HungryMan420
Well-Known Member
Np man Any one of us RIUers would have done the same I got passed along the info i just learned these few months about coco! If you have any probloms or Questions dont hesitate!! Good luck bro
Coco Growers Unite!
- Thread starter Masterofgenetics
- Start date
spitsbuds
Well-Known Member
hi all
just wanted to know about cal/mag diff..im growing in canna coco plus. using AnB rizho zym pk13/14 boost and great white. im about to start a new grow and was wondering to add cal/mag to my feed. i know that for canna products to work to full potential they need the water to start with a ec of 0.2 150 to 250 ppm depending on the tds ect ect and more then 50 percent of that usable calmag. may tap ater is 0.6 ec when its sat for 24 hours. so do i need to add a small amount say 100 ppm. i know if i use it and i dont need it trying to stop problems that might pop up. i could make things worse lock out ect. i can put up my ater report for my house if needed. so can any one help. my water ph is 7.4-6 out of the tapWater quality report
water report
SubstanceTypical valueUK/European limitUnit
Calcium61.0875-mg Ca/l
Magnesium17.3038-mg Mg/l
Residual chlorine - free0.06-mg/l Cl2
Residual chlorine - total0.10-mg/l Cl2
Coliforms00no/100ml
E-coli00no/100ml
Aluminium8.053200µg Al/l
Colour0.8920mg/l Pt/Co Scale
Conductivity457.642500µS/cm
Fluoride0.0721.5mg F/l
pH (Hydrogen Ion Conc.)7.616.5 - 10.0pH Units
Iron17.50200µg Fe/l
Manganese3.1850µg Mn/l
Nitrate22.326650mg NO3/l
Nitrite0.00930.5mg NO2/l
Sodium15.04200mg Na/l
Turbidity0.1324NTU
Copper0.03192mg Cu/l
Lead0.57125µg Pb/l
just wanted to know about cal/mag diff..im growing in canna coco plus. using AnB rizho zym pk13/14 boost and great white. im about to start a new grow and was wondering to add cal/mag to my feed. i know that for canna products to work to full potential they need the water to start with a ec of 0.2 150 to 250 ppm depending on the tds ect ect and more then 50 percent of that usable calmag. may tap ater is 0.6 ec when its sat for 24 hours. so do i need to add a small amount say 100 ppm. i know if i use it and i dont need it trying to stop problems that might pop up. i could make things worse lock out ect. i can put up my ater report for my house if needed. so can any one help. my water ph is 7.4-6 out of the tapWater quality report
water report
SubstanceTypical valueUK/European limitUnit
Calcium61.0875-mg Ca/l
Magnesium17.3038-mg Mg/l
Residual chlorine - free0.06-mg/l Cl2
Residual chlorine - total0.10-mg/l Cl2
Coliforms00no/100ml
E-coli00no/100ml
Aluminium8.053200µg Al/l
Colour0.8920mg/l Pt/Co Scale
Conductivity457.642500µS/cm
Fluoride0.0721.5mg F/l
pH (Hydrogen Ion Conc.)7.616.5 - 10.0pH Units
Iron17.50200µg Fe/l
Manganese3.1850µg Mn/l
Nitrate22.326650mg NO3/l
Nitrite0.00930.5mg NO2/l
Sodium15.04200mg Na/l
Turbidity0.1324NTU
Copper0.03192mg Cu/l
Lead0.57125µg Pb/l
BeaverHuntr
Well-Known Member
Precharge your coco brotha screw messing with adding cal/mag.. Get a big tub add your coco and some cal/mag and let it marinate over night... Bam! No need to add it in your grow.
Lucius Vorenus
Well-Known Member
We are about to run a drip for the first time ever into our flowering rooms. Can you guys steer me in the right direction? 2 seperate bedrooms, each has 16 plants in 5 gals Coco. We need to automate this. Where to start?
BeaverHuntr
Well-Known Member
You can do a number of drip cycles its really up to you and your plants. I started off watering 2-3 times a day for an hour at a time. I just recently changed it to 15 min on / 45 min off water cycle to see if that does anything else. You just need to pick a water schedule and see how the plants like it every strain is different.
RollMoniter
Member
Uhm, I like chronic
BeaverHuntr
Well-Known Member
You said that already in other threads.
Lucius Vorenus
Well-Known Member
I meant what method of connecting the hydro and running the drip? 55gal tub in the bathroom and a hose or small tub in the room next to the plants. I have not messed with any hydro yet at all I just moved to Coco.
Lucius Vorenus
Well-Known Member
This brings me to my next question. Any of you using the Burpee Coco Bricks? If so how many times do you flush them prior to transplanting into them and what would I need to add to my nutes since im not using Canna Coco?
spitsbuds
Well-Known Member
beaver hunter did you used to be called something else on here when jberry used to be about. was it gin...something. i can not remeber. ive been lurking round here for a long time but only very recently registerd. hat do you think beaver as i remember from when jberry was about you were one of the few that put up reliable and trustworthy info and replies. im moving my ww today in there main tent and into coco pro plus. if you see my other recent post on the page before. do you think i will be ok to run with out cal/mag or would you use a small a amount like 150ppm or 2mill a gallon to be safe. any input would be great. big ty in advance
spitsbuds
Well-Known Member
which coco you using and what nutes and at what strength. th run of from coco is not a true reflection of the p.h of the medium. as long as what you put in is 5.8-60 and you didn't water the coco hen you first used it with plain water then you're buffers and p.h will be fine. but do advice if you want to test youre ph. to take a jug ect and fill it with 150 mill of distilled water or demineralised water. then add coco to the 250 mill mark mix it stir it and allow to sit for 2 hours mix again and test the ph/ec. also you're drinking problem could be to do with feeding. i.e nutes and what strength. if the ratois are wrong it can make it harder for the plant to basically drink whats available.but then wouldn't it effect them all or maybe it would. so are you feeding them all the same and how much of what
swirll
Member
not sure what brand just coco coir mixed 60 40 with clay pebbles its in plain white bags with no name from the grow shop! using hollands secret three part micro grow and bloom nutes and ec at 1.8 in 3rd week of flower! i have waterd them with plain phd water a few times. if the ph is out and too high for example do i need to give them a feed with much lower ph or just 5.8 as normal? there all on the same and some are taking more than others i follow the guide on the nutes and use there ratio, they are on 2ltr every other day and some have lots of run off and others none can defintly see that the ones drinking have more bud than the ones not tho so im sure theres sumthing up m8 if you cld help it would be gr8 or even a link or sumthin were i cld learn about this problem cheerz
spitsbuds
Well-Known Member
Coco...
To start, the physical characteristics of coco is unique in
that it changes it’s physical and chemical characteristics
dramatically over time. Green or newly harvested
mulch is actually the dust (and broken fibers) generated
by removing the fibers from the husk of a coconut. This
is unusable at this point. After several months of decomposition,
it begins to take on some usable characteristics
of holding moisture better, the release of Potassium and
other salts slows to a reasonable level, and the structure
remains intact. There is a fairly short period from this point
that the coco peat is usable in container plant production.
Ideally, the coco peat has to go further to actually
work with the plant correctly, but by then much of the
structure is lost and the usable time in is severely shortened.
While later stages of coco degradation are very
acceptable as a soil amendment, it is not suitable for
directly growing in. Structural problems are, however, a
small part of the issue.
In addition, the availability
of the nutrients present
is affected on a changing
scale along with continuing
decomposition. Coconut
Palms have the rare ability
to utilize seawater solution as
its source of water. Seawater
has a high EC, or Electrical
Conductivity, which is a measure of how concentrated
the salt level is. Plant cells do not exist in this range but
much lower. For water to move into the roots of a plant,
it has to overcome the Osmotic Potential of the membranes
the water molecules pass.
In typical soils and container mixes, fertilized at
recommended levels, the EC of the root zone moisture
(which includes nutrients [salts]) is lower than the internal
EC of the root cells, allowing water to move, or diffuse,
across the barrier membranes. As root zone EC reaches
EC levels of the plant, water movement slows and eventually
halts. Unfortunately, it does not stop here and is capable
of moving the other way. In this manner, most ‘salt
burn’ situations arise, but not all.
Additionally, the process of
harvesting the fibers also increase EC levels because
the coconut husks are first soaked in seawater (the most
abundant water supply close to where coconuts grow),
which imparts its salts into all the pores of the coconut
material. When decomposition occurs, these salts come
out in very high amounts, especially Potassium, the most
prevalent element found as an ion (salt).
All usable nutrients become available to the plants internal
processes as ions, or charged atoms or functional
groups like nitrate. Ions affect each other, in fact, in the
plants processes they are combined in controlled fashion.
In a solution with other ions, and no controls, they still combine or associate with other ions of opposite
charge. They also affect the availability of each
other as similar charges. This is known as antagonisms,
where one element in a large amount will
decrease availability of another where it is in a
smaller amount. In this case as the concentration
of Potassium increases, the availability of both Calcium
and Magnesium decreases. It is more commonly
known as locking out. When combined
with the effects of pH and temperature, precipitation
of these salts can occur. The effect works the
other way when Calcium increases, potassium
availability decreases. Additionally, Potassium
has the ability to almost move at will throughout a
plant, it is mostly un-regulated; a characteristic all
plants have adapted by harnessing these ions to
do work as they move around.
This is all well and good, but how does that affect
the use of coconut peat/ mulch with plants? As
the coco decomposes, it ‘gives off’ salts that increase
the EC of the medium which will result in
burning and imbalances in Calcium/ Magnesium
and Potassium balances or ratios; the ‘greener’
the coco, the worse the problem. About the time
this ‘give off’ slows enough to really grow a crop in,
the structure has the characteristics of muck peat
and has to have amendments like perlite, sand,
pebbles or other large particles added to it to give
the medium air. Also, the state of decomposition is
at its highest, so what is left will not last long, even
being washed easily from the container. We know
that if the level of salts AND the ratio of these salts
could be controlled at an earlier stage, we would
have the advantage of good physical structure
and proper nutrient balance.
Coconut peat has some wonderful physical properties
that greatly benefit plant growth. To begin, it
is renewable so no stripping of natures resources. It
makes use of the final product left over from cultivating
and harvesting the much prized nut. At the
right point in decomposition, the coco peat can
be used as a stand-alone medium with no need
to add perlite or other persistent amendments. The
coco peat itself is fairly pH stable and buffers the
pH well, in a very acceptable range for plant
growth. While they are fairly solid and big early
on, once the peat particles are treated and
decomposed to a certain point, they are like
sponges with micro-pores that hold water,
away from the plant root but available to replenish
the larger pores the plant root can access.
This effectively limits excess water while
holding water in a reserve status. These particles
hold onto no ions, so as long
as the medium is moist, nutrients are available.
At the proper point of decomposition,
the particles form the perfect combination
of air-to-water spaces, because of the different
fractions now present, which can actually
mean more air space to water space with the
micro-pores holding a reserve of water, giving
a nice water buffer to the grower. There is no
oil on its surface, unlike peat moss, so wetting
the particle is never an issue. The key in all this
is to decompose the particle to the perfect
point to achieve this. The problem is still that
the rate of salt given off remains high at this
perfect point.
By controlling the decomposition process,
adding the correct nutrient buffer to adjust
the ratio, feeding the plants the correct ratio
of nutrients to offset the coco ‘give off’
will produce the perfect growing conditions.
When the medium is not taken into account,
the results can be disastrous. Even when fed
correctly, and the correct ‘buffer’ of nutrient
ratio sets up, just one (1) watering with plain
water will wreak the buffer sending the plant
and medium into shock, rapidly escalating the
potassium level. Consequently, plants that do
not have enough of some ions like Calcium (there
are several) from under feeding or washing out,
will show deficiency in these and other elements
while the Potassium builds up in the plant tissue ultimately
to express as margin burning on the leaf
surface, mostly at the tip. The first thing the inexperienced
grower assumes is that they are feeding
too high and have salt issues so they back up
the feed concentration and leach the medium.
This, of course, magnifies the problem and it gets
worse. The key to proper coco growing is to use
the right feed to balance the products the coco
gives off, not just availability, but ratio of one to another
mineral as well.
It is equally important to water correctly.
Coco peat holds about 33 % more moisture then similar
grades of peat based mediums if it is in good structure,
but, because a great amount of this is tucked away in
the micro-pores, the medium can look dry but still be
plenty wet. The same rules apply here as
soil or soilless mix, water when the container looses 50%
of the maximum water it will hold against gravity (immediately
after drainage of a newly watered container).
Correctly this is done by weight and yes it does change
with time, root mass, humidity, temperature and growers
temperament (thumb on scale syndrome). By controlling
closely the decomposition and particle size, there
is no need for using anything to increase drainage like
perlite, which happily removes a disposal concern. Even
more air space can be achieved by increasing the fraction
of coco fibers and husks.
This results in a totally renewable and biodegradable
medium that resists compaction.
Finally, the pH of the medium, when buffered and controlled,
remains constant pretty much throughout its useful
life. The medium sets its pH at between 5.2 and 6.2,
perfect range, and will hold it there. Unlike peat based
products that try to go back to a pH of 4.5 or less within
3 months of being planted. By using the correct age
of coco, with the right porosity, coco potting medium
should be able to work through almost a year’s worth
of cropping before changing. The pH stays correct and
only the structure changes limiting the useful period.
So, we see that by controlling the aging process, using
the correct ratio of nutrients, using the correct composition
of nutrients, and pre-buffering the coco peat, growers
can anticipate getting the perfect medium, correctly
balanced, correctly composed, with good porosity, a
water buffer, and a lot less headaches then peat based
soilless mix products. That is great for a start, but to complete
a crop, it is critical that the correct nutrients be used
as well.
Consider coco as needing to be ‘fed’ along with
the plants. Once the medium establishes a buffer, which
it will do based on the nutrients it sees right or wrong; the
grower can wipe this out by applying plain water to the
medium. The medium hangs on to nothing and will readily
flush away its nutrients; then the plant will suffer until
the buffer is restored. Always use fertilizer when you water
coco that a plant is actively growing in, at least at about
EC=0.6 mS/cm3. This will hold the balance or ratio of the
nutrients to each other and insure that the plant gets exactly
what it needs.
To start, the physical characteristics of coco is unique in
that it changes it’s physical and chemical characteristics
dramatically over time. Green or newly harvested
mulch is actually the dust (and broken fibers) generated
by removing the fibers from the husk of a coconut. This
is unusable at this point. After several months of decomposition,
it begins to take on some usable characteristics
of holding moisture better, the release of Potassium and
other salts slows to a reasonable level, and the structure
remains intact. There is a fairly short period from this point
that the coco peat is usable in container plant production.
Ideally, the coco peat has to go further to actually
work with the plant correctly, but by then much of the
structure is lost and the usable time in is severely shortened.
While later stages of coco degradation are very
acceptable as a soil amendment, it is not suitable for
directly growing in. Structural problems are, however, a
small part of the issue.
In addition, the availability
of the nutrients present
is affected on a changing
scale along with continuing
decomposition. Coconut
Palms have the rare ability
to utilize seawater solution as
its source of water. Seawater
has a high EC, or Electrical
Conductivity, which is a measure of how concentrated
the salt level is. Plant cells do not exist in this range but
much lower. For water to move into the roots of a plant,
it has to overcome the Osmotic Potential of the membranes
the water molecules pass.
In typical soils and container mixes, fertilized at
recommended levels, the EC of the root zone moisture
(which includes nutrients [salts]) is lower than the internal
EC of the root cells, allowing water to move, or diffuse,
across the barrier membranes. As root zone EC reaches
EC levels of the plant, water movement slows and eventually
halts. Unfortunately, it does not stop here and is capable
of moving the other way. In this manner, most ‘salt
burn’ situations arise, but not all.
Additionally, the process of
harvesting the fibers also increase EC levels because
the coconut husks are first soaked in seawater (the most
abundant water supply close to where coconuts grow),
which imparts its salts into all the pores of the coconut
material. When decomposition occurs, these salts come
out in very high amounts, especially Potassium, the most
prevalent element found as an ion (salt).
All usable nutrients become available to the plants internal
processes as ions, or charged atoms or functional
groups like nitrate. Ions affect each other, in fact, in the
plants processes they are combined in controlled fashion.
In a solution with other ions, and no controls, they still combine or associate with other ions of opposite
charge. They also affect the availability of each
other as similar charges. This is known as antagonisms,
where one element in a large amount will
decrease availability of another where it is in a
smaller amount. In this case as the concentration
of Potassium increases, the availability of both Calcium
and Magnesium decreases. It is more commonly
known as locking out. When combined
with the effects of pH and temperature, precipitation
of these salts can occur. The effect works the
other way when Calcium increases, potassium
availability decreases. Additionally, Potassium
has the ability to almost move at will throughout a
plant, it is mostly un-regulated; a characteristic all
plants have adapted by harnessing these ions to
do work as they move around.
This is all well and good, but how does that affect
the use of coconut peat/ mulch with plants? As
the coco decomposes, it ‘gives off’ salts that increase
the EC of the medium which will result in
burning and imbalances in Calcium/ Magnesium
and Potassium balances or ratios; the ‘greener’
the coco, the worse the problem. About the time
this ‘give off’ slows enough to really grow a crop in,
the structure has the characteristics of muck peat
and has to have amendments like perlite, sand,
pebbles or other large particles added to it to give
the medium air. Also, the state of decomposition is
at its highest, so what is left will not last long, even
being washed easily from the container. We know
that if the level of salts AND the ratio of these salts
could be controlled at an earlier stage, we would
have the advantage of good physical structure
and proper nutrient balance.
Coconut peat has some wonderful physical properties
that greatly benefit plant growth. To begin, it
is renewable so no stripping of natures resources. It
makes use of the final product left over from cultivating
and harvesting the much prized nut. At the
right point in decomposition, the coco peat can
be used as a stand-alone medium with no need
to add perlite or other persistent amendments. The
coco peat itself is fairly pH stable and buffers the
pH well, in a very acceptable range for plant
growth. While they are fairly solid and big early
on, once the peat particles are treated and
decomposed to a certain point, they are like
sponges with micro-pores that hold water,
away from the plant root but available to replenish
the larger pores the plant root can access.
This effectively limits excess water while
holding water in a reserve status. These particles
hold onto no ions, so as long
as the medium is moist, nutrients are available.
At the proper point of decomposition,
the particles form the perfect combination
of air-to-water spaces, because of the different
fractions now present, which can actually
mean more air space to water space with the
micro-pores holding a reserve of water, giving
a nice water buffer to the grower. There is no
oil on its surface, unlike peat moss, so wetting
the particle is never an issue. The key in all this
is to decompose the particle to the perfect
point to achieve this. The problem is still that
the rate of salt given off remains high at this
perfect point.
By controlling the decomposition process,
adding the correct nutrient buffer to adjust
the ratio, feeding the plants the correct ratio
of nutrients to offset the coco ‘give off’
will produce the perfect growing conditions.
When the medium is not taken into account,
the results can be disastrous. Even when fed
correctly, and the correct ‘buffer’ of nutrient
ratio sets up, just one (1) watering with plain
water will wreak the buffer sending the plant
and medium into shock, rapidly escalating the
potassium level. Consequently, plants that do
not have enough of some ions like Calcium (there
are several) from under feeding or washing out,
will show deficiency in these and other elements
while the Potassium builds up in the plant tissue ultimately
to express as margin burning on the leaf
surface, mostly at the tip. The first thing the inexperienced
grower assumes is that they are feeding
too high and have salt issues so they back up
the feed concentration and leach the medium.
This, of course, magnifies the problem and it gets
worse. The key to proper coco growing is to use
the right feed to balance the products the coco
gives off, not just availability, but ratio of one to another
mineral as well.
It is equally important to water correctly.
Coco peat holds about 33 % more moisture then similar
grades of peat based mediums if it is in good structure,
but, because a great amount of this is tucked away in
the micro-pores, the medium can look dry but still be
plenty wet. The same rules apply here as
soil or soilless mix, water when the container looses 50%
of the maximum water it will hold against gravity (immediately
after drainage of a newly watered container).
Correctly this is done by weight and yes it does change
with time, root mass, humidity, temperature and growers
temperament (thumb on scale syndrome). By controlling
closely the decomposition and particle size, there
is no need for using anything to increase drainage like
perlite, which happily removes a disposal concern. Even
more air space can be achieved by increasing the fraction
of coco fibers and husks.
This results in a totally renewable and biodegradable
medium that resists compaction.
Finally, the pH of the medium, when buffered and controlled,
remains constant pretty much throughout its useful
life. The medium sets its pH at between 5.2 and 6.2,
perfect range, and will hold it there. Unlike peat based
products that try to go back to a pH of 4.5 or less within
3 months of being planted. By using the correct age
of coco, with the right porosity, coco potting medium
should be able to work through almost a year’s worth
of cropping before changing. The pH stays correct and
only the structure changes limiting the useful period.
So, we see that by controlling the aging process, using
the correct ratio of nutrients, using the correct composition
of nutrients, and pre-buffering the coco peat, growers
can anticipate getting the perfect medium, correctly
balanced, correctly composed, with good porosity, a
water buffer, and a lot less headaches then peat based
soilless mix products. That is great for a start, but to complete
a crop, it is critical that the correct nutrients be used
as well.
Consider coco as needing to be ‘fed’ along with
the plants. Once the medium establishes a buffer, which
it will do based on the nutrients it sees right or wrong; the
grower can wipe this out by applying plain water to the
medium. The medium hangs on to nothing and will readily
flush away its nutrients; then the plant will suffer until
the buffer is restored. Always use fertilizer when you water
coco that a plant is actively growing in, at least at about
EC=0.6 mS/cm3. This will hold the balance or ratio of the
nutrients to each other and insure that the plant gets exactly
what it needs.
spitsbuds
Well-Known Member
that is taken from this thread. it was put up by jberry and expert when it comes to coco. but most of it is for canna coco. im the same ive only ever used canna coco and nutes. im from the uk to and im trying to find the coco you mean. i think ive seen it in my local hydrphonica shop. so i go check there site. if you have taken an accurate ph reading not run off and you're ph is out. i would and im now expert ive a few years under the belt. but that's nothing compared to some on here. but i would flush you're medium but ith 1/4 strength nutes and at ph 5.8 then feed them your normal dose after the flush. i know to do the propyl its an hassle. but then you have eliminated the ph problem. if its still priests after the flush it would be you're feed ratios. i.e to much cal. causing potassium issues making it harder for the plant to drink the available food. but i have no clue on what is in the nutes you're using. i will go and have a look on the makers site. as for that its pretty hard to find the exact info you're looking for. ive had the same problem. gotta becarfull. ive just checked the hydro site all they have in white bags in special gold mix which is mainly peat. what i do is when i get out of work i will research this as much as i can for you and post up what i find. im sorry i can not be more help at the minute...alos read this thread i know its long but i learnt so much from jberry on this thread and all is info is solid
spitsbuds
Well-Known Member
the thing that i got most stuck ith while trying to find a muduim nutes train that worked for me was all the diffrent opions even contradictice somtimes that were foalting about. all to where coming from good sources. but the first thing you have to remember is that there is no set in stone way to grow even when the same medium nutes temps ect are been used even then growers have what works for them and not for others. so dont let it all get you were fell like bagging you're head on the wall. i swapped to canna and stayed with canna because of the amount of information there is out there and ive never looked back i swaer by them. i from the uk to and have hard water which comes in at 05 to 0.6 ec its not bad but there some crap in there always let it sit to over night and as soon as you understand that canna make there products for carp water and that you need youre starting water to be more than or at 0.2 ec and of that more than 50 percent of it usable cal/mag. i only add 100 ppm in veg and 250 in flowering i just dare not drop it all together but that's were most of my nebie mistakes were made adding to much or to little and defficencie here and there. but soon as i purchased i ec meter and got the hanna ppm chart things improved and i enjoyed growing again and have great success with canna cooc and there nutes. i can post up some info and links to there site and to there grwo charts you can follow i follow them with slight adjustments here and there for the strain im growing.
http://www.canna-uk.com/growguide
WATER SOURCE: We design our Canna products for less than perfect water. Also, nutrients work best with some pH controls in the water especially Calcium. However, we advise using a source water that is about 0.2 EC or just below 200 ppm with most of this coming from Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg). This is important, and the level of Ca is important because both pH and minor elements can be effected by this mineral.
CALCIUM: Nutrients are built, and plants will develop based on ratio's of elements to each other with the element that is in shorter supply being the limiting agent for plant development.
Ca in high amounts will lock out Potassium (K). It also affects Phosphorous (P) availability resulting in reduced energy. Mixing Ca and PK in high enough amounts will result in the formation of percipitates (clouding). Many times the CA is the trigger.
"Cal Mag Plus" and "MagiCal" has other things in it... especially Iron, Nitrogen and another group they do not identify, including sulfur.
Again, these can cause additional ratio and lock out issues. Both of these products change values and make end prediction tough at best.
Iron in excess will cause toxicity. The proper way to mix if needed is to add it to the source water to achieve roughly 0.2 EC, mix then add the rest.
All our products have more than enough Ca, Mg and everything else to do the job IF the 0.2 EC of mainly Ca and Mg is available in the initial water source... This we are 100% certain of.
This causes a gradual and persistent low Ca condition which would show a difference in the final weight of the plant. There is also another question that can and does go hand-in-hand with this one: poor water relations. Ca and water move with, and are affected by each other... Too much or too little have effects:
If I inhibit water uptake by reducing Ca availability, the roots look fine but water moves slower and so, too, all other minerals.
If I dry out OR over water a plant, even just a little, I will cause the same issue.
If I increase Ca to offset the loss, I get results;
if I overdo the Ca at the beginning to offset a future problem, I get horrble things happening.
From, odd greening patterns on the leaves, strap leaves, spots, browning spots, distortion, etc,
If you are having problems, I suggest your cure most probably lies in bringing the initial EC of the source water to 0.2, go back to the normal feed chart, water consistantly (same point of dryness) and at the right time (50% of water applied is used before the next irrigation), never use plain water to flush, keep humidity 50 - 60% day and below 80% at dark.
OTHER TIPS: the total EC will be brought up by the CalMag and PK so dont burn your plants.
PK tends to be best used in a 7 - 10 day window starting about the time you see first flower formation. This typically, on an 8 week flower response group, to be about 5 weeks before harvest or 2-3 weeks after flower initiation (not the light change)...
Adding a powerful PK early will not advance flower initiation (as many companies are claiming), only the amount of dark the plant sees will effect flower initiation. Adding it early could result in phosphate accumulation and ratio issues in Ca and Mg as described earlier.
Also, watch the light height, excess temperatures will cause issues and remember that a leaf focuses light energy into its mesophyll, the area between the leaf outside layer. The temperatures inside run 10 - 15 degrees F higher than ambient air. Watch the light distance!
http://www.canna-uk.com/growguide
WATER SOURCE: We design our Canna products for less than perfect water. Also, nutrients work best with some pH controls in the water especially Calcium. However, we advise using a source water that is about 0.2 EC or just below 200 ppm with most of this coming from Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg). This is important, and the level of Ca is important because both pH and minor elements can be effected by this mineral.
CALCIUM: Nutrients are built, and plants will develop based on ratio's of elements to each other with the element that is in shorter supply being the limiting agent for plant development.
Ca in high amounts will lock out Potassium (K). It also affects Phosphorous (P) availability resulting in reduced energy. Mixing Ca and PK in high enough amounts will result in the formation of percipitates (clouding). Many times the CA is the trigger.
"Cal Mag Plus" and "MagiCal" has other things in it... especially Iron, Nitrogen and another group they do not identify, including sulfur.
Again, these can cause additional ratio and lock out issues. Both of these products change values and make end prediction tough at best.
Iron in excess will cause toxicity. The proper way to mix if needed is to add it to the source water to achieve roughly 0.2 EC, mix then add the rest.
All our products have more than enough Ca, Mg and everything else to do the job IF the 0.2 EC of mainly Ca and Mg is available in the initial water source... This we are 100% certain of.
This causes a gradual and persistent low Ca condition which would show a difference in the final weight of the plant. There is also another question that can and does go hand-in-hand with this one: poor water relations. Ca and water move with, and are affected by each other... Too much or too little have effects:
If I inhibit water uptake by reducing Ca availability, the roots look fine but water moves slower and so, too, all other minerals.
If I dry out OR over water a plant, even just a little, I will cause the same issue.
If I increase Ca to offset the loss, I get results;
if I overdo the Ca at the beginning to offset a future problem, I get horrble things happening.
From, odd greening patterns on the leaves, strap leaves, spots, browning spots, distortion, etc,
If you are having problems, I suggest your cure most probably lies in bringing the initial EC of the source water to 0.2, go back to the normal feed chart, water consistantly (same point of dryness) and at the right time (50% of water applied is used before the next irrigation), never use plain water to flush, keep humidity 50 - 60% day and below 80% at dark.
OTHER TIPS: the total EC will be brought up by the CalMag and PK so dont burn your plants.
PK tends to be best used in a 7 - 10 day window starting about the time you see first flower formation. This typically, on an 8 week flower response group, to be about 5 weeks before harvest or 2-3 weeks after flower initiation (not the light change)...
Adding a powerful PK early will not advance flower initiation (as many companies are claiming), only the amount of dark the plant sees will effect flower initiation. Adding it early could result in phosphate accumulation and ratio issues in Ca and Mg as described earlier.
Also, watch the light height, excess temperatures will cause issues and remember that a leaf focuses light energy into its mesophyll, the area between the leaf outside layer. The temperatures inside run 10 - 15 degrees F higher than ambient air. Watch the light distance!