Fabric pots in coco

[MsMe]

I'm an experienced soil grower 4 weeks into bloom growing in coco for the first time.
I've had a slight calcium deficiency that's been corrected but everything else has been fine

Im using fabric air pruning pots and Ive been letting them soak up the runoff.
Its always gone by lights out and when the lights come back on the coco on top is slightly dry.
I believe that the fabric pots dry out faster and this helps counteract that a bit.

My question is regarding salt build up if I let the pots continue to soak up the run off.
Im planning to increase my watering to 2x (because of the dryness) per day so Im wondering if anyone has experience or knows if salt build will be more of an issue if I continue to do this????

Is there anything else I should be concerned about growing this way???

Again...the plants are currently doing great!!!!

Any help would be appreciated

 

[lakegrow]

i have been using coco and perlite in 3 gallon fabric pots for several years now and I water mine daily until it just starts to run out, if more than about a cup I remove it.
I have never had a problem with salt build up and I use my coco for a year before replacing. I simply cut off the harvested plant and use a knife to remove a section about the size of a 16oz solo cup which I start my seeds in, I then pop out of cup and into hole in the existing coco but after about a year I replace the coco. Sooo if I don't get salt build up reusing it and watering daily I bet you are just fine as is, I never mind the top inch getting a bit dry it helps deter fungus nats that love coco.

 

[gr865]

I'm an experienced soil grower 4 weeks into bloom growing in coco for the first time.
I've had a slight calcium deficiency that's been corrected but everything else has been fine

Im using fabric air pruning pots and Ive been letting them soak up the runoff.
Its always gone by lights out and when the lights come back on the coco on top is slightly dry.
I believe that the fabric pots dry out faster and this helps counteract that a bit.

My question is regarding salt build up if I let the pots continue to soak up the run off.
Im planning to increase my watering to 2x (because of the dryness) per day so Im wondering if anyone has experience or knows if salt build will be more of an issue if I continue to do this????

Is there anything else I should be concerned about growing this way???

Again...the plants are currently doing great!!!!

Any help would be appreciated

To avoid salt buildup you can water to a 20 to 30% runoff. This should eliminate a salt problem.
I have been running coco in Hempy's for a few yrs and from what I have noticed that after the water/nutes run through the coco the ppm and pH change, and not for the good. I would not let my air pots sit in runoff solution! Just my opinion!
GR

 

[thebudking]

gr865 is right. You dont want coco to sit in the run off and wick it back into the pot. You want 10 to 20 percent run off and shop vac it out or rig up a drain. I run mine in an ebb and flow tray, water till run off and it drains away out of the tray. If you are worried about salt buildup, use benificial microbs. Sub culture b, great white, mycos, personally I use Recharge. Any of those along with a weekly dose of compost tea and you won't have salt build up.

 

[featherdusta]

Just a note for all Aussie s aldi now has joot or hession shopping bags for 2 bucks,cant go wrong i got 20 straight away they hold roughly 24Litres of coija or wat eva media u use and seem a touch wider broader,i have a few autos going in their regular bags and they r going mad so these joot bags are even better alowing more air around roots.Good luck all and heavy yields

 

[MsMe]

i have been using coco and perlite in 3 gallon fabric pots for several years now and I water mine daily until it just starts to run out, if more than about a cup I remove it.
I have never had a problem with salt build up and I use my coco for a year before replacing. I simply cut off the harvested plant and use a knife to remove a section about the size of a 16oz solo cup which I start my seeds in, I then pop out of cup and into hole in the existing coco but after about a year I replace the coco. Sooo if I don't get salt build up reusing it and watering daily I bet you are just fine as is, I never mind the top inch getting a bit dry it helps deter fungus nats that love coco.

Thanks lakegrow...it goes against all my instincts to let them sit there but Im not seeing any problems either. I also dont get a lot of run off and its always gone by lights-out. Im thinking it's wicking up the sides of the bags not into the coco as much????

 

[MsMe]

To avoid salt buildup you can water to a 20 to 30% runoff. This should eliminate a salt problem.
I have been running coco in Hempy's for a few yrs and from what I have noticed that after the water/nutes run through the coco the ppm and pH change, and not for the good. I would not let my air pots sit in runoff solution! Just my opinion!
GR

Good advice gr865...I hadnt thought about the ph issue. Im using AN ph perfect which is supposed to eliminate the need to adjust ph...I personally dont think that aspect works very well because I saw my calcium issue when I followed the AN rep's advice and stopped adjusting...I do still adjust now but maybe the buffering is holding the ph constant???? Im going to check when I water next!!!!

 

[MsMe]

gr865 is right. You dont want coco to sit in the run off and wick it back into the pot. You want 10 to 20 percent run off and shop vac it out or rig up a drain. I run mine in an ebb and flow tray, water till run off and it drains away out of the tray. If you are worried about salt buildup, use benificial microbs. Sub culture b, great white, mycos, personally I use Recharge. Any of those along with a weekly dose of compost tea and you won't have salt build up.

Thanks thebudking...I chose coco over dwc because it gave me the option to grow organic but Im not there yet...Im trying to learn coco first. I did grow organic in soil and still do with my soil moms. Im going to try Mills Nutrients in my next run and try to get a little less chemical!!!!

 

[MsMe]

Just a note for all Aussie s aldi now has joot or hession shopping bags for 2 bucks,cant go wrong i got 20 straight away they hold roughly 24Litres of coija or wat eva media u use and seem a touch wider broader,i have a few autos going in their regular bags and they r going mad so these joot bags are even better alowing more air around roots.Good luck all and heavy yields

Hey featherdusta...we have aldi here also and i think people use similar bags from W.....t the same way