Am growing indoor 300w LED using a mix i saw online with coco coir, soil, vermiculite and perlite. Bio bizz nutrients 4inch inline fan and carbon filter 18hrs on 6 off fans circulating air not to high temps around 27 degrees. Ph is around 6.4 6.5 to 6.7 6.8 . I never keep it the same. Its also an auto flower smokey bear. Thers another leaf starting to change color aswell on the outeredge of the leaf ive also flushed her aswell. Have i done everything i should is there anything else anyone can help me with i am first timer and welcome help and advice. Please.
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I think coco coir should be PH’d at about 5.5 to 5.8. So that could be causing nute lock-out.
But please wait for more to give their opinions, as I have never used that medium before…
Thanks i will i have done as much as i know that i can do just now. I thought with having mostly soil thn coco coir but i dont have enough experience to know if am doing everything right. Cause what i find is that there are alot of contradictions and varations when it comes to it. I hope i can succeed at this i am getting into gardening its so relax. Anyway thanks.
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I didn’t notice you have them mixed, I am not sure what you should aim for, let me tag a few people with a lot more experience…
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while we wait for others, if you could fill out a support ticket, to help with info they might need…
Answer these simple questions the best you can.
If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so = NA
Strain; Type, Bag seed, ILGM… name of strain:
Age from Sprout:
Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco / Brand and type of Soil & Size of Pots:
How often do you water and how do you determine when to do so?
PH of water and runoff or solution in reservoir:
What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS:
Indoor or Outdoor:
Light system, size and height from plants:
Temps; Day, Night:
Humidity; Day, Night:
Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size:
AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier:
Co2; Yes, No:
Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer. Feel free to elaborate, but short, to the point questions and facts will help us help you
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Thanks for the tag @Ron330
Do you have the bag the soil came in? Please post the brand name and name of the soil or the exact ingredients as they are listed in the ingredient list.
The issue is that 3 of those ingredients are not soil and soil is soil. They require different pH of water.
If the mix does include soil then the best way to determine the correct pH is to make a slurry of the soil and pH water and let it set for 15-30 minutes and then check the pH
1 Tbsp of soil mix into a half glass of water at 6.5 pH. and then test it after
That leaf that is burning looks like it is close to touching the soil. Move some of the soil away so it doesn’t touch.
Don’t foget to tag us when you post, like I tagged you @Mikos @Ron330
And please fill out the support ticket!
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I heard the same thing in the five range for your pH should be and also heard somebody say that could be magnesium deficiency as well
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Thanks and i will try that and once ive figured out how to navigate my way round this forum i will gladly tag you both
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Soiless mediums and soil just require two different pH’s is all. I saw that other comment but that doesn’t apply here.
here is a nice chart.
Nail the pH
5.8 for soiless mediums and 6.5 for soil and you will have a happy grow. There is a pH range but if you make it exact it is one less thing you have to worry about. pH is responsible for many of the problems we see everyday!
Look at the left side of the chart and look where 6.4 - 6.8 pH does in a soiless medium. Locks out almost all of the nutrients!
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You’re in good hands with @bob31 , I will be following and will help if needed, just tag… @Mikos , thanks for the tag @Ron330 
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Thank you. @bob31 @Ron330 @Chefchino @Niala. I wasnt doing to bad on my own until i had to transfer the pots over to what she is in now. And thts when i used the mix i said it was more a recipe and it seemed the best option for me atm. Its my first ever plant. So again thank you all for your help and advice. Its an auto flower i am doing . Called smokey bear.
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Just a hunch,… If you have use a potting mix , it’s likely to be a soiless medium, so, it’s imperative to know exactly what’s the composition of it since you have made your own final medium mix… 
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Strain; Type, Bag seed, ILGM… name of strain: smokey bear.
Age from Sprout: 25 days in from seed.
Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco / Brand and type of Soil & Size of Pots: medium is soil coco coir perlite and vermiculite mix the soil was a special mix given to me by someone.
How often do you water and how do you determine when to do so? Depends on two things one is i have a moisture light abd soil ph meter. Normally every 2nd day up until i moved them into a larger pot.
PH of water and runoff or solution in reservoir: 6.38
What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS: na
Indoor or Outdoor: indoor
Light system, size and height from plants:
Temps; Day, Night: 28celcius night 25 celcius
Humidity; Day, 45% night 55%
Ventilation system; Yes, Size: 4 inch x 2
AC, n.a
Co2; No:
Am also using bio bizz nutrients and fertilisers i got like a starter pack with stuff like bio gro bio bloom topmax fish mix .alga a mic. Was also given plant magic magne and cal aswell as something called superthrive in this 60ml bottle . I hope this info helps a bit more. I have also been taking notes etc of what ive done or doing.
Thanks over this past month av done nothing but read books and stuff online ontop of videos etc and you cant beat hands on experience aswell and am good with my hands so i assume i could do this but i am still a bit unsure if i will be able to get to my end goal and get to the best part of all .
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I have a few questions
1• Are you using a soil probe to determine your soil and water, water/ nutrients pH or you have a pH pen or you are using both ?
2• TDS or EC is very useful to know if you have salts and nutrients build up to a toxic level. It’s very important since you do not know the composition of your “soil” , it could be a “hot soil” so nutrients feeding have to wait until flowering stage or be at 1/4 or 1/2 recommand dosage…
3• If possible, can you ask your friend what he put in his soil and in what proportions !?
4• Can you post a picture of all of your plant, a full size picture of it in natural light, please, it will be useful.
Thanks for your comprehension @Mikos, I am pretty sure that every thing will be ok, it’s maybe just a natural processus in your plant life since yellowing and lost of the first fan leaves is normal, it’s not if it’s moving upward too fast… If it’s the case, that will most probably be a sign of salts and nutrients build up and vermiticulite may play a role here since it’s main function is to retain water and dissolved nutrients by the same way, and a flush will be the solution if it’s the case.
Hoping that’s helping you and please, respond to the questions ask before making any move 
~Al 
It’s all trial and error when you’re new to it I still have so much more to learn
Currently on my first grow and I might have transplanted my plants a lil too early because ever since I did it seems as though every time I check up on my plants they always seems to want to be dying.
What’s been my secret in successfully not honoring their “DNR” wishes? This…Redirect Notice creativity, seeking advice and a whole lot of hoping I diagnosed their problems right.
First let me welcome you to ILGM As you see plenty of help.These fokes here are awesome. And please look around and feel free to join in… " WELCOME Mikos "
Ok P.H in Coco Coir This is quite large but very informitive . and is 1 of 3 Copy and paste to your file for future reference
1 of 3
Guide for growing on coco
Growing cannabis is a hobby that more and more people pursue. Everybody can have great results if you adopt a professional attitude as grower. A good crop depends on the commitment and cleverness of the caretaker.
This guide focuses on the growth of skunk and indica kinds, varying from 7 to 10 weeks flowering phase.
There are various methods to grow professionally, but we have found that this is the simplest method to yield results over the gram/watt. We know from experience that if the beginner is serious and meticulous and visits the shop once every two weeks for half an hour to catch up the first harvest will yield premium quality and premium production. Failed harvests due to mistakes in the growing method are rare, but are caused by, for example, unreliable equipment, low-quality products, nonchalance, and by insect plagues.
There are two differences:
- Coco in pots
- Coco in slabs
The advantage of growing in pots is that you can move the plants during the harvest. Since one plant grows faster than the next it is easy to sort them according to length and order them in such a way that they catch as much light as possible. Coco slabs only offer advantages such as less work (primarily in larger areas) and less waste, and even higher yields if you use a water system. This guide only discusses the first method. For growing on slabs,
Coco in pots
In order to reduce the harvest time as much as possible to prevent the development of problems we use a 4-litre pot of lxbxh is 15x15x20cm. Citral, Peacemaker, White Widow, Snowball, Santa Maria or other white weeds barely need to be given growing time (18 hours light or more) if the climate is really damp the first two weeks. A K2 or a Top-44 for example, are slow growers that can take at least five days of growth.
Since the plants do not or barely get the time to grow, they will yield a maximum of 25 grams on average. That means that at least 24 plants must be placed under every 600w lamp in order to yield 600 grams per 600 watt HPS lamp. Because the artificial light is less powerful than the sun the intensity of light greatly decreases if the distance between lamp and plant becomes a bit bigger. For that reason a short plant usually has long full flowers from top to bottom and a long plant may look deserted of flowers especially at the bottom. A larger plant (larger than 75cm) does not yield more than a smaller one and is unmanageable.
Ordering and comparing pots
A big advantage of growing with pots is that you can move the plants and can look per plant if it needs water or not. Especially the first three weeks there can be large differences between the plants, which are caused as follows:
The cuttings you start with are different. It is possible that one has grown 15 cm after 5 days and has already used a lot of water while another is still as small and damp as in the beginning. If you water all plants while some of them are still wet you drown the plants that were already small while the cuttings that are big get watered at the correct moment. The large plants will grow even harder and the small ones even slower and the differences will keep getting bigger and bigger. For that reason you should only water plants that are dry.
The more often you select, the more evenly your plants grow. When your harvest progresses you often see that the plants become more yellow in the centre than at the side, because the plants in the centre receive more light energy and process the food more quickly and therefore use more food. If you put a yellow plant on the outside you give it some time to take in food and become greener again. This means that a plant that is green (a plant with much unprocessed food) processes more food under the light than a plant that is already yellow because it cannot supply the food quickly enough.
Moving lamps or moving the lamps somewhat is always better.
Humidity
One of the most underestimated factors in indoor growing is the humidity.
It is important for the further course of the entire harvest especially the first three weeks.
A cutting is a sprig of a plant with a few leaves, which is cut from a large plant, the mother plant. This mother plant is selected on quality, gender, and strength and each cutting from this plant has exactly the same characteristics, the genetic factors. Since this cutting can vaporize water via the leaves, but cannot absorb water (there are no leaves) it must be protected against dehydration. This is where humidity comes into play. By increasing the humidity the water will vaporize more slowly and the plant will loose less water than in dry air. You give the plant more time to grow roots this way. With the help of the humidity you can actually regulate the rate of water evaporation in the plant. Even if roots are already there it may be that a young or sick plant cannot keep pace with the evaporation, for example if the amount of light or warmth is increased. You can recognise it by more yellow leaves, dried out edges of leaves, a stagnating growth and a decreasing humidity.
Most of the time when you turn on the light the room will get too dry quickly.
Since cuttings will usually take root under strip lights they are not used to really strong light.
Initially hang the lamp(s) as high as possible, start with a few lamps and add more lamps in the course of the first two weeks. Much light means much warmth. Much warmth means much extraction to lead away the warmth and all humid air is transported outside. Everyone will see the similarity between a blow-drier and the warmth of the lamps in combination with the extraction. The more lamps, the warmer it gets, the stronger the extraction so the lower the humidity, or the dryer the air. In order to maintain a high level of humidity you must not use too much light initially so that the extraction can be kept low. You can furthermore place water reservoirs, spray water, hang wet laundry in your growing room or, even better, use a humidifier. Be careful that the humidity is not more than 95% with reference to the electric equipment. When the plants get bigger they will automatically use more water and give off more moisture to the air and eventually the humidity will stay sufficiently high. When the humidity gets too high you can turn on more lamps and/or increase ventilation.
The following values are advisable:
week 1 80 to 90%
week 2 70 to 80%
week 3 65 to 70%
week 4 through 8 60 to 65%
week 9 around the 55%
Nowadays there are various convenient climate controllers available that simplify the controlling of your climate. Let someone inform you about the differences.
Bugs
When you grow you will be visited by uninvited insects now and again. The cleaner you work, the better, but it still does not guarantee anything. There will be no flowers the first three weeks of the harvest. During this period you can use insecticide, which you wash off before flower formation, without problems. I prefer insecticides that degrade themselves within a few weeks and are not poisonous after that period. Let someone inform you about this because there are also dangerous products on the market. Always ask about a product that is suitable for vegetables, fruit and other consumer crops. A safety term is usually also indicated. I furthermore advise to work with two different insecticides, one general insecticide against louse, thrips and other insects and a special insecticide against red spider mites (web). If you spray once every three days with one of the two insecticides your crop will be clean before the real bloom. Primarily spray under the leaves.
Once you have an actual flower (and not the first hairs) you stop spraying and wash the leaves a few times with a lot of clean water. You can also release natural enemies such as predatory mites (orius) and soil-predatory mites (hypoaspis miles). The first lives on all harmful insects on the leaves, and the other on all harmful insects in the soil and for that reason they are particular suited to use preventively. Only tenacious red spider mites might occur at the end of the harvest, against which you should use predatory mites. It all seems a lot of work but it might save you a lot of problems, and fighting a real plague is often more work and might cost more with reference to yield and quality.
Soil humidity
Watering with coco is different than with soil. If you grow on soil you cannot give the plant too much water because the plant will drown otherwise. Much water in the soil displaces all oxygen, which is rare in the ground in any case. Pearlite is added to the soil to reduce this problem. Coco on the other hand is so light that there will always be sufficient oxygen left and the plant cannot drown. This means in general that you can give the plant so much water that it drains from under the pot each time. You can let the pot become dryer the first week only to stimulate root development. You can also water the plants on coco the soil-growing way (without drainage), but coco is actually a hydrological medium and drainage yields better and more constant results (750grams/600watt/9weeks/1.2m2 has been realised).
You furthermore compare the EC-values (see following chapter). If they are constant, flush out a little and drain 20% nutrient solution. If you measure a higher EC-value you can drain more (30%) and flush out more often. When the EC gets lower, you can give more nutrients.
SNS bank nr: 93.66.05.456 Website: Growside Maastricht
Unfortunately I haven’t seen a professional soil humidity meter yet. The hydrological growing on coco always enables you to know if you have watered the plant sufficiently. From the 8th day you must find on average 25% of the water given each day in the waste water reservoir where your drain water flows back to. You can furthermore decide at all times to give more water in order to regulate your pH- and EC- values.
E.C.
E.C. means Electric Conductivity, and is measured in ĹłS/cm.
The dissolved salts in water determine the conductivity of the water. If no salts or minerals are dissolved in the water the conductivity is zero, just like rubber. The more salts, the better the conductivity. Tap water normally contains so many dissolved salts that it conducts electricity dangerously well. Since most salts are also nutrient the EC.-value is also a standard for the nutritional value of the water or the soil.
The EC.-value of the tap water in the Netherlands lies approximately between the 0.1 and the 0.7 ĹłS/cm. The EC in this area lies around 0.5. When we talk about an EC-value it is always a combination of the EC-value of the water and of the nutrient. The tap water has an EC-value of 0.5. In case of an EC of 1.7 this is 0.5 of the water and 1.2 enriched with nutrient solution. In your case you must complement the EC of your tap water with 1.2 EC nutrient solution.
When the plants are young you should work with an EC of 1.2, up to 1.7 in approximately three weeks.
If everything goes as it should you determine by looking at the colour of the leaves if you should give more or less nutrient. If the leaves are dark green this means that the plant has more than enough nutrients for now. You can give fewer nutrients. If the leaves turn more yellow, you can give the plant more nutrient. Since there are also other factors that determine the colour of the leaves you should measure the soil or the drainage water.
Pay attention when measuring the pH and EC if you haven’t had constant drainage. The values measured may be unreliable. You should flush a few days with extra drainage before you start measuring (see Drainage).
A normal EC-value near the roots for an adult plant lies around 1.6 and 2.4 ĹłS/cm.
Try to give a nutrient concentration as low as possible, but as much nutrient solution as possible. Work with Citral and white weeds with EC-values between 1.6 and 1.8 if you have 20 to 30 % drainage water left.
When you drain less, you must generally give more nutrients. With K2 or skunk kinds you can often give more nutrients in any case.
With constant drainage you can use the drainage water to determine after the 3rd/4th week how much nutrient you must give. We work with an EC between 1.6 and 1.8mS/cm.
Since the plant absorbs a part of the nutrients the drain water (waste water) contains fewer nutrients than the nutrient solution. If you give 1.8, you can expect back between 1.1 and 1.6. If you have given, for example, 1.8 the previous weeks and measured 1.5 in your drain water you can increase the nutrient solution 0.2 points when the EC-value of the drain water drops to 1.3, for example. This is a sign that the plant develops well.
If the condition of the plant deteriorates due to, for example, high temperatures the plant will also absorb fewer nutrients and you will measure a higher EC of the drain water. This is a bad sign, which is often noticeable before other symptoms such as discoloured or curly leaves.
You must lower the EC of your nutrient solution, and also look for the cause (bad climate, bad pH or bugs).
On average you try to get an EC-value of 1.7 near the roots. The EC-value near the roots lies around the EC of your nutrient solution and the drain water. All in all you can use the following formula to determine the EC of your new nutrient solution:
EC of the new nutrient solution = 2 x [1.7 – (½ EC drain water)]. Here the EC drain water is the EC of the old drain water left behind after previous watering(s).
Always watch the plant closely and never react rigorously. You should adjust your flush water somewhat and use it to flush longer instead of flushing shorter with more extreme values.
If you measure an EC-value of the drain water that is higher than you have indicated on the nutrient vessels you had too little drain or haven’t measured and adjusted often enough. You can flush your coco on this moment until the values are ok again (see flushing). If your plant stops growing due to stress it hardly uses nutrients. If you continue giving nutrients without measuring almost all the nutrients you give will remain in the coco and you will have an EC-value near the roots that will quickly get too high if you don’t drain.
If the leaves are yellow, do not increase your EC-values rigorously. Give a bit more nutrients, but also water more often or give more water and during a longer period. If you measure regularly you will never find strongly deviating drain values, and you will only have to adjust minimally. Try to give a nutrient concentration that is as low as possible, but give as much nutrient solution as possible.
EC-meters cost approximately Euro 40,-.
PH
P.H. (Potentia Hydrogenica) is acidity. In plant breeding the pH determines the nutrient absorption capacity. A pH that is too low (acid) causes certain elements to be absorbed too quickly, which may cause poisoning. If you have a pH that is too high (basic) certain elements will not be absorbed or with difficulty. A shortage is usually not caused by using too little nutrients, but because the nutrients cannot be absorbed. You can have good nutrient absorption on coco with a pH between 5.2 and 6.2 with a pH of 5.7 as ideal value.
Plants adapt to circumstances. For that reason constant values are always better. So keep the pH constant!
The acids we use are nitric acid and phosphoric acid. Nitric acid or pH-grow (pH-min-grow) is used in the growing phase and in the first week of the bloom, phosphoric acid or pH-bloom (pH-min-bloom) is used after that. If the pH of your water with nutrients is lower than 5.7 you need pH-plus. This is not acid, but a base, usually caustic potash.
Coco has, just like soil, the capacity to steer the pH, correct it and stabilise it. This is caused by minerals in the coco that correct the pH. This means you can have at least one harvest without regulating the pH of your nutrient solution. When you regulate, up to 5 harvests are possible.
EC and pH are closely linked. If you add more nutrient to a bucket of water the pH usually drops and if you add acid to the water the EC rises (a little). If you continuously give a bit too much nutrient or if the plants absorb less nutrient the EC-value in the coco builds up. The pH will also become more acidic (=lower).
If you grow hydrological on coco it is quite easy to maintain the correct pH-value by means of the following formula:
PH of the new nutrient solution = 2 x [5.8 – (½ pH drain water)]. Here the pH drain water is the pH of the old drain water left behind after previous watering(s). Test your soil every three weeks or let a growshop check it. You can buy a pH-meter from Euro 40.
Good drainage prevents build up of acids and salts.
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- A. Yes to both the pen and soil light and ph meter 3in 1 however it measures light in candle per foot or something like that. My pen has been calibrated . 2 A. As for the TDS or EC the meter i havent got one but i will invest in one. The soil is made up of 3 different soils he uses a seed or soil for seedlings and adds two other stages in the brand. Thats all i know at this moment. He uses it in his plants but am pretty sure it wont be same. Its like a 3 2 1 mix he says thats all he will tell me.
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