Coco strength and water questions

[Smoke2470]

Hello, iv searched multiple sites for answers, I am growing in canna coco..
Iv had few problems in the past, so hopefully someone can help me out,
I'm growing in canna coco, from tap, my tap water is 0.1ec
Is this to soft? Iv been told I have to supplement with calmag,
If so, could someone tell me how much to use.. Iv started seedlings,
Big Buddha cheese, I will start a journal 2mro.. Just wondering what ec
I should start seedlings off on with canna coco nutrients and calmag,
Iv been told to supplements water with calmag before I even add
Nutes.. Any help thanks in advance I would really appreciate it

 

[MrBelvedere]

You don't need to add nutes until after they sprout, it is best to just use your plain tap water on seedlings- but make sure PH is correct. PH is more important at this point (seedling)...

 

[odinsmaster]

Ph in coco is like hydro. I run avg 5 ml per gallon cal mag. For seedlings I would start with 2ml. I run my seedlings about 600ppm.

 

[Bill284]

Ph in coco is like hydro. I run avg 5 ml per gallon cal mag. For seedlings I would start with 2ml. I run my seedlings about 600ppm.

Most of my girls like 5.8-5.9 all in canna coco. You do get the odd one likes it a little lower.
Some people give about 3/4 of recommendations on your average nutrient bottle. The easiest way to learn is read a couple journals similar to your set up and use that as a base. Then you'll learn what works for you.

 

[Redcup]

Welcome to coco growing @Smoke2470. I am sure you will do great.
These are all good previous posts and maybe the op question is answered fully. Heres my tips.

Coco should be rinsed and buffered with calcium before using. Quality bagged and treated coco is more likely to be treated already so many growers skip this step. Coco will immobilize calcium and magnesium during the grow, so some kind of cal mag additive is needed, in addition to the normal amount that would be required and is in the base nutrients.

Your tap water ec is fine. That may provide some amount of Ca, since its likely dissolved Ca Carbonate, but you will probably still need a dose of cal mag. if your municipality publishes a water quality report you can read the analysis, i would guess its about 20ppm of Ca.
Start with one half tsp per gallon water of cal mag, but you may need a full tsp calmag per gallon. Look for leaf curling, which is not a big problem but indicates Ca deficiency. Thats about 1 ml per liter.

Make sure your ph is adjusted properly 5.8-6.2 is fine. Your water is probably slightly alkaline (high pH) although thats not always true. So you will (probably) use phosphoric acid pH down. You didnt mention if you have a pH meter.

Start feeding when the leaves show. Before that, tap water or calcium added water is fine but your just keeping the medium moist. Plant doesnt transpire until it has leaves and the roots are tender. If you started in plugs, sometimes those have a little bit of nutrient but dont count on it. I sprout seeds in paper towel then move to all coco (no perlite) in solo cups, then transplant to final coco/perlite mix.

Your feed ec for a seedling should start about 400uS, then each few days move up until you get to 1200 or so. I do that by mixing up a quart at 1000 ec, on the first day mix a cup with a cup+ of water and thats the first feeding set, then mix a cup with a half cup of water, that lasts a few days, and so on till your at full strength. thats the easiest way for me. (Note many people would say to use calmag treated water for the dilution. Thats up to you).

Make sure you get adequate runoff. Check your runoff ec, it should be no more than 300 uS greater than the feed, if its too high increase your runoff or back down the feed by 100ec or so.

In late veg or flower you can run higher ec if you want, monitoring the runoff ec is the best way to adjust, as it will tell you the rate the plant is taking up nutrients.

Hope this helps. Happy growing.