roots than anything. Hydroponic indoor gardening for a beginner requires an investment to get things straight. While I don't find pH to be a particular issue with coco, having an EC meter with a combo pH probe can be extremely valuable when trying to improve your garden. While vinegar is acceptable it is not ideal. Also, you don't know what your solution pH is... So you're using vinegar blindly. And with no basis of how much to use or what level your solution is starting at... This could lead to trouble. 10 of whatever currency you people use should be enough to track down some Fulvic Acid at a hydroponics store. Use 1ml/L of Fulvic Acid and this will balance in the media just fine. Start your seeds in ~400ml to ~500ml of pure coco. Opaque plastic cups work well, poke holes for drainage. Keep the media moist until they are above ground. Maintain a temp around 23-25c and humidity at 60% to 80%. Use 20w to 30w daylight spectrum 6000k to 7500k color temperature CFLs (the twisty kind). Put the bulbs in clamp light reflectors (hardware store, 2-4 euro) and keep them 2cm to 4cm from the top of the plants. Lift the containers regularly and water just before the media is dry. It should be outrageously, unusually, scary lite but before the plant wilts. Begin feeding 2ml/L of Rhizotonic and 1.25ml/L of A&B in your soft water at the appearance of the third leaf set or by the second watering (they should coincide). Do this and you will have success.
Hi again. That must have taken you so long to write! i really cannot thank you enough for your time. I really did not expect so many problems as i grew for so long and so well 25 years ago. Grew for 5 years then stopped growing because of kids. The advise you have given me is great and some of i think i knew i just needed somebody else to tell me - the Ph meter for example. I have had a look at another site - one of the ones you named and there is a guy there that has been growing for ages and then had the same problems. It seems there was a bad batch of this canna about at that time and it sounds like i ended up with a bag of it. The feed is half of the recommended A+B mix. It states 40ml of each to every 10 liters of water and i have added 20ml. it is a shame that i had so many problems with the canna i think i will have to go for a crop in compost and then when funds are a little better have another go in canna. Once again thanks for your help.