Coir vs soil Newts wise

this year i found coir i like it much better then soil
i don’t understand about the newts some say they can be used with coir
and others don’t say wont work with hydroponic
this confuses me coir seems like the best of both
the plants grow into it like soil but without having to look for newts
so why can’t i use them can i get a bit of help
I ask before i use a set of newts i got by mistake
foxfarm big grow tiger bloom and big bloom

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You can use nutrients with core?
The ph should be adjusted to a ph level suitable for hydro 5.8-6 I believe is best
Salt build up is a issue with core so flushing may be need but o even think they have worked that out at the processing plant nowadays to be honest
I use promix Bx with is. Soilless mix as well
I use organic nutrients as well ?

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@Precious go to the FF website and there is a nutrient schedule for coco using all of their stuff. Be sure to follow their flushing schedule because like @Countryboyjvd1971 John said; coco retains salts and needs flushing.

I’m doing coco and like it. I’ll tag you in if you want, as I had a VERY illuminating answer from one of the Mentors on nutrient solution strength.

Promix BX I hear offers some advantages over coco: chiefly this retention of salts.

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Guys are correct. Some manufacturers use an entirely different nutrient line, while others just have different dosing recommendation. I believe the hang up here is that most of the nutrient manufacturers have a line that’s optimized for coco vs a different line that’s optimized for soil. Yet the same companies will provide you with different schedules for one specific line as well.

While one may be better, or at least easier to use, it doesn’t mean they won’t work in both.

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All good points guys
And as I stated I believe the coco mfg have work put the salt retention thing or at least reduced the issue from when it was first brought to market
But in any case yes @dbrn32 is correct
I know with ff the have a different soil and hydro mix for the big bloom which is thier organic base nutrient
The other two part grow big and tiger bloom are chemical base and just a different mix streaght with hydro and soil as dbrn32 mentioned and nectar line which is all organic also just has a different feed schedule fir hydro and soil hydro typically will be less dosage due to more direct contact with water and nutrient mix and ppm being keeped at a constant in hydro where in soil the plant will use it up between feedings and I’m all outta likes boys hahah
You can also call most of the mfg and they will help you out with any questions not that we mind helping :+1:
@Myfriendis410 I want to be enlightened as well lol

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The difference between coco coir and peat based soilless mixes like promix, is that it isn’t so much that coco cause a salt build up more than peat, it is that coco starts off with a lot of sodium chloride salt in it, as it is harvested from near the ocean.

A lot of coco mixes now are “pre washed” and so this isn’t necessarily a problem with those pre-washed mixes.

I think this might be the origin of the “salt retention” myth.

However, it also does have a few properties different than peat.

For one, it doesn’t break down and become more acidic over time like peat does. This is why coco pH is run at 5.8 and promix is run at 6.2, the higher pH in promix is to counter the pH drop in the peat from decomposition which results in a acidic increase of organic compounds.

The other difference is that coco has a property to it that can cause a cal/mag deficiency. This is the main reason for a different formula for coco. The Coco formulas have extra cal/mag in them to counter and avoid this problem.

And lastly, coco has a slight possibility of causing a potassium toxicity, as the coir itself already contains a lot of it. This can also be factored into most nutrient formulas, and a slightly lower potassium content might be used to avoid this toxicity.

Any “hydroponic” nutrient in a soilless or rockwool growing media will potentially need regular flushing throughout the grow. This is just to avoid potential nutrient salt toxicities in general. It is not at all more important in coco coir than the other hydro substrates/growing mediums.

Happy growing,

MacG

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Can you share more about what you learned about nute strength @Myfriendis410?

My response above might cover that.

~MacG

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@MacGyverStoner thanks for sharing that info with us :+1:
Good stuff brother explains it well :+1:
Bookmarked for future reference lol :v:CB

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Sure did @MacGyverStoner. Thanks for that info!

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Fantastic! Excellent information. Every day is a learning experience.

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One more little nugget from all of the info I got: over and under feeding can have the same symptoms in soilless. So what looks like a deficiency causes you to dump more of a particular nutrient and end up making it worse.

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I haven’t experienced that. But over-watering, just like in soil, can also cause the appearance of nutrient deficiencies, even if your nutrient water mix contains the right amounts.

And some over feeding of certain nutrients can lock out other nutrients, but this is also true in normal soil. Coco does not buffer nutrients, as does soil, and organic peat mixes can buffer a bit as well, so just like in rockwool, hydroton/LECA, and DWC, it is easier to overdose your nutrients as everything is pretty much instantly available to the roots, as in these other more familiar forms of hydro.

happy growing,

MacG.

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@MacGyverStoner once again thank you for the clear and concise description of what’s going on.

:+1::+1::+1::+1::+1:

You should probably flush your new coco when you first get it, as part of preparing it. Run a lot of water through it. That will wash out any excess salt and won’t hurt the coco coir.

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thanks for the info i.m using coir mixed with Perlite 2 to 1
I’ve been using Gen hydro 3 part flora
but got the fox farms newts when the company i ordered from mess up the order

Coco Coir is really hard to over water unless your just dumping buckets in it or watering it way to often, I’ve been feeding everyday with nutes with 20% run off and it’s never accumulated salts because the flood of water I put in my fabric pot that I fill to the top and it leaches all the extra or the nutrients that weren’t consumed I guess you can say out the bottom of the pot so therefore I’ve never accumulated salts and I’ve been feeding everyday with nutes at least a week before transplant to 5 gallon fabric pot when plant got big enough, before that I was feeding every other day, but ya never got a salt toxicity