understanding runoff data

[snuggles]

I was always under the understanding that you pHed first then added nutes. Not sure if all nutes are like that or not.

 

[That crazy vancouver guy]

I'm of the same line of thinking, snuggly poo... the ferts SHOULD be PH neutral, but that my not be the case... prob better to check after, but I do it before myself, so... what can I say???

u know what I'm tihinking... this Cocoa stuff u r using... I'm not familiar with it... it could be that it holds moisture a lot better than the soil I'm used to... (premier HP commercial potting soil). i still think the babies r being drowned... use a mailsture meter to tell if they need watering... and feed, water, water, feed, water, water... just my advice... oh ya.. with teh moisture meter, make sure it's inserted into teh BOTTOM of the rootball and make sure it's a couple days into "Dry" before it's watered again... but not before the droopy leaf stage from lack of water... not the droopy that you see now....

 

[LoveIt]

the ferts SHOULD be PH neutral, but that my not be the case... prob better to check after, but I do it before myself, so... what can I say???

hmmn... well, i have tried it both ways, and the pH of my tapwater always goes from about 7.2/.3 down to 6.4/.6 when i add nutes, and when i first pH the water to 5.8 and then add nutes, the pH raises to 6.4-ish, so biobizz biogrow, at the least, is slightly acidic. you guys obviously know how to grow better than i do, but check your pH after you add the nutes, and maybe you'll find it's different.

why don't you do an experiment for us and post the results here?

u know what I'm tihinking... this Cocoa stuff u r using... I'm not familiar with it... it could be that it holds moisture a lot better than the soil I'm used to... (premier HP commercial potting soil). i still think the babies r being drowned... use a mailsture meter to tell if they need watering... and feed, water, water, feed, water, water... just my advice... oh ya.. with teh moisture meter, make sure it's inserted into teh BOTTOM of the rootball and make sure it's a couple days into "Dry" before it's watered again... but not before the droopy leaf stage from lack of water... not the droopy that you see now....

thanks for your advice, tcvg, and for taking the time to check out what i'm doing. you know, it's interesting, i have always heard that it is "impossible" to overwater coco, and difficult to underwater, because it's reputed to hold just the right amount of water. some say "never let the medium dry out", and others, "always let it dry out between feedings". coco is often described as being newbie-friendly, because it is forgiving when it comes to over-/under-watering, and people who use it well say it offers benefits of both hydro and soil, but i won't know what that means until i try a couple side-by-side grows. i think i may soon try what snuggles suggests and repot with much more perlite to lighten up the mix. i really want to get coco under control, so i think i will continue to experiment with it, just for fun, maybe with some bagseed or something until my killing spree stops :rofl: ....but seriously, i'm really looking forward to my rock wool grow, i have expert guidance for that method

here's some pics of what i'm germing right this moment: apollo 13 sativa c/o worldwidemarijuanaseeds!

 

[LoveIt]

for the past several feedings, i've let the plants dry out a day or two in between. i repotted the two young plants, doing a 50/50 coco/perlite mix, as you recommended, snuggles- they seem happy. tcvg, you and snugg were both 100% right about the overwatering, too. i see now that i was waaaaay overdoing it, and it's very satisfying to see that the pH of the runoff has dropped with each feed, and it's nearing a normal level around 6.3. i suppose my blunders mean i should fine-tune not only frequency, but amount of watering. i fed them two days ago, and today i am switching from fox farm grow big to ionic grow, and we'll see how that goes... i switched 'em off the biobizz on 2/8, and it's been 2 feeds of the ffgb, and now i'll just use ionic and see how they do on that, should be good for coco.

the leaves on the older somango recovered some green, and lifted a little, but i think they will always be withered. the new growth on all four plants is dark green, and leaves are looking more normal shaped. thanks you guys for your advice!!!

ah, but now i have 15 sprouts in rock wool, and 2-3 more to plant, and then we'll see... maybe i'll get two lights and do a full-on side by side coco rockwool grow off!!!! ...naaaah (i'd kinda like to... way too much work for now tho)

when i have some more time, i'll post some new pics and a data snapshot for anyone who's interested in seeing the figures-- it takes some time to record this info every feed, but it's proved to be informative!