Coco coir and Cal Mag.....

[Furbrain]

Hi folks,

Seedling stage.

I am going to use Coco coir that has been pre buffered by the makers. Do I need to use any Cal Mag?. Also, my understanding is that I start giving weak nutrients after about 4-5 days after birth????.

Any thoughts and/or advice would be appreciated.

I've got 2 'trial' seedlings on the go at the moment but there is something wrong!. Looks like a classic case of overwatering however I thought Coco coir would handle pretty much any amount by way of run off?. They are a week old!. 

To summarize; Do I need Cal Mag and when do I start with nutrients with seedlings in Coco?. What you see are seeds I'm preparing for an outdoor grow.

[ORGANinc.]

Yes you can start feeding them, I wouldnt add any calmag just yet, but some veg nutes. and only when the cup is super dry. do a 1/4 dose, really they don't need more. 

and once youve made 1/4 strength nutes water 5% of the cups volume with it. 

[Furbrain]

8 hours ago, ORGANinc. said:

Yes you can start feeding them, I wouldnt add any calmag just yet, but some veg nutes. and only when the cup is super dry. do a 1/4 dose, really they don't need more. 

and once youve made 1/4 strength nutes water 5% of the cups volume with it. 

Many thanks for the information, just what I needed .

'Life is an experiment' . Will update as and when.

[DesignatedDave]

So I only start giving calmag for the coco coir about 3/4 weeks after I start feeding nutrients, After that I typically I use 1/4 (hard water) or  1/3 (soft water) the recommended calmag dosage on the bottle once a week, just to keep the coco coir buffered.

Then obviously when you want to actually feed your plant calmag, you just up the calmag dosage.

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by DesignatedDave

[Furbrain]

On 10/19/2022 at 9:07 AM, ORGANinc. said:

Yes you can start feeding them, I wouldnt add any calmag just yet, but some veg nutes. and only when the cup is super dry. do a 1/4 dose, really they don't need more. 

and once youve made 1/4 strength nutes water 5% of the cups volume with it. 

I now have 3 new seedlings!. 2@3days old and 1@2days. I made sure the Coco was nice and moist when I planted them and haven't watered since!. The cups are light ish but the coir is still moist.

I am now entering my twilight zone!. This is when I seem to fk up!. Scared shirtless of when to water next?. I've used clean 7 ph water up to this point. When you say 'super dry' would that be also for my new girls,....... ?.

When do think I should water them and with what? ie; just plain 7 ph for now or + diluted nutes @ 6.3ph?. 

I'm sorry for the questions but do need some guidance regarding feeding frequency of seedlings. I've drowned so many now already...... it's sad!.

Have a lekker weekend.

 

[ORGANinc.]

On 10/21/2022 at 5:23 PM, Furbrain said:

I now have 3 new seedlings!. 2@3days old and 1@2days. I made sure the Coco was nice and moist when I planted them and haven't watered since!. The cups are light ish but the coir is still moist.

I am now entering my twilight zone!. This is when I seem to fk up!. Scared shirtless of when to water next?. I've used clean 7 ph water up to this point. When you say 'super dry' would that be also for my new girls,....... ?.

When do think I should water them and with what? ie; just plain 7 ph for now or + diluted nutes @ 6.3ph?. 

I'm sorry for the questions but do need some guidance regarding feeding frequency of seedlings. I've drowned so many now already...... it's sad!.

Have a lekker weekend.

 

The cups still look ok the moist side, I would leave them for another 2/3 days, try remove some soil from that overflowing cup, that will make problems, they should be At the level of the first cup in the pic

[ORGANinc.]

Just think about your plants as a similar image above and below the soil, the root system is about r the same size as the plant, those plants are still developing their taproot. 
 

[Furbrain]

12 hours ago, ORGANinc. said:

The cups still look ok the moist side, I would leave them for another 2/3 days, try remove some soil from that overflowing cup, that will make problems, they should be At the level of the first cup in the pic

Thankyou for this much needed advise.

I have been giving 20mls of 6.2ph 440 EC once a day!.

Before feeding yesterday I noticed the leaves were becoming 'pale' and a lighter green!. This morning the colour seems much better!. I'm still nervous about giving too much feed however this morning I  notice one of my girls 'praying' (photo). Last feed was 12 hrs ago........so I'm wondering if I should feed again?.

Anyhow, I do appreciate the terrific input and will update in a few days.

10 Days old.