been told 2 different things regarding coco&perlite. feeding method drip irrigation

Someone please clear this up for me. I have a 18 plant setup all from seed, they have been planted in 10ltr dirt pots, my medium is Plagron premium coco. coco 50% and Perlite 50%. one person is saying saturate (flood) the pots and leave it till they just about dried up then repeat the process and so on but flush the plants every 4 weeks, i was told this method is the correct way because a plant disease can occur if the coco gets a continuous supply of feed and basically rots. then some other guy is saying to use a 18 drip irrigation setup and have the feed activated just before the lights go on and when the lights go off? so it gets fed twice a day (small amount approx half litre through drip) i want to go down the irrigation route so everything is like clock work, whos the guy i should listen to?

Its up to you.

Coco can be fed a few times per day, or it can be fed once every other day, or once a day, or if pots are big enough once every few days.

Try not to let coco dry out too much. When coco dries too much it rises in pH and can create Mg issues along with K toxicity.



IMO you'd be best to feed once per day (automated) until you get runoff.

Then once you find your feet you could look to up the frequency.

Its all about what works best for you.

I grow in coco but I hand water once per day regardless of whether the coco is dry or wet.




J

I agree that young plants grown in soil or coco need daily feeding. But, once the plant matures, you should let the medium dry out a bit between feedings to allow oxygen to circulate through the plant's root mass. Soil and coco act like a sponge: the bigger the pot, the longer it will take your plant to suck up all the water and nutrients. Whatever you do, don't let your pots sit too long in runoff. The unoxygenated water will strangle your roots! After hand feeding for a while, you'll be able to time your plant's wet/dry cycle. If you don't want to become a slave to your plants, you can easily automate your feeding schedule through drip irrigation. These systems are cheap and can be found at your local big box store. All you need is a timer that can vary the days between feedings, like the one at www.skipdaytimer.com. As your plants mature, you can adjust the timer from daily feeding to skip day feeding. I hope you found this helpful!

I would mix the nutrient solution weaker for multiple waters a day if you go that route