Herbshuttles Indoor Coco Coir Purple Kush Grow

[Herbshuttles]

I'm growing two crop king Purple Kush babies in coco coir with 20-30% perlite in a 4x4 grow tent. Starting seedlings in solo cups and I'm going transplant when they are big enough into 5 gallon smart pots. All water will be pH'd at 5.8-6.2, filtered tap. It's hard water at 139 ppm so I'm going to need to watch over that. I'm using flora series nutes (micro, grow and bloom along with rapid roots, koolbloom, dry koolbloom, flora nectar and floralicious). I'm using two 300w Viparspectra LED's (only one until the plants gets bigger). They are positioned 35-36 inches away (I'll move it much closer when they are older). I have an exhale co2 bag near the plants and a small hurricane fan blowing gentle air to push (hopefully) the co2 in their direction and provide a gentle breeze to strengthen them. I have a carbon filter on the top inside of the tent which is connected to a fan on the top outside of the tent pullling air out the tent and out the room via ducting. Temps range roughly from 70-79 (low 7o's lights off upper 70's lights on). I'm still aiming to get it a little cooler in there but I feel my last easy solution is an evaporative cooler.

So i planted my germinated seeds late night on January 22 and they sprouted two days later on January 24th. It's been two days since sprouting. They look fine however I have two concerns. The coco coir is still not fully dry after almost a day of no water. It's not soaking wet but it's definitely still moist, which is what I'd say is unnatural. I've never grown in coco until now but I was under the assumption it dries quickly. I'm avoiding watering until it's practically dry, last thing I want is to overwater. My other concern is the seedlings are slightly bending. Does this mean the light is too close? It's at about 35-36 inches away currently.

 

[Old TimingMan]

I found it Herb, Tent looks good, now you are ready to hit that home run!

When growing in coco, you have to throw out the comparison to soil, it is basically impossible to over-water as long as you have proper drain holes and a catch tray that you can dump.
DO NOT LET THE COCO DRY OUT!
Water it daily and be sure to dump any run-off, use an enzyme product like Flying Skull's Z7 in your nute solution to keep the nasties at bay. Coco is a lot like Hydro, the roots will absorb the nutes as long as there is moisture in that coco, so keep it moist, water a little at the stem and the rest around the edge so the roots seek the moisture...you can soon have plants like these!

 

[Herbshuttles]

I found it Herb, Tent looks good, now you are ready to hit that home run!

When growing in coco, you have to throw out the comparison to soil, it is basically impossible to over-water as long as you have proper drain holes and a catch tray that you can dump.
DO NOT LET THE COCO DRY OUT!
Water it daily and be sure to dump any run-off, use an enzyme product like Flying Skull's Z7 in your nute solution to keep the nasties at bay. Coco is a lot like Hydro, the roots will absorb the nutes as long as there is moisture in that coco, so keep it moist, water a little at the stem and the rest around the edge so the roots seek the moisture...you can soon have plants like these!

Thanks for the response ! It's only two days old, but should I water until runoff? I was going to just drizzle water over using a cup with pin point holes in it. Do you suggest waiting a week for rapid start for the roots or should I use that now

 

[EastCoastGhost]

I will subb to this grow. I am doing my first grow with coco and so far I'm loving it. You do want your coco to dry all the way out, it will cause you big problems. Water everyday till you see a little runoff and you will be fine. I charge my coco with 350-400ppm to start with and just feed everyday. Everytime you feed it replenishes the CoCo with fresh nutes and fresh oxygen to the roots so don't worry about over watering with coco Good luck...️

 

[EastCoastGhost]

I meant to say don't want the CoCo to dry out lol. My phone is crazy sometimes lol...️

 

[Herbshuttles]

I will subb to this grow. I am doing my first grow with coco and so far I'm loving it. You do want your coco to dry all the way out, it will cause you big problems. Water everyday till you see a little runoff and you will be fine. I charge my coco with 350-400ppm to start with and just feed everyday. Everytime you feed it replenishes the CoCo with fresh nutes and fresh oxygen to the roots so don't worry about over watering with coco Good luck...️

Dope, guess ill water away then!!

 

[Old TimingMan]

Thanks for the response ! It's only two days old, but should I water until runoff? I was going to just drizzle water over using a cup with pin point holes in it. Do you suggest waiting a week for rapid start for the roots or should I use that now

I would start the Rapid Root, and water to run-off this time to make sure the coco is moist all the way to the bottom, after that, water to run-off once every week to 10 days, right now the plant is building roots so a little food is a good thing, start slow and build up the dose.

A gentle breeze wiggling the stem every now and then will help strengthen it, I bounce the air off the tent wall which seem to work good at this stage. Your temps in the upper 70's is fine for the seedlings, try and keep the RH in the 50-60% range if you can for the first week or two dropping it back to the 30-40% range as they get to the 3-4 node stage.

I use a silicate additive to help with stem development, but not until I start with the full nute line, it will make the stems a little more flexible and forgiving when it comes time to start training.

 

[Old TimingMan]

I forgot to add one thing Herb, in coco you will want to keep the PH between 5.5 and 6.0, 5.8 seems to be the standard, I will vary mine a little, I mix up 5 gal at a time and try for 5.8 but if it is 5.6 or 6.0 its no big deal.

 

[Herbshuttles]

I forgot to add one thing Herb, in coco you will want to keep the PH between 5.5 and 6.0, 5.8 seems to be the standard, I will vary mine a little, I mix up 5 gal at a time and try for 5.8 but if it is 5.6 or 6.0 its no big deal.

How much rapid start? I'm thinking 2.5 mL

 

[Old TimingMan]

How much rapid start? I'm thinking 2.5 mL

In the seedling stage I start them at 1.5 ml per gallon, after they produce the first 3 finger leaves I bump it up to 2.5 per gallon then after the 3rd node I start the rest of the nutes,

You are going to need to add a little Cal/Mag when you bump the rapid start up, about 1.5 ml per should do it. If you decide to add a silicate, always add that first mix, then the Cal/Mag, then the other nutes mixing between each. If you decide to use the Z7, add that last then PH it down or up

 

[Herbshuttles]

In the seedling stage I start them at 1.5 ml per gallon, after they produce the first 3 finger leaves I bump it up to 2.5 per gallon then after the 3rd node I start the rest of the nutes,

You are going to need to add a little Cal/Mag when you bump the rapid start up, about 1.5 ml per should do it. If you decide to add a silicate, always add that first mix, then the Cal/Mag, then the other nutes mixing between each. If you decide to use the Z7, add that last then PH it down or up

Ok cool thank you! I'm following this exact formula then. Just watered till runoff with rapidstart in there. Now I just need to get set on my nute chart. I know you gave me a basic lineup for yours but I'm worried it won't be the same considering the difference of companies plus you weren't using any supplements I believe. I'm still thinking about GH feed chart but maybe 1/2-3/4 what they suggest. Problem is, they only leave one week for seedling and 3 for vegetative. So I have to figure out when's the right time for what amount

 

[Old TimingMan]

Ok cool thank you! I'm following this exact formula then. Just watered till runoff with rapidstart in there. Now I just need to get set on my nute chart. I know you gave me a basic lineup for yours but I'm worried it won't be the same considering the difference of companies plus you weren't using any supplements I believe. I'm still thinking about GH feed chart but maybe 1/2-3/4 what they suggest. Problem is, they only leave one week for seedling and 3 for vegetative. So I have to figure out when's the right time for what amount

The chart is just a guide, instead of a 7 day week, use a 10 day week, 10 days with seedling nutes, 10 days in early growth, 10 days in late growth, ect. The longer the veg time the better yield you will get, I do 6-8 week veg's, so I will repeat the second week schedule a couple of times as well as the 3rd week schedule until I want to flip.

This is where keeping a close eye on things is important, some strains don't like a lot of nutes and some love them, looking at the suggested PPM's, they seem kind of high so its best to start slow and increase a little at a time. The Purple Kush I grew seemed to like the schedule I used, my PPM's started out at around 200 and maxed out at around 700 PPM's in veg and then peaked at around 1100 PPM's at the 6-7 week of flower backing down to 700-800 at the end.

I would just keep feeding them Rapid Start until you get to the first set of 3 point leaves to get a good root system established paying attention to how they are stretching, and lowering or raising the light accordingly.

Once you get to that 3 point leaf stage a light dose of Cal/Mag should be added, mix 1 gallon of your nutes at 1/2 strength and see how they react in the next 3-4 days, if they look like they love it, add a little more at a time observing the plant health and signs they give you...The color should be a vivid Green, if you see the very tips of the leaves start to burn, back off the nute mixture slightly. Look for your leaves to be reaching for the light, keep an eye on the node spacing, ideally you would like to see about 1" between nodes.

At the 5 node stage you can transplant them in to the final pots and begin to start training if you want, this stage is when you should do your first topping, If you are going to mainline, start at node four. Give them a couple days to get settled in to the new pots before any training or topping.

I see that GH calls its silicate supplement "Armor SI", is that something you have?

 

[Herbshuttles]

Thank you, I'll be following the procedure you've given step by step! It's been one week and two days since they've sprouted, here's some pics. If you look closely you can see little three finger leaves forming. No I do not have armor si but I can get it easily if need be. Should I do that asap?

 

[JinxMeTwice]

Thank you, I'll be following the procedure you've given step by step! It's been one week and two days since they've sprouted, here's some pics. If you look closely you can see little three finger leaves forming. No I do not have armor si but I can get it easily if need be. Should I do that asap?

Good luck on your new plants, hope they grow nice and strong!.. happy growing

 

[Old TimingMan]

Looking good Herb

Give those first 3 finger's a couple days to get about the size of the first true leaves now and start your lite nutes. If you plan on doing LST I would add the SI, from what I have read it makes the cells in the stems more pliable so they will take the bending that goes with training without snapping. You still have to be careful and patient when LST'ing, a little each day is the best way.

The silicate will last you through many grows in coco, so get the smallest size you can, the stuff I used was in powder form and I had to mix with distilled water, it made a quart, I'm on my 3rd grow with the fourth in the clone tub and I still have about half that quart left.

 

[Greg Mendel]

They look a little stretchy to me.

 

[Herbshuttles]

I was thinking that as well. Lights currently at 34 inches away, it's not even 2 weeks old though. I'm wondering how much I should lower the light if at all. Just started giving them full dose of rapid start and 1.5 mL cali mag

 

[Greg Mendel]

I put mine under CFLs or LED light bulbs when they're that small. In any case, they look like they could use a lot more light.

 

[Herbshuttles]

Sorry for the lack of the posting in the recent week! Plants are now 3 weeks old (since sprouting). These pics are from 2 days ago (2 weeks 5 days). Stems are pretty sturdy due to the small fan bouncing air in the tent. Leaves look pretty good. New growth a little lighter green then I'd want. There are 3 nodes of true leaves and then the seedling and first leaves nodes. Leaf edges seem to slightly claw upwards. Will start light light nutrients this week and up the dose next week after transplanting.

Edit: one plant has some deformed leaves. Forgot to mention

 

[Greg Mendel]

They still look stretchy to me, and the tap roots hit the bottom of those cups days ago.