SavinaRed said:
Thanks I just placed my order. This will be my first time using it, any tips ?
Based on my experience with coco so far, I would suggest keeping it simple until you get the hang of it.
To start:
1. You need to feed your plants with every watering.
2. You'll need hydro nutrients. General Hydroponics Flora micro and Flora Bloom are great for people just starting out. They are cheap and will provide all you will need from sprout to harvest.
3. Unless you have soft water I'd recommend using reverse osmosis bottled water. I have extremely hard water (500 ppm) and it really messed with my plants due to extremely unbalanced nutrient solution.
4. You will need to ph your nutrient solution. A ph range of 5.5-6.2 seems to be the most recommended. To high or low and you stand to lock out nutrient.
5. Be sure to get QUALITY coco. This is about the most important part of the whole topic. Not all coco is created equal. Some contain more salt than others and require to be washed and washed and washed. I have no experience with the one linked here. I would recommend first time users buy coco from a hydro store to avoid potential problems.
Another point to make with coco is that it comes in a grind range from very fine pith like expresso grind to a very coarse chunk. I personally prefer a coarse grind so the water flows easily.
6. Unless you really know how to read plants I'd suggest getting a Total Dissolved Solids (tds) meter to measure parts per million or the Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the nutrient. This is how you measure the strength of your nutrient solution. If you can't swing one right now I'd suggest using the GH Flora micro and Flora Bloom nutes mentioned about. When you mix them at a rate of
- 6ml Micro
- 9ml Bloom
- 4L (1gal) RO water
This ratio gives you right around 700ppm and usually only requires a few drops of ph down to achieve the right ph level.
I'm not here saying that GH Flora series is the best hydro line out because there are a LOT of nutrients out there. What I'm saying is that it's about the easiest for new coco growers to get a handle on and have success with for a minimal investment. It's also extremely simple and that's how I like to keep things.
Another note on the GH Flora Series. It is a 3 part system that comprised of Flora Micro, Flora Grow and Flora Bloom. You can safely omit Flora Grow because everything contained in it, is contained in a combination of Micro and Bloom. There's no need to spend money on Grow.
7. There are others on the forum that have a good handle on coco and have documented their experience in glogs here on THP. Juanitos and chilidude come to mind though I'm sure there are others with a wealth of info on the topic lurking about. Miglovic I'm looking at you!
8. I'm no expert on the topic. I'm struggling along and trying to document my findings as I go so others can learn from my many mistakes. Maybe this last point should have been my first.
Neil
