Joker CBD - Photo and First Coco Grow

[Orcanic]

Hi guys

Going to try make my third grow my best so far.

 

Strain: Joker CBD - https://www.trophyseeds.com/product/green-smoke-room-seeds-the-joker-cbd/

Indoor Grow

Nutes: GHE TriPart

Equipment

• 80 x 80 x 180cm grow tent
• 70/30 Coco Perlite Mix
• 240W Quantum Board
• x2 Clip on oscillating fans, x1 extraction fan

Germination: 03/04/2021

Vegetative: 15/04/2021

Flower: 06/06/2021

Harvest: --- (Estimated: 25/07/2021 - 08/08/2021)

Edited June 6, 2021 by Orcanic

[Orcanic]

Planted x3 seeds in jiffy pellets, after about 8 days 2 sprouted and the third is still in there.

I'm planning on doing a ScrOG with these 2, having doubts about the 3rd seed. Any tips appreciated :) (e.g. when to start, top, etc)

Potted the other 2 straight into 10l coco/perlite (70/30) 2 days ago

17 April 2021

[The_StonedTrooper]

Hey brother, 

Why the change in grow medium and nutrients?

Your last grow I looked over and see you making the same mistake I used to make, watering to much when you do, you had far to much run off, and watering then too often probably as well.

When you water till run off, or too much, the soil becomes mud and over saturated. 

[Marzcanna]

Just to add to what my buddy @The_StonedTroopersaid too much watering can and Wil make your medium saturated and muddy, even in coco, especially if you brave like me and use amendments with Coco. However with coco/perlite you need runoff to push out the salt build up in your medium and most "importantly" you want to keep your EC/PPM/PH in check at all times, coco is an insert medium, you can treat as soil or treat it like hydro, so you need to measure those of your input solution and runoff. With good quality coco and perfect ratio of airation, you can actually water/multiple times a day, quality coco fibers doesnt break down as quickly and with the right amount of airation the medium doesn't get as saturated as long as you don't go crazy with the run off 10-20% is enough. Wish you a good grow buddy

Edited April 18, 2021 by Marzcanna

[highchome]

Hi @Orcanic,

I also grow in coco + perlite and really like it as a grow medium. If you are new to coco+perlite then perhaps these tips that helped me are useful for you

• As long as you have reasonable drainage then you can not over water your plants. This is a really handy if you tend to over water (like I do :) ).  However, as mentioned above, if you put amendments in coco+perlite then all bets are off regarding watering and pretty much everything else I'm saying here. I'd suggest only doing that if you know what you are doing. Personally I find it much easier to keep it simple
• Treat it as hydro, e.g. when setting your pH use the hydro pH target not the soil one. Its basically water held in suspension by the coco
• You probably want about 20% run off with each water. You can measure your run-off EC to see how different it is from the inflow. 
• I water once a day in veg and aim for twice a day during flower. However once I have my automation setup I may do more than that. This should not increase the overall water usage, but rather aims to keep the medium moist all the time. Again checking your run-off EC lets you know when its too little.
• Again its not soil, so don't wait for it to dry before watering. Ideally it will never dry out
• Some people alternate pure water water and ferts. But I think its mostly considered better to always use ferts. The plants are able to absorb the nutrients better when the ph & salt concentrations etc are consistent.
• You should buffer your coco with cal-mag before planting, I also use cal-mag in the mix for each water. Also buffer if you reuse the coco for a another grow.
• You can get away with much smaller pots than you can with soil. 
• Make sure whatever ferts or additives you use are bio available without needing microbes to break them down. As @Marzcannasaid, coco is intert, you don't get soil microbes that help break down ferts for the plants. So getting a hydro fert is the best option. (Some people do use organic etc, but again you need to know what you are doing then and really want the extra work)

 

Hopefully that does not make it sound more complicated that it is... For me it seems like the simplest way to grow and I've had almost no issues with it.

I hope that helps a bit.

[The_StonedTrooper]

@Marzcanna @highchome

I was actually trying to lean him back towards growing in Soil, mmmk thanks

Fair enough though, lol

You both have the best info there for Coco, and glad you added that for him, as I had mentioned I was more commenting on his soil grow mistake and left the Coco off the table on my reply.

Good advice again.

[Orcanic]

21 hours ago, The_StonedTrooper said:

Hey brother, 

Why the change in grow medium and nutrients?

Your last grow I looked over and see you making the same mistake I used to make, watering to much when you do, you had far to much run off, and watering then too often probably as well.

When you water till run off, or too much, the soil becomes mud and over saturated. 

Hey man, it mainly comes down to me wanting to try new things and perfect my growing process by seeing what works best for me.

Thanks I didn't know that I was watering too much. I was doing about a liter per watering every 2 days, but in my first grow I was doing 2 liters.

[Orcanic]

10 hours ago, Marzcanna said:

Just to add to what my buddy @The_StonedTroopersaid too much watering can and Wil make your medium saturated and muddy, even in coco, especially if you brave like me and use amendments with Coco. However with coco/perlite you need runoff to push out the salt build up in your medium and most "importantly" you want to keep your EC/PPM/PH in check at all times, coco is an insert medium, you can treat as soil or treat it like hydro, so you need to measure those of your input solution and runoff. With good quality coco and perfect ratio of airation, you can actually water/multiple times a day, quality coco fibers doesnt break down as quickly and with the right amount of airation the medium doesn't get as saturated as long as you don't go crazy with the run off 10-20% is enough. Wish you a good grow buddy

Thanks man. I was really slack with EC/PPM in my previous grows so I'm going to try keep it under control this time round.

[Orcanic]

5 hours ago, highchome said:

Hi @Orcanic,

I also grow in coco + perlite and really like it as a grow medium. If you are new to coco+perlite then perhaps these tips that helped me are useful for you

• As long as you have reasonable drainage then you can not over water your plants. This is a really handy if you tend to over water (like I do :) ).  However, as mentioned above, if you put amendments in coco+perlite then all bets are off regarding watering and pretty much everything else I'm saying here. I'd suggest only doing that if you know what you are doing. Personally I find it much easier to keep it simple
• Treat it as hydro, e.g. when setting your pH use the hydro pH target not the soil one. Its basically water held in suspension by the coco
• You probably want about 20% run off with each water. You can measure your run-off EC to see how different it is from the inflow. 
• I water once a day in veg and aim for twice a day during flower. However once I have my automation setup I may do more than that. This should not increase the overall water usage, but rather aims to keep the medium moist all the time. Again checking your run-off EC lets you know when its too little.
• Again its not soil, so don't wait for it to dry before watering. Ideally it will never dry out
• Some people alternate pure water water and ferts. But I think its mostly considered better to always use ferts. The plants are able to absorb the nutrients better when the ph & salt concentrations etc are consistent.
• You should buffer your coco with cal-mag before planting, I also use cal-mag in the mix for each water. Also buffer if you reuse the coco for a another grow.
• You can get away with much smaller pots than you can with soil. 
• Make sure whatever ferts or additives you use are bio available without needing microbes to break them down. As @Marzcannasaid, coco is intert, you don't get soil microbes that help break down ferts for the plants. So getting a hydro fert is the best option. (Some people do use organic etc, but again you need to know what you are doing then and really want the extra work)

 

Hopefully that does not make it sound more complicated that it is... For me it seems like the simplest way to grow and I've had almost no issues with it.

I hope that helps a bit.

Awesome tips thanks so much. 

I forgot to buffer the coco with CalMag but I'm starting to add some to the water.

I'm using this guide below, aiming for a PH of 5.9/6.0

[highchome]

2 hours ago, The_StonedTrooper said:

I was actually trying to lean him back towards growing in Soil, mmmk thanks

I totally missed the signals 

[highchome]

1 hour ago, Orcanic said:

I forgot to buffer the coco with CalMag but I'm starting to add some to the water.

I'm not sure if that will be a problem for you, but at least you now know to watch for Ca/Mg deficiencies. If it really becomes a problem changing to a buffered mix is pretty easy. But perhaps you'll be lucky and it will work out for you

 

As for the notes above about plain water every other day... That may be because of potential nutrient build up with that particular fert line, in which case it could be best to follow. But it could also just be because many people do it that way, in which case I'd suggest that you should not... Helpful right?

As far as I understand it the argument for using the fertiliser every day is that plants absorb water via osmosis and they produce/control the amount of sugars in their roots to keep the correct balance so that water can be absorbed. If you are changing the EC every other day they are spending more time adjusting to that. I'll try find a link with more detail (and a better explanation tomorrow). But some people do alternate and are happy with the results. One of the great things about coco is that you can experiment quite easily, since if mess up you can just flush the coco and move on. E.g. you could use those ferts, and fertigate every day. If they show signs of nutrient burn/lockout then you can flush weekly and then every other day etc until its working for you.

Anyway good luck, I'll be interested to see how it goes

[The_StonedTrooper]

2 hours ago, Orcanic said:

Hey man, it mainly comes down to me wanting to try new things and perfect my growing process by seeing what works best for me.

Thanks I didn't know that I was watering too much. I was doing about a liter per watering every 2 days, but in my first grow I was doing 2 liters.

All good, and love your process, as it was my way forward too.

1L every 2 days, this is why the plants went yellow and ate themselves, lockout from flooding.

2 hours ago, Orcanic said:

Thanks man. I was really slack with EC/PPM in my previous grows so I'm going to try keep it under control this time round.

Growing in Coco, you are going to have to keep the grow to a science

[Orcanic]

10 hours ago, highchome said:

I'm not sure if that will be a problem for you, but at least you now know to watch for Ca/Mg deficiencies. If it really becomes a problem changing to a buffered mix is pretty easy. But perhaps you'll be lucky and it will work out for you

 

As for the notes above about plain water every other day... That may be because of potential nutrient build up with that particular fert line, in which case it could be best to follow. But it could also just be because many people do it that way, in which case I'd suggest that you should not... Helpful right?

As far as I understand it the argument for using the fertiliser every day is that plants absorb water via osmosis and they produce/control the amount of sugars in their roots to keep the correct balance so that water can be absorbed. If you are changing the EC every other day they are spending more time adjusting to that. I'll try find a link with more detail (and a better explanation tomorrow). But some people do alternate and are happy with the results. One of the great things about coco is that you can experiment quite easily, since if mess up you can just flush the coco and move on. E.g. you could use those ferts, and fertigate every day. If they show signs of nutrient burn/lockout then you can flush weekly and then every other day etc until its working for you.

Anyway good luck, I'll be interested to see how it goes

 

9 hours ago, The_StonedTrooper said:

All good, and love your process, as it was my way forward too.

1L every 2 days, this is why the plants went yellow and ate themselves, lockout from flooding.

Growing in Coco, you are going to have to keep the grow to a science

 

Thanks for the great tips guys 

[Marzcanna]

Do we have a coco section on the forum? Would be nice to have if we dont, theres alot to cover on coco especially for new growers trying it out, would be easier for them to find coco related threads.

 

1 hour ago, Orcanic said:

 

 

Thanks for the great tips guys 

Just ask if you need further assistance, I've grown in all types of medium and systems (Even Hydro) coco is by far my favorite & and i hope you will enjoy growing in it, It can be confusing and at times seems complex, in reality its quite simple once you have it dial in. Whatever you do in coco the principal to remember when coming across problems is that you are feeding the coco and not the plant, cocos caution exchange capacity is significant because it is a measure of the quantity of nutrients the media is able to hold on to before nutrients start leaching out. Plants are able to access the cations attached to the cation exchange capacity, eg cal-mag deficiency is common due to this, it holds on to calcium and magnesium until those cation exchange capacity is met and than makes it available to the plant. So for that reason i would advise feeding cal-mag in all feedings. Once you have everything dialed in the growth rate will surprise you 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Marzcanna

[highchome]

11 minutes ago, Marzcanna said:

Do we have a coco section on the forum?

https://www.420sa.co.za/forum/95-cocopeat-or-cocoperlite-growing/

[Orcanic]

2 hours ago, Marzcanna said:

Do we have a coco section on the forum? Would be nice to have if we dont, theres alot to cover on coco especially for new growers trying it out, would be easier for them to find coco related threads.

 

Just ask if you need further assistance, I've grown in all types of medium and systems (Even Hydro) coco is by far my favorite & and i hope you will enjoy growing in it, It can be confusing and at times seems complex, in reality its quite simple once you have it dial in. Whatever you do in coco the principal to remember when coming across problems is that you are feeding the coco and not the plant, cocos caution exchange capacity is significant because it is a measure of the quantity of nutrients the media is able to hold on to before nutrients start leaching out. Plants are able to access the cations attached to the cation exchange capacity, eg cal-mag deficiency is common due to this, it holds on to calcium and magnesium until those cation exchange capacity is met and than makes it available to the plant. So for that reason i would advise feeding cal-mag in all feedings. Once you have everything dialed in the growth rate will surprise you 

Will do definitely, thanks!

[Orcanic]

Week 2 update.

I've never seen these small light streaks before, anything to worry about?

26 April 2021

Edited April 26, 2021 by Orcanic

[Marzcanna]

I could be wrong but my bet is its the start of Calcium deficiency, my reason for that is by looking at the leaves effected, it tells us its a immobile deficiency which calcium falls under, to further narrow down the issue on your earlier post you said you didn't buffer the coco, I would start feeding it cal-mag

Edited April 26, 2021 by Marzcanna

[Orcanic]

1 hour ago, Marzcanna said:

I could be wrong but my bet is its the start of Calcium deficiency, my reason for that is by looking at the leaves effected, it tells us its a immobile deficiency which calcium falls under, to further narrow down the issue on your earlier post you said you didn't buffer the coco, I would start feeding it cal-mag

I started feeding CalMag (1 tsp / 3 liters) but I'll try up the dosage. Thank you!

[The_StonedTrooper]

I've had that Mark's from transplanting and having an air pocket in the soil from not watering it in properly, but you didnt replant now, which shows me a root issue and possibly lock or burn on some root zone area.

Edited April 26, 2021 by The_StonedTrooper

[Orcanic]

Just topped both of these at the 5th node, growth is looking good to me so far :)

2 May 2021

Edited May 10, 2021 by Orcanic

[The_StonedTrooper]

Nice one brother

[Marzcanna]

1 hour ago, Orcanic said:

Just topped both of these at the 5th node, growth is looking good to me so far

26 April 2021

Nice and tidy top  

[Orcanic]

@The_StonedTrooper

@Marzcanna

Thanks guys 

[Orcanic]

New colas coming through

10 May 2021