New here help with nutes in coco

[King95]

Hi I'm new here everything i think I know what I'm doing something else comes up that confuses me.

I have everything ready just want to clear up a few things before I start my grow 

 

Some info 

 

So my tap water has a reading of 0.1ec (Scottish water)  if I'm reading that correctly or 55ppm

I will also be growing in coco

Using 

Hornet coco a+b recommended 1-3ml whilst younger plants 3-6ml when older per litre 

And

Canna cal mag 0.1-1ml per litre 

 

1st question when using coco should i be using these nutes as soon as I plant the seed watering with 20% runoff everyday?

 

2.

Then using the chart I have I should be aiming for 400-500ppm whilst its a seedling  By using 2ml equal parts coco a+b and 1ml canna cal mag that brings me to around 480ppm which should be good  but I wondered since calmags recommendation is 0.1-1ml is starting at 1ml going to be to much 

 

3. When it comes to increasing the ppm for example I'm lead to believe i should aim for 1000ppm so if I used 6ml each per litre of coco a+b would i then use the required amount of cal mag to bump it upto 1000ppm even if that's more than 1ml  or should I stick with 1ml of cal mag and just go above the recommended 3-6ml of coco a+b to achieve 1000ppm 

 

4.when reading the runoff what should I be looking for lower or higher ppm then I put through it?.

 

Hopefully someone can help clear this up

 

Note I'm not sure if I should have posted this here please move to the relevant forums if I'm wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[uBercaMeL]

Hi & welcome.

You just need to keep the coco moist at first, then as they grow and the roots fill out the coco, water until run off and as frequently as needed to keep a bit of moisture in the coco. You don't want it to dry out but you also don't want to soak it daily until they are big enough. If they stay too wet early on rooting out will be much slower and more likely to have problems.

 

Regarding strength EC is better to use as PPM varies depending on the conversion factor (different meter manufacturers use different values). I have ec 0.5 tapwater and aim for 0.8-1.2 ish when little and under low light and 1.3 -1.6 ish in flower under high light, the ideal varies with setup, light intensity, environment, watering frequency etc.

Edited November 23, 2020 by uBercaMeL

[sweettooth]

Good to see on the forums. Best thing you can do is get an ec pen. its revolutionised my feeding. never go off the feeding amounts from the label. Been such an insight.

 

Regarding your seedlings, I use coco and start off in those little coco cardboard pots so less stress when I transplant. probably water 80ml every other day, you'll soon know how often they need feeding. As uBercaMel said, you want them to search for the water to root out. Personally, I use formulex when their young and then move to a more fuller feed with cal mag when I pot them on after a few weeks. sometimes I water the tray they're in to keep the feet wet rather than top feeding. Check em daily but maybe not water daily. my early seedlings I can leave for 2 days between light waterings 

[King95]

Thanks for the replys the pen i have is a tds ec meter and I have some of those little coco disks you water then they expand so would I be better starting in those then transplanting to a pot later on. So I've experimented tonight with different amounts and got to 0.5ml calmag and 1ml each of coco a+b and that brought me to around where I want to be so when it comes to feeding would I be better starting with this then upping to say 1ml cal mag when I up the feed to the recommended 3-6ml.

Whats confusing me is I can use say 0.5ml cal mag with 2ml coco a+b to get where I want or 1ml calmag with 1ml coco a+b both seem to get me around the same measurements but which one is best should should I be relying on the food to get me there with the calmag to bump me up the last bit. My research suggests most stick to 0.5ml cal mag so would I be better sticking to that and upping the food to get there if I need to or leave the food and up the calmag.

 

Also you mention just using water in the early stages at which point would I start feeding a week or two after planting or is this one of these occasions where it all depends on how fast it grows ? 

 

Thanks again guys