First grow, swapping to coco, need help with nutes

[magick81]

Hi fellow mj lovers

I'm new to the forums and new to growing also.

I've currently got 5 seedlings in small square pots, using soil under 400w HPS in a 4x4ft tent.

Anyways, some of the plants are very small for their age, so I decided to switch to coco coir.

I went out shopping today and bought a 50L bag of coco. Also got an EC tester, and some nutes. The nutes I bought were called Nutrifield Coco NF.
It is 2 part. On the bottle is says not to mix a and b concentrate. I assume that means I can mix them diluted? I got a bucket of water, added some part a and then added some part b. Is that right? Or am I supposed to do them separately.

Also, bottle A says seedlings EC 0.6-1.2
Bottle B has the same, EC 0.6-1.2 for seedlings and transplants.
Once I have mixed part a and b into water, do I want 0.6-1.2 for each part (a&b) or do I need that reading as a total

I thought I needed 2.4, so I mixed it all up until I got a reading of 2 on my EC meter and used that to water my transplanted seedling. I don't know if I'm reading my meter right, as its supposed to read in 0.1 increments but there is no decimal place lol

I chose the seedling that was doing the worst, lol, so if I **** it up I wont miss it.

Anyways, instead of waiting 3-4 days to see how this does, I thought I'd be better off posting to see what others think. I'd really like to transplant the rest tomorrow, as come monday I'm back to work and wont have time to do it.

Cheers
MagickZ

 

[Growdude]

They want you to mix part A first then part B, never mix A and B together.
I dont know how big your bucket was, probably not big enough.

Total mix EC of .6 for seedling not of each part.

I think you better change out your nutes, thats really hot at 2.4 EC

 

[magick81]

OK, well I just gave it an emergency flush.
So how do I do it?
Mix A with water in one bucket, mix b with water in another bucket. Then do I mix them together? Or water each solution separately?
So am I aiming for 0.6 in each bucket? Then mix it together which should give me 1.2?
They didn't have any instructions at all on the bottle lol, just the dosage chart. Definately not a noob friendly product.

 

[magick81]

Also, I noticed my EC meter doesnt have a decimal place. The number 100 flashes on the screen for a sec after you turn em on. So is a reading of 1 = to 1ec?

Sorry for the noob questions
Know absolutely nothing about hydro, maybe i should've stuck to soil....

 

[magick81]

Never mind fella's
I was reading my meter wrong. That reading of 2 actually equalled 0.2

I flushed my plant for nothing lol.
Anyways, I mixed part a and b separately at 0.3 EC each, then combined and watered the plant.

 

[Growdude]

Never mind fella's
I was reading my meter wrong. That reading of 2 actually equalled 0.2

I flushed my plant for nothing lol.
Anyways, I mixed part a and b separately at 0.3 EC each, then combined and watered the plant.

Good to hear better safe then sorry.

When mixing your nutes first mix in part A then once mixed well mix in part B.
no real need to mix each sep then re mix, just dont add concentated amounts of A and B together.

Yea start your EC very small if seedlings then increase gradually always looking for signs of nute burn, (burnt leaf tips and along the edge, deep green and knarled).

 

[magick81]

Thanks

I'm happy I got it all figured out and know exactly what to do for my other ones. I chose the seedling that was the smallest and slowest growing lol, so if i messed up, i wouldn'y really miss it, haha, will transplant the rest tomorrow morning as I am a little drunk now, lol

 

[magick81]

hXXp://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee448/magickz81/PB050020.jpg

Here's a pic. Dont

 

[Hushpuppy]

Hello Magic; welcome to the family. going hydro is a little intimidating at first as it takes some getting used to the way of doing things. Also, you will have to be a "hands on" type of grower with hydro as it is a very fast action method. The great thing about hydro is that everything happens fast. The bad thing about hydro is that everything happens fast.

That being said, I grow in coco and absolutely love it! I also use the Nutrifield coco nutes. It is much easier that it appears. I use 10gal. totes in which my 1liter planters sit in holes cut in the lids. I top feed because I have found that coco holds nutrients very well. I use a 3gal bucket to mix my nutes in. I use 2 gallons at a time and just add in each nute amount then stirr it vigorously for a moment, then add the next.

I also use the Nutrizyme and Fulllife. I mix in the Zyme last. I started with well rooted clones so I am not sure about the levels for seedlings. I don't try to go by the EC levels. I use the ml amounts on each bottle, then I check the TDS after everything is mixxed. I then add my PH down to get proper PH. If you don't have a PH meter, get one right away. The Nutrifield doesn't have PH buffers in it, so you will need to PH it yourself. I always try to achieve 5.8PH, and stay between 5.6 and 6.2.

At this point in my grow I am not overly impressed with the nutrifield nutes, but I will use it to complete this grow to see how it compares to the Technaflora brand that I use with my partner in another grow.

So far it has worked well with the White Russian plants that I use it on, but I have seen some odd necrotic spots on some of the fan leaves that I haven't been able to diagnose. The White strain tends to be a finicky eater, but I also use it on two Blueberry Punch plants and have found that they are nute hogs, so the amounts specified on the bottles are not enough for them.

Since I am using the same materials as you I will be glad to help you with yours. Feel free to PM me if you want, or if you want to leave it open to other opinions, you can just ask Qs here and we all will respond. Just be patient and don't get too excited if a problem occurs as with hydro, problems can happen quickly but can also be corrected quickly, and MJ is pretty hardy once it gets growing. I think you will like hydro once you get used to doing it.

 

[Hushpuppy]

Most people will not go to links to stuff on here as it creates a security hazzard. We don't use live links here either. If you want to put a link on here, change the http to hxxp so that the link isn't live. And if you want to post pics, you can post them here without any problems. Just scroll down the page and click on manage attachments and follow the prompts.

That aside, I just looked at yer plants and saw that they are growing nicely. I would bump up to the "veg" level of nute amounts. They have roots and are at the stage where they will start growing vigorously and will get real hungry real quick.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have edited your post to take out the direct link. We do not allow direct links here because of security. You can, however, post your pic directly here. You are also putting yourself at risk by putting grow pictures on Photobucket.

 

[Locked]

Bro what they say is true....photo bucket will sell you out in a heartbeat if law enforcement asks them to. Post all your pics directly on this site and you will sleep better at night. . Welcome to MP...green mojo

 

[magick81]

Finished repotting them. I had trouble getting alot of the soil out of the roots, so I hosed them down with a hose on shower setting.

Also put a layer of clay balls on top.
I had trouble with bugs in my soil, so hopefully this will keep the creepy crawlies out

Thanks guys for the advice

 

[magick81]

How often will these need to be watered? I was led to believe they needed to be watered alot more often then soil

 

[magick81]

Really? I thought it would be ok.
Aeroponics using those spray jets to spray water on the roots, I didnt think it would hurt it too much.

I tried getting the roots from the soil with the first plant, ended up pulling roots out, which is why I tried it.

Oh wells, if they die I got another 25 seeds coming from attitude.

 

[magick81]

How often will I have to water? I was led to believe that I would have to water at least once a day with this setup. Is that right?

I have watered until water came out the bottom of the pot, should I let the pot sit in the tray of water and only only water again when it dries up? Will the coco even suck up the moisture from the bottom tray?

Having the clay-balls on top, i won't be able to check the moisture with the finger technique.
Anyways, today I fed them with a slightly stronger solution, 1.4ec, the recommended dose for vegging.

I am thinking of maybe making a resevoir, and hooking it up to a pump to have it autofeed. Kind of like a top-drip system, what do you guys think?

 

[Hushpuppy]

Hey magic; I use a top feed system myself. I actually have mine in smaller containers which sit directly into the lids of my resevoirs. I have air stones in the rez and pump air into them constantly to keep the water oxygenated, and then a submersible pump takes water and nutes to the top of the planters. I have them set on a constant run system with a timer so that they run for 15 minutes out of every hour.

My grow with my partner has the same setup but he keeps the water running to them constantly. I think that is overkill and wastes electricity as the coco will hold water very well. I would definitely recommend for you that you setup some sort of semiautomated system as it makes it so much easier IMO. Being in pots like that with coco, I would say that you will need to water them every other day right now, but as they grow, I would think you will have to water them every day.

If you are interested in seeing how I do mine just check the link to my grow journal at the bottom of my post.

 

[magick81]

Cool. Thanks for the detailed info

At the moment the dishes that the pots are sitting in are about half full with water. Should I let the pots sit in it? Will the coco draw up water when it gets dry? It's not a self watering pot, just a regular one.
Or should I remove the excess water from the dishes?
Sitting under the lights would they be susceptible to algae bloom?

Cheers
MagickZX

 

[magick81]

Bought a PH meter and PH down today.
Lucky I did as I had no idea how innacurate my aquarium kit was, lol

So today was my first feeding without any stuffups lol. Correct EC, and correct PH.

Looks like I may lose a plant. Leave's have gone kinda crispy. Not sure if its from being too close to the lights, the series of mistakes I've made switching to coco, probably a combination of both.

Couple photo updates. Sorry bout the quality, but the HPS was on and now their in the big pots, didnt wanna pull em out. A photo of the sick "crispy" plant, and a group shot.

Amazing how much they grew overnight even though the PH was way off!
Looking forward to results now I've got my **** together and know exactly how/what to do.

Cheers
MagickZX

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

If your leaves are getting crispy, it may well be overnuting.