having trouble starting seeds in coco

ebenezerfagglegold

ebenezerfagglegold

Active Member
no prob bud, circle of info - we've all got to figure this shit out somehow. That's why I don't understand why there are a lot of troll-ish posters on this board, posting things like "your coco sucks" and "dump those plants they're all going to die." I just harvested a plant that I was told to throw away on this board, lol.
But yeah, washing the coco really well and starting the seeds in jiffy pellets to give them a few days head start on a root system seems to have done the trick. I've got three that broke the soil on the 27th that are working on their 4th node now :)
 
ebenezerfagglegold

ebenezerfagglegold

Active Member
Deputydank said:
So the Coco your using for those little thriving seedlings is the same Coco that you had all the damping off problems with? Sounds like just a good ol fashioned wash n bake took care of whatever spores were in it? I was planning on doing the jiffy pellet as well. Did u use some sort of humidity dome over the pellet or what? Thanks for the update bro and goodluck. Please do post some updated pics, Ide like to watch them grow. Cheers!
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oh hey and by the way, I believe that using a heat mat/humidity dome was a horrible idea. Got everything way too moist - I think that's how the fungus or whatever it was had a chance to thrive. Warm and wet. I've also since read that humidity dome/heat pad rooting is more aimed toward clones than seeds, but who knows. All I can go on is what has/hasn't been working for me.
 
Silky Shagsalot

Silky Shagsalot

Well-Known Member
i never bake my coco. i usually get the $25 dollar a bag stuff. i rinse it till the water comes out clear. i'd get a different brand. no sense in using it, if you have this prob every time.
 
Stonerinchina

Stonerinchina

Active Member
I have had similar problems, now using cfl lights instead to start them off instead of LED but I have found nearly all my plants get to second set of true leaves and basically stop. I am using pH buffered water and no nutrients as im using autos and have been advised many times to not add anything for first couple of weeks
 
U

urban1026835

Well-Known Member
cottee said:
Does canna coco need rinsing
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I rinse everything but I buy the 1kg bricks. It only takes 10-20 minutes to rinse so I figure no matter what brand I purchase I rinse it.

sometimes when it is overwhelming to rinse too much at once, or I just do not need that much I will do like I think i said in my other post & get my smart pot and fill it about 1/2 way and sit it under the faucet in the tub to rinse. Then mix in my perlite and run a gallon of phd water through it.

do not even know how necessary running that last gallon through is but I usually mix 1/4 strength nutrients set ph and just make sure I saturate untill some runoff before I use it.. This way in my mind at least I am setting the coco ph and giving it a little charge.
 
cottee

cottee

Well-Known Member
urban1026835 said:
I rinse everything but I buy the 1kg bricks. It only takes 10-20 minutes to rinse so I figure no matter what brand I purchase I rinse it.

sometimes when it is overwhelming to rinse too much at once, or I just do not need that much I will do like I think i said in my other post & get my smart pot and fill it about 1/2 way and sit it under the faucet in the tub to rinse. Then mix in my perlite and run a gallon of phd water through it.

do not even know how necessary running that last gallon through is but I usually mix 1/4 strength nutrients set ph and just make sure I saturate untill some runoff before I use it.. This way in my mind at least I am setting the coco ph and giving it a little charge.
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I start in 4"pots so il try puting a liter though each one next time. Won't bother rinsing when I transplant to 11 gallon pots though. I do 24 so that a whole load of mess that I don't need to be cleaning up lol
 
U

urban1026835

Well-Known Member
I never really have a specific amount and honestly who knows if the coco companies still have the salt issue. I just do it as a rule and figure it's worth the extra ten minutes.
 
Stonerinchina

Stonerinchina

Active Member
SO you guys put a little nutes in your coco to begin with?
I also am getting conflicting reports
I'm trying to grow autos by the way
 
cottee

cottee

Well-Known Member
Stonerinchina said:
SO you guys put a little nutes in your coco to begin with?
I also am getting conflicting reports
I'm trying to grow autos by the way
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I know wat u mean. Some people say give them plain water and some people say feed them with nutes straight off. I've been giving mine plain water for a week but I'm gonna pre charge mine with EC 0.6 this time around
 
ledzepplin

ledzepplin

Member
ebenezerfagglegold said:
so after doing a 4 month battle with myself vs. miracle gro, I decided to go the coco/perlite route this time. I figured having total control over the nutrient contents would make things easier than the guesswork surrounding pre-ferted soil and all that. I still feel that way, BUT I'm having trouble getting off the ground. I've already lost 5 seeds to damping off, and by that I mean the seedlings falling over under their own weight after a day or two or breaching the soil. What I've tried this time is rinsing the medium with a 1tbsp per quart hydrogen peroxide solution, but I'm still coming up with damping off and other weird stuff, like in the picture. That one looks like it made it through so far, but has moldy leaves. UGh!

I started using a humidity dome/heat mat incubator thing I bought, but have since re-thought that idea, because if my problem is 'damping off', then having the dampest environment possible doesn't sound like any solution. I guess I should also mention that they are damping off whether germinated right there in the coco, or in a paper towel. Whether humidity dome is on or off with a fan blowing fresh air around. And it shouldn't be overwatering because the 4" containers have plenty of drainage and they do it after only the 1st watering. Sounds like contaminated coco right??

Has anyone experienced this or know of a way to stop this crap? I'm going to run out of seeds soon. I've heard putting the coco in the oven at 200 for 45 minutes is good, but ive already mixed it all up with perlite. would this make a difference in the oven?
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Use Canna Cocco its pretreated and ready to go. Plant into the pots you intend to harvest in. Keep ph of your feedings at 5.5 ph and ec of .06 at first.
 
ledzepplin

ledzepplin

Member
Stonerinchina said:
SO you guys put a little nutes in your coco to begin with?
I also am getting conflicting reports
I'm trying to grow autos by the way
Click to expand...
Pretreat the cocco with one cap full of Canna a and b and two cap fulls of CalMag. Once it pops up it doesnt need nutes in the first 7 days so leave it alone besides foliar spraying. Remember that for cocco to keep your ph to 5.5 and ec should be under .8. No need to feed till week two day 1 and go light at first with 5ml or less of nutes per 5 liters. You can do light at 24/0 when it is a seedling till week 2 then switch to 20/4 for autos or whatever your strain review says. COCCO IS THE BEST especially for someone easing into hydro. Im new so please rep and like
 
ledzepplin

ledzepplin

Member
ebenezerfagglegold said:
so after doing a 4 month battle with myself vs. miracle gro, I decided to go the coco/perlite route this time. I figured having total control over the nutrient contents would make things easier than the guesswork surrounding pre-ferted soil and all that. I still feel that way, BUT I'm having trouble getting off the ground. I've already lost 5 seeds to damping off, and by that I mean the seedlings falling over under their own weight after a day or two or breaching the soil. What I've tried this time is rinsing the medium with a 1tbsp per quart hydrogen peroxide solution, but I'm still coming up with damping off and other weird stuff, like in the picture. That one looks like it made it through so far, but has moldy leaves. UGh!

I started using a humidity dome/heat mat incubator thing I bought, but have since re-thought that idea, because if my problem is 'damping off', then having the dampest environment possible doesn't sound like any solution. I guess I should also mention that they are damping off whether germinated right there in the coco, or in a paper towel. Whether humidity dome is on or off with a fan blowing fresh air around. And it shouldn't be overwatering because the 4" containers have plenty of drainage and they do it after only the 1st watering. Sounds like contaminated coco right??

Has anyone experienced this or know of a way to stop this crap? I'm going to run out of seeds soon. I've heard putting the coco in the oven at 200 for 45 minutes is good, but ive already mixed it all up with perlite. would this make a difference in the oven?
Click to expand...
Pretreat soil with cslmag and a dose of low veg nutes. Make sure all water and nutes are phed to around 5.5. Cocco ph is different to soil. No nutes till week two day 1
 
JimmyIndica

JimmyIndica

Well-Known Member
This is awesome reading! I am outdoor soilless (promixbx) switching to indoor coco/perlite.. I am little nervous whether I should buy rapid rooters or straight coco or coco/perlite . I always soak seeds 24 hrs.. I have concluded . I will wash cocoro 2-3 times with brook water. Then I will flush with ph water 1 time then I will add little cal mag plus ,ph water run it!!! pure blend pro complete expert feed chart at 60 %max feed. Should I charge the co/co with a little pure blend grow? Should I put cracked seed in coco or coco/perlite 1st? I am using 6 inch to start then 2 inches perlite on bottom coco/perlite mix in middle and 1 inch perlite on top! Any one have any pointers!
 
Silky Shagsalot

Silky Shagsalot

Well-Known Member
i pop beans in coco all the time, and also drop oasis cubes in with sprouts. i always rinse my coco, even if it's pre-rinsed. i never "charge," my coco with anything. i don't even ph till i start adding nutes. seedlings still don't need any feed for the first days of it's life...
 
JimmyIndica

JimmyIndica

Well-Known Member
Silky Shagsalot said:
i pop beans in coco all the time, and also drop oasis cubes in with sprouts. i always rinse my coco, even if it's pre-rinsed. i never "charge," my coco with anything. i don't even ph till i start adding nutes. seedlings still don't need any feed for the first days of it's life...
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I see people do everything different with coco. I am just trying to find best. worried about first 10 days! I am just gonna put littlw cal mag and cracked seed in straight coco and mist it I guess. Now another question for ya. I have kind k5 750. should I dim the blues to 50 % and reds to 25% for the first week or so?
 
JimmyIndica

JimmyIndica

Well-Known Member
Silky Shagsalot said:
i pop beans in coco all the time, and also drop oasis cubes in with sprouts. i always rinse my coco, even if it's pre-rinsed. i never "charge," my coco with anything. i don't even ph till i start adding nutes. seedlings still don't need any feed for the first days of it's life...
Click to expand...
or should I just use my t5 for it?
 
Silky Shagsalot

Silky Shagsalot

Well-Known Member
i read the dr.'s post by subcool. i'm not a fan of sub's, but i'll agree he knows what he's doing. but, i've used a heating pad many times, and never cooked a single bean. i use a regular old heating pad. it takes a bit to get the temp. right, but it worked for me. what works for some, doesn't work for others. i can't explain that, but i've found it to be true. i know a guy that grows in dirt, and uses tap water, and doesn't adjust ph. he doesn't do anything special, but somehow it works for him. i can't imagine doing what he does...
 
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