Potassium: Is there enough in coco?

[felis]

Pretty much every coco grower already knows that coco fiber is loaded with potassium ions. Which.....is why we buffer coco with Cal mag, and use cal mag throughout the grow period, to "feed" the coco. Na+ ions in the coco are "given up" and replaced by the Cal mag ions.

My questions are;

Is there *enough* potassium given up by the coco fiber, plus what is already in the basic nutrients [ any quality cannabis-specific brand ] to satisfy the late flowering requirements? Or......should potassium be added as a supplement during late flowering when growing in coco?
Too much potassium locks out Cal mag zinc and iron. We don't need this.

Has the potassium in Canna Coco A and B been reduced for exactly this reason? What about GH Flora Series.........is there already enough in this brand?

Which brings me to........differentiating between calcium deficiency and potassium deficiency is a struggle for me. I'm never really certain which of the two I'm looking at when that rusty-brown mottled tips and spots begin to appear on the fan leaves. So......do you wait for your flowering plants to "indicate" a Na+ deficiency, then add it, or just provide it anyway, and hope you don't lock out the other elements?

I also add Potassium Silicate to my nute mix [ PH up ] for the silica content. So, there is more potassium being added with this too.

Coco growers. Your thots please?

 

[OldMedUser]

So......do you wait for your flowering plants to "indicate" a Na+ deficiency, then add it, or just provide it anyway, and hope you don't lock out the other elements?

You do know that Na is sodium right? I'm not a coco grower but nobody needs extra sodium in their medium.

I've also never heard anyone say anything about excess potassium, K, in coco and tho I don't grow with it I've read a lot about it and that helped me decide not to use it. PITA compared to ProMix HP.

Using potassium silicate will supply a little bit of it but not enough to be considered a problem or feed your plants.

 

[felis]

Ops. My bad. I fixed the post.
Yep.......Na is sodium, not potassium. Brain fart moment.

 

[PE636]

Been growing in coco for a few years now with great results. Don't have any use for calmag. I gave up on trying to "pre - buffer with calmag" after my first grow. Zero difference. Plenty in my nutrients (which are 9-6-17 Megacrop) and also some in my water to begin with. So I don't think whatever potassium is in coco is very available to the plants. In fact I suspect it's just another sales line to get people coughing up cash for another product they don't really need in most cases.... Potassium deficiencies showing near the tips seem to have a fringe of yellow moving inward and along the edge of the leaf from what I know, and especially more so on older leaves. Actual Ca deficiencies are closer to the top new growth,may include some twisting of new growth and speckled brown spots from what I have seen/learned. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Redcup]

Its true that coco will release K and immobilize Ca on its cation exchange sites. Its not clear how much is available at the end of a grow, where the exchange sites have become saturated.

I use a similar NPK to what PE636 mentions above (although i use Jacks and it has some important differences in formula), my water is hard so no calcium addition needed above calcium nitrate, and i dont use any PK bloom booster type products. i have tried and see no difference in yield quality. Some people swear by them, so you may wish to try.

BTW I always buffer and rinse the coco bricks, they are extremely salty, at least the ones i get.