Coco chips / croutons growing methods

hello every body out there I hope your all well medicated I have been wanting information about growing with coco coir chunks of husk ill post pics with this post but just curious if anybody else is doing it like this I’m sure there is a few but when I see people growing in coco its usually the finer stuff that acts more like soil when water comes to play but ive been running a ebb&flow style with coco coir chunks and a coco spun fiber layer to keep it all nice and tight with a led 100w x2 skcc100’s full spectrum grow lights the room is tarped off with black tarp it measures about 9x6x8 LxWxH and I will be adding another 4x4 flood table with a 440w led full spectrum in the same tent I’m able to easily keep my temps between 78 and 70 at al times no fluctuation other then those numbers I’m wandering if it is dropping enough at night I have 6 inch fan I do hvac for a living so ventilation and air cleansing products are my specialty they helped a lot in these endeavors ive just started a few bag seeds which are already getting close to vegging and I got 4 more ilgm white widow seeds ive already sprouted in the rapid rooter starter cubes with humidity dome over them temps around 80 plus in the seedling nursery area aka my spare bathroom aka water treatment facility I wanted to not only have this post for coco specific grows and any hydro grow in general but back to the coco coir ive been told to water it every hour because of good it drains and the plants seem to love it why does everybody use the fine coco in they’re hydro grows I don’t even have to use pots because this stuff drains so well

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this is the coco i was talking about the coco coir chunks about 3 inchs thick I know i need more but that’s all i had for this first grow of mine why use the finer stuff whats the benefits and disadvantages of using this type of coco coir if there is any other then pump failure of course they looked slightly yellow to me on the new growth but somewhere I read that that’s normal you can see in the pics is this maybe a nute def??? ill give more info in the next few weeks along with pics src=“//cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/growingmarijuana/original/3X/6/7/67ec6461937de680db853350ba76d618d2a18590.jpg” width=“374” height=“500”>

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I know I haven’t seen anybody use the chunky stuff.
@Donaldj @MacGyverStoner @Majiktoker

Looks like it could be early signs of over-watering… :wink:
Maybe your coco chunks might hold more moisture then you think… :thinking:

:v::sunglasses:

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Agreed could be the starting sign of over watering, it looks like there are little wood chunks in which of so those will certainly hold the moisture longer than wanted

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I wouldn’t totally think over watering are you feeding them anything? Coco even chunks would be hydro and has no nutrients except what is added and salt if not rinsed and rinsed and rinsed with the amount of air able to move through your media I would say may be hungry. I would treat just like hydroton lecca and add slight 1/4 feeding myself :wink:

yes feeding floranova grow calmag silicate and mycros in small doses ive been watching the ph levels and keeping them around 6.0 to 6.3 the flood table only takes a few minutes to feed but ive been running it for 15 minute cycles you think this maybe the problem?? to long of flood cycles ive read only to flood as long as it takes to fill the tray but my buddy who used this system in the past said that it wouldn’t be a problem but I maybe drowning the roots huh??? should I change the flood times

ph levels also might be a little high 5.5-6.2 in hydro 5.8 being best and yes coco chunks would hold more moisture than Lecca so flood cycle could be slightly shorter easily enough

just as a side note for you ph levels in hydro can be manipulated to target certain nutrients during veg 5.8-6.1 flower 5.9-5.7 each makes different nutrients slightly more avail N likes higher P-K like lower :wink: and while rooting your ladies staying close to 5.8 gives them access to everything and each strain can vary so if you find your plants really happy make notes of ph and ppm :slight_smile:

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Yes sir ive been keeping readings from day 1 ec level ph l temps humidity how the plants are doinh etc also i did take notes on the ph levels you.gave me the ph now started at 5.5 and got.up.to 5.76 in 4 feed cycles they look a littlw better already i changed the nutrients solution to that was probably long over do i kept same water for about 2 weeks but topped off with 25% strength solution every few days but now i will change water every week thanks Donaldj… for the sound advice making things easier for us newbies

Started ec 2 weeks ago for 2 seedlings at .6 and it raised to .8 ms now i started at 1.1 ms or roughly 540 ppm ph 5.7 per your advice i will keep.flooding every hour but dialed down the pump flow for a slower flood cycle

Flora nova grow 1.25 ml per gallon
flora nova bloom 1.25 nl per gallon (accidental)
Silicate 2 ml per gallon
Mycros 2.5 ml pet gallon

Ph down 10ml was added to start with i kept measurements so i knew how much to add before adding nutrients
Thanks…

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I figured it out donald thanks to your help i just saw a chart you.posted and ive been keeping my ph higher like a dummy so im sure the cal wasnt available to the plabts i was keeping the ph above 6 so now i with the new solution im keeping it below 6 for now until they flower thanks alot for the help i saw that ca is only available in ph 5.9 and lower and at 6.3 i wasnt even close my friend shes already looking happier should i water less often the coco only drips water out when i squeeze the chunks should these be drying slightly as well?? Or should i keep the every hour schedule?? They look great other then the slight yellowing on the new growth and are growing over a inch a day

I would shoot for a shorter flood period 5-10 min an hour or even every hour and half but they are looking quite happy I suspect the coco would hold moisture for several hours at safe levels but go with what is working and only adjust within your comfort level. I only lengthen cycles to reduce water lost from evaporation and keep res cooler every time you flood the nutrient solution is in shallow where it warms easy goes through a pump that warms res and increases surface area in turn making it warm and evaporate faster :wink: It does however keep DO levels higher as it drops into res my roots love warm nutrient temps but so do bacteria so it’s a case of finding happy medium 67-69f colder they stress warmer holds less air

Strain; Type, white widow x6
Bag seed strain x2
purple diesel x2 not germinated yet

Soil in pots, coco croutons with a layer or coco spun fiber on top to hold things securely in place
just switched over to smart pots filled with coco croutons mix had fibers and smaller pieces in it to from prococo prewashed with ph balanced water double flush to remove dissolved solids no more then a .05 ms higher run off rinsed until run off was no more then .050 milisiemens higher raised water level to pot height flooding every 4 hours now with the croutons and with the young plants the over watering signs have gone away thankfully as did the maganese deficiency
watch out for this if your growing in coco but my experience so far with the croutons has been great transplanting today I got to see the roots a little over watered on the one but getting better by the day

System type? Hydroponic

PH of runoff or solution in reservoir? Was stupidly at 6.1 to 6.3 quickly found that was to high and lowered to 5.7 range fluctuates from around 5.7 to 6.0 i try to not.let them get to high

What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS
Started at .4 ec up to .67 now
flora nova grow 1.25 ml per gal
calmag per seedling instructings
silicate .2 ml per gal
my·cor·rhi·za .5 tsp per gal
ph down added no more then 3 ml at a time pre mixed before adding to res

Indoor or Outdoor indoor tarped off bedroom interior
Light system, size? 2 x100w full spec leds

Temps; Day, Night 77 to 70
Humidity; Day, Night 40 to 55% RH

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size 400 cfm 24/7
With air scrubber unit not carbon filtration but active ultraviolet air cleaning tech state of the art stuff not sold commercially only to hvac contractors

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier, 400 cfm vent is sucking cool air from a ductless ac unit in next door room

Co2; No

now that we have that info I would like to see what kind of recommendations I get on the set up I’m gonna be getting another 4x4 flood table with a 440 watt led full spectrum that will have awesome proven results with the light set up and I’m excited to see what this coco croutons can do I am glad I used the croutons and not the shredded stuff or etc.

this info helped me make my choice of mediums I wanted coco for sure due to ease of use and sustainability
and its not super expensive either
problems ive had so far were I let my ph go to high due to being misguided by a friend of mine
manganese deficiency at first I thought it was calcium but the my ph was above 6 for the first week and a half before I found out what was happening and fixed it and since then have been through a over watering when I had everything in the tray directly instead of in smart pots which I’m using 1 gallon smart pots x8 on a 2x4 flood tray
just making the rookie mistakes with this stuff but the ladies are looking good from what I can tell please chime in if you have any Comments for me thanks… and keep on going

Coco Chips / Croutons
Cube-shaped coconut husk chips
Origin: Mostly from coconut palms in Sri Lanka and India.
How much: Around $65 (3 cu. ft.)
Reusable: Yes
pH: 6.0
CEC: Medium AFP: High WHC: Very low
Pros: Naturally contains the beneficial fungus Trichoderma, slowly releases potassium, natural alternative to clay pebbles.
Cons: Tends to float when flooded, needs frequent irrigation.
Irrigation: Ebb/flow, drip
Nutrient Requirements: When using on their own consider incorporating a calcium-magnesium additive to your nutrient regimen.
Usage notes: Excellent for mixing with coco coir fiber to lower the WHC, ideal for using as a mulch on the top of other growing media; excellent for growing orchids.

Coco Fiber (Coir)

The shredded inner pith of the coconut husk
Origin: Mostly from coconut palms in Sri Lanka and India.
Cost: $13-$50 (3 cu. ft.)
Reusable: Yes
pH: 6.0
CEC: Medium AFP: Medium WHC: High
Pros: Naturally contains the beneficial fungus Trichoderma, slowly releases potassium.
Cons: Draws down calcium, easily over-watered.
Irrigation: Manual top-fed, ebb/flow, drip.
Nutrient Requirements: Many growers choose coco coir specific nutrients, others add calcium-magnesium additives.
Usage notes: Coco coir comes in various compressed forms: bricks, bales and slabs. Also available in ready to use loose fill bags. It has the ability to hold on to nutrients for an extended period of time. Incredibly it can hold up to eight-ten times its weight in water!

Look like they are doing well

this first pic is of the stem I bent and am super cropping out I topped the other one and am training them both with a mix of high and low stress training to get ready for a scrog

so everything has been doing well got more seedlings coming up then I found a knat I thing was coming from some coco I had wet in a adjacent water room I left to decay stupid me buts its all cleaned up now I also have those yellow strips with glue on them non toxic for grow rooms but what else can I use to get rid of and keep away pest that’s not going to harm my plants or taste of products ive seen a guy use predatory insects to remove the bad ones buy also I am just worried and want to keep my girls safe its a lot of work to get to this point I’m using coco with hydroton clay balls to cover the bed and coco layers to help prevent things like this and help it dry more in between floods they are annoying and I want them gone please help donalj (:smile:<img

second pic is a white widow seedling from ilgm awesome plant I actually broke the stem completely and rooted it into a rapid rooter cube with some cloning liquid and she is coming back with a vengeance after about a week of rooting lost all the original root system and rooted right back into the system


3rd is another seedling from ilgm white gold leaf lost one of the first leafs but she is coming right back like it never happened seemed like it broke coming out of the shell but shes good anyways l

When you need someone put the @ symbol in front of their name without a space ok @Frosty_Nuggets

@Donaldj

oh thanks @Nug-bug pleasure to meet see you on again hows all going I got a few questions if you don’t mind me asking @Donaldj about knat control with coco I am trying ozone control yellow cards to see how many I got they seem to have dropped a lot but I still see one every day almost about 1 to 3 a day I guess any thoughts on how to get rid of them for good knat nix?
predatory insects?
ozone control I just started with airscrubberplus technology ill post pics later today of the plants and it seems like something is causing some root spots to just disappear maybe eaten?? seems like only the veins ill try to post pics to later today

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I haven’t had to deal with knats yet,but the sticky card are a start. I’ve seen on here that some put a fan towards base and they can’t fly,land what have you and it breaks the cycle

Knats can get right into root system too since I started using LEC’s I have had little to no insect or bug activity UV rocks :wink: anyway a potato makes a wonderful trap for knats and adding h2o2 peroxide to your nutrient mix can dry out and kill eggs in your medium

I haven’t seen more then 1 or 2 since I installed led lights my extraction fan and the uv air cleaning system with ozone they don’t like either I think its clearing up now thanks for the help one other thing is I’m getting some yellowing in the new growth still and it seems that I adjust the ph and water and it goes away almost right away its pretty amazing ill post pics here so you can see but it seems I have to keep ph under 5.8 to keep everything from yellowing from my younger plants to the older ones already in veg just look at the color in the middle of the new growth all of them are like that to some level and at different times ive been experimenting with feeding them more often I was flooding every 4 hours and 1 time at night I’m going up to every 3 hours and once at night still I think it will help these guys are drinking a lot of water already I have to top the 25 gal res every other day 5 gallons I know partly due to the fans I have set up blowing on the table and plants like a constant breeze knats don’t like it either they cant land and reproduce thanks @donaldj and @nug-bug
btw ive been training this one that’s why the stem is damaged like that learning to train with free seeds right

my ilgm seeds are doing very well to they look strong (one of them popped and grew a tap root 4 inchs long in 36 hours that’s amazing to me)

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