I would go with 100% coco 1tbl of dolomite per gal of coco. I water every other day sometimes every 2 days but thats pushing it. I would say go with the coco for 1 grow u have it already see how it goes. u could try 1 of these Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more. its not that big and might be just what ur looking for. I will tell you that watering in coco is more of a pain but I will never never go back to soil bottom line and can almost say if u try coco u wont go back either, but I can't speak for others. and miscbrah I too would like to see her next to her plants, but we have to respect people in the forum. and a comment like that is just not called for, might make someone uncomfortable. hope this helps heather go coco!
Hey thanks for the reply Sage! I haven't gotten a solid answer on the dolomite lime. It's mentioned in one of Ed's older coco mixes? It's also mentioned in my nutes (GH maxigrow, maxibloom, koolbloom) feeding schedule as being needed in soilless mixes? My current plan for my coco mix is as follows. 75% coco coir fiber 20% vermiculite 5% perilite (top and bottom layer) 1 tbls dolomite lime per gallon wetting agent (per label instructions)
You definitely don't NEED to add lime. That is fact. I don't use it, and I know other growers who never use it either, and none of us have any issues in our coco grows. The only question is whether it would be beneficial to use, not if it's needed. Coco does not need any amendments at all to perform well. I use 100% coco, no cuts. I would cut out that perlite on the top and bottom, there is no reason for it. Plus it will be easier to see when the coco is drying off with no perlite covering the top.
the lime is for the cal and mag issues and not for ph I use it in the begining and by week 2 or 3 I'm adding calmag cause the plants eat thru the dolomite not mention the fact that when the plants take potassium from the coco its replaced with cal and mag making uptake of these nutes harder for the plants. coco doesn't need amendment cause ur putting everything it needs in the water. the only reason I tried and continued with dolomite is cause 1 it was on hand and 2 I was following eds little experiment, and had great success.
And so the dolomite lime debate confusion continues? Seems all agree can be done without, and it can be done with at recommended rate? The GH dry nutes feeding schedule, for soilless mix says to add the dolomite lime. It does specifically mention pro mix and sunshine mix (peat based mix) no other type of soilless mix mentioned adding to the confusion? If this coco coir stuff didn't look so good, I would've given up by now!
We're not confused. You need to figure out what works for you. You can either add dolomite or CaMg, but in coco you'll need some sort of calcium/magnesium supplement. Doesn't matter which.
There is no confusion. Like Wardrobe said, the calcium issue is not debatable. It's simply a matter of preference how you wish to handle it.
Thanks for the help guys! I wish I was as confident as you two are. Yes the cal mag issue is agreed upon. I've seen countless journals were growers used calmag and still have lockout issues? A few with the dolomite lime also with the lockout problems. So we all can agree I need calmag supplements? What will specifically stop the lockout? The figure out what works for you method, just seems like we have no idea why it works or how it works? I can't feel confident about that yet until I give it a go!
You can't really approach it with a 100%, clear-cut formula. It depends on too many factors. From my reading, dolomite works well, but runs out quickly, requiring additional CaMg supplements. CaMg+ right from the start is reported to work well. If I remember correctly, too much calcium can lead to magnesium lockout. This is probably why many growers still experience lockout despite using a supplement. CaMg+ or similar will do it nicely, but you need to work out the right dosage, depending on strain, growth rate, etc.
Thanks again for your replies! Yeah it seems I'm going to just try a little of everything. I have calmag, dolomite lime, epsom salts, sweet and semi hard tap water. Kind of like fertilizing, start with half or quarter dose and see how it goes! My main fear is I don't want to compromise yield on my first grow in coco from what I've previously done.
Unfortunately, like me, you'll probably need to use your first coco grow to simply learn the ropes. Be a bit careful with the Epsom Salts, you can end up with excess sulphur problems if you use it too often. That's where dolomite is good, it's mainly calcium and magnesium. Isn't this shit fun?
Hey all! Just put my three clones in the coco coir pots! I set up a little side veg chamber with some 4x4' cool whites and 3x 42w cfl (real watts). I got 20,000 lumens going on them so not to bad until I step them into my real flower and veg chamber. I couldn't stand the wait to try the coco coir but I'm finishing up in my last soil run. I needed a plan to stop the temptation to stop finishing of flowering in soil to start my 1st coco run. I have about 2 weeks left. To stop the flowering now would be silly So I had to find a way to stop the urge to start my first coco run so I found a way and set up a side temporary veg chamber!
Good one. You won't regret the effort. Veg growth is amazingly fast in coco. I'm only a couple of weeks into flowering so can't comment on that aspect yet. Looking good so far, though.
For watering checkout the thread I started about using an affordable Aqualifter pump....~$14. That pump, along with a timer and somer hose will get you a nice auto watering sytem. If you want to get fancy you could add a drip head to control watering rate like they do in gardens. Also, I switched my plants to coco when the were 2 weeks into flowering and glad I did- they've been doing a lot better. I think your saying you only have two weeks left though(?).
Hey guys! I have bad news. I put my moisture meter into my coco pots and got a almost dry reading. It's been only a few hours since I watered to some serious run off! I do get a wet reading way down, the farthest my meter can go. I've already switched over to the pro-mix. Sorry guys the coco wasn't holding water like I needed it to. I'm sad. More wasted materials. I did like how the coco held like hardly any water. I put a solid layer of coco on the bottom of my pots, then a layer of coco and pro-mix, topped by all pro-mix from there. I know the bottom of my pots will dry out now with the coco coir down there. I guess I'm out on this part of the forum. Thanks to all for your help! Also check out my contact info! A little thank you to all who helped!
Yeah I keep hearing coco holds more water than soil. I'm not so sure, thats seems like possible propaganda? It may be that while it does hold more water initially, it also lets more air through drying it out faster. Maybe why I keep reading coco's not like soil! It looks like soil, feels like soil, waters like soil, but dries out like a hydro set up! Seems like a truly powerful medium! Just not for me.
In my case, it doesn't evaporate directly, but is sucked up by the plant very quickly and lost due to transpiration, I think. Immediately after watering, small droplets appear on the tips of the leaf serrations. Coco does hold a lot of water. The weight of the pot after watering compared to near dry attests to that. My plants in coco drink twice as much as a plant in potting mix, though. This is why we advised when you started the thread that coco wasn't suitable for watering every 4-5 days. It is hydro and needs lots of water.