Okay so I've germinated some seeds and just planted them in a coco perlite mix, just wondering how I should water and any tips on growing with coco/indoor growing. Here's some pictures of the grow box, the nutes I bought and what I planted the seeds in. Thanks everyone!
Coco Specific: • always pH your water/nutrient solution to 5.8 (optimal) or at least somewhere between 5.5-6.5 • start off with 1/4 strength nutrients when the seedlings have about 2 sets of leaves, then gradually increase strength as they grow bigger - it's better to underfeed than to over feed seedlings • because coco is an inert medium, all nutrients are absorbed through nutrient solution - this means faster growth rates than soil and better control over nutrient strength • with coco, if your plants get a little pale (under fed) you can easily increase the nutrient solution, or if your plants are a little burnt (tips will turn yellow) then you can decrease the nutrient solution strength Watering: • Because you will only be growing three plants, your best bet is to simply hand water - just put something underneath to catch the run off and your good to go • I personally like to feed with every watering - it's more consistent for the plants Indoor growing in general: • Are you using regular seeds or feminized? You may end up with only 1, 2 or 3 males which would be a real bummer after you spent all the time growing them out, you may want to germ 1-2 more just in case. • I have that same 150w HPS light and love it! It provides very little heat and seems to put out a lot of light for only 150w. • Make sure you have a fan lightly blowing across the seedlings as soon as they sprout - you want to build nice chunky stems that can help the plants support their weight • As soon as they sprout, place the light no further than 6-8" away. You want the light as close as possible but not too close that would burn them and stunt their growth. Put your hand at the top of the seedlings to feel for heat when gauging your light distance - if your hand is comfortable than so are your seedlings.
hey good luck with your grow. you first have to soak your coco coir mix on a 5.8 ph solution for at least 2 hours and then you are ready. i see on the picture that you are using Canna - Coco, thats good since that formula is already formulated to compensate the cal/mag deficiency that tends to show up with coco. Thus, you don't need to buy any cal/mag additives. the EC/PPM of the solution must be between 600 - 1000 ppms, I personally mix my nutrients with a mix of just 420 - 666 ppms, for the first 2 weeks and gradually over time increase the ppms till 840 ppms, always water them with the same nutrient solution adjusted at 5.8 - P.H . but never any higher than 1000 ppm because the nutrients gradually start to build up. with coco you have to let it dry out the top 3 cm or 3/4inch. need to allow the roots to breathe some oxygen in, so depending on your humidity, heat, and plant size it could be every 3 days or daily, just remember that if the coco is always soaked it can cause root rot. good luck with that.
i've found that so called "pre rinsed" cocos, still need to be rinsed out. i run plain water through it until it comes out clear. this usually comes to about 3 gallons of water for each gallon of coco. i like to add 15-20% perlite. i start out at 1/4 strength nutes, at around day 11 or 12, or when i have 3 alternating internodes, or whichever comes first. early on, i hand feed once a day (ph'd to 5.8.) until i get a good 10-15% run-off. run-off is "very" important, and should happen every feed! when the plants get bigger, i feed twice a day. i never give plain water, or flush. flushes aren't necessary, that's taken care of with run-off at feeding.
Yes, like Mr Highness said always make sure the medium dries out the top inch or so and always lift up the pot. When the pot feels about half as heavy as it did the day you watered it, it's time to water again.
have to strongly disagree on this. coco has excellent aeration, and some perlite makes it even better. i never let my coco dry out at all, that's soil not coco. remember, coco is hydro. but, different strokes for different folks. feeding every day, coupled with run-off, allows there to be maximum nutrient availability at all times.