DTW Coco schedule/program

Howdy folks,

In an attempt to organise my setup, I've been working on my numbers and schedule. I know none of this will stay 100% - I am a firm believer of reading the plants and taking direction from them, rather than just blindly following a guide. However after collating all my notes and observations thus far, I've put together a couple of documents which give a outline of what I'll be doing during veg/flower stages. The reason for doing so, is to keep things somewhat standard, and keep me on track (but adjust as needed).

Thought I'd share these and see what you thought. Cheers for your suggestions.

Note: Metric measurements are used. Based on Rez's modified Lucas coco schedule, with a couple of additives mixed in (if I don't use Kool Bloom, it's the same as H3ad's schedule). Timeline is a bit of a guess (as I'm yet to determine flowering time), but currently worked out at 9 weeks with a 9 week veg stage (3 weeks clone/pre-veg, 6 weeks full veg) = 18 week total clone-harvest. The watering/feed schedule doesn't allow for a lot of run off- something I'll adjust depending on how much plants are drinking/eating.

Looks nifty. I should really track what I do instead of being incredibly lazy. I still use a desktop calendar to track flowering periods and waterings, but have long since stopped recording my nutrient levels. My shit goes like this with my current strain: Fill a 5 gallon bucket up with nutes and feed when the pots are light. Hell i'm too lazy to wait for runoff most of the time so I don't even bother except once a week. Feed full strength until the day I chop them down. See? Lazy.

Nothing wrong with that approach at all. I am that way with growing outside - despite my efforts to organise my crop rotations etc, I have never produced anything like the above schedules. And to be honest, none of it is absolutely necessary - other than a means of collating all my existing notes/info/ideas/records of DTW coco. On setting this all up, I have done my best to learn as much as I can through the process, so keeping it organised, and setting up data recording so I can make appropriate changes down the line. Though thought if what I'd put together might be of use to someone, I should put it up. A lot of it covers FAQ/Newbie stuff that I see posted on here - not that it provides definitive answers, but breaks down a lot into easy to manage/read bits. I figured it'd be handy if one was a bit too medicated while needing to do work on the garden!

I am actually envious really. I would much rather set up a nice schedule and track things properly, but something else always distracts me down the line. I could use any excuse I please, but honestly it just boils down to laziness. Heh. I agree completely that it would be a great help to new people.

Yeah life is always getting in the way of things. I am pretty hands off with most horticulture, I keep it simple and let things run their course. But with this, I've stepped up to the challenge. Perhaps once I'm more in my grove it wont be needed. Though it'll be interesting to track results and experiment with some quantitative and qualitative data. Also working with a bunch of mystery seed, so need to guide my findings. I am still making adjustments to the above charts, and I'll update this shortly with them. And anyhow, they're still just a bit of a guide (for me at least)

cannaculturalist said:

Though it'll be interesting to track results and experiment with some quantitative and qualitative data.

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And this is the reason I shouldn't be so damn lazy. I'm a nerd for the numbers. I do a lot of experimentation trying to dissolve marijuana growing myths for my own benefit.

That's what has been overtly clear from the past 3 months of researching I've been doing. It's amazing to see what sort of info is out there (places in RIU and other). A lot of it is anecdotal, some of it is side-by-side or at least documented, but the majority seems speculative or at the least only suggestive. That said, people obviously are getting good results from what they believe is best - something which is unique to each setup/person. So many variables. And while it's been great to frame my research with the context of all that is out there, I needed to dial-in/get a baseline for me.

Out of curiosity Bucees - how's it going with the use of GH Maxi? (going by your sig). I was thinking of swapping the GH Micro/Bloom for Maxibloom, but found it wasn't much cheaper to switch for me (due to availability). I tried the DWC thing, but during our summer was a daft idea - so a lot of this has been getting my head around a 100% coco (well, mixed w/ perlite) grow. Might try DWC again in winter. Though am experimenting with a bubble cloner now too.

Have think I've more or less finished mucking about with this for now. I looked over my notes again and factored in what I have on hand/have planned etc. So I've tweaked the numbers a bit and changed timing on some others. Also corrected a few mistakes/inconsistencies.

FYI: The FIRST post has been updated

I think I might move up to 5gal pots for flower stage, and have a revised schedule to go with it. But I'll see where I get. Trying out 3gal first

cannaculturalist said:

Out of curiosity Bucees - how's it going with the use of GH Maxi? (going by your sig). I was thinking of swapping the GH Micro/Bloom for Maxibloom, but found it wasn't much cheaper to switch for me (due to availability).

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I haven't been using Maxi for this cycle, but for the past 2 years it's been my exclusive nutrient. I started out using the GH 3 part then moved to lucas formula after I discovered it years ago. Stuck with that for a while and decided to try Maxibloom lucas formula after seeing several successful grow journals using it only. It's cheap from Amazon and using lucas ratios seems to give my plants mostly everything they need. Low feeding strains I normally had to supplement calmag, but that was it.

The performance compared to the GH 3 part was pretty much on par across several different mediums. I used DWC and Hempy during this era. I always recommend it to new people to make things as simple as possible and end up with smokable product. I don't think it's any better than GH Micro/Bloom by any means, but instead a way cheaper alternative.

Heh summer time DWC eh? Yea rarely a good idea unless you are in a well controlled environment. Last few years I would do hempy in the summer and DWC in the winter to keep biologicals at bay in my DWC res. I really liked the growth of DWC, but making tea every week to control my res got old after a few years. Plus weekly res changes and a lot of wasted water later I decided to give it up. At this point I have a few DTW pure coco runs under my belt and have the utmost confidence in the medium. Decided recently to try out some expensive nutrients so I sprung for the Canna A+B and have been pleasantly surprised with the results. Really enjoy the ease of mixing liquid nutrients again!

Not enough information to give an answer.

How many plants per light? 1k or 600? Are you running DTW drip or hand watering?

With 6 plants per light in a vertical setup I've been getting anywhere from 4-8 oz's out of a 2 gal pot watering every other day after transplant, upping that to everyday by the end of the first week, then twice a day by the end of week two. By mid/full flower I'm watering 5 times per day during lights on.

If I were hand watering I would definitely bump up to a 5 gal. With multi-feeds per day in coco, I've found lower strength feeds in smaller pots more often to be the winner. Seems to be about balancing the amount of roots in the pot with the amount, and # of times watered per day.

No checking pH. No emptying rezzes. No water chiller. Just fill the rez ~ once a week and watch them grow. Currently running Jack's Pro Hydro + CalcNit for Veg and Maxibloom + Koolbloom + Flora+ in Flower. I'll throw in some CaliMagic/Silica/Other Bloom Boosters to adjust nutrient ratios as I see fit. I've seriously grown half pound plants in a 2 gal, and over a QP in a 1 gal.

Hey Bucees, sorry I didn't get back to you - been caught up with life, heh. Oh cool, sounds like you've experimented a bit. I've stuck with the GH bloom/micro H3ad forumla for now. I did look into coco specific nutes, specifically Nutrifield's a&b, but wasn't confident to switch just yet. I was toying around with nutrient calculators and doing costings, and couldn't get it to lineup. So GH it is, and it's working out reasonably well. Though I have had to make changes to my proposed sheets posted as I've learned and observed a few more things. And yep, DWC is summer is stupid crazy. I could do it again in the next few months depending on space - but figure I may as well keep going with coco for now and revisit DWC maybe later.

LakesideWiseman: Cheers for dropping in. I have a 600HPS, and started with 6 plants, then 4 then 3, before I had to cull them early. Ideally I'll do 4 plants, but may run a few smaller ones together depending on scheduling. Hand watering DTW yep, thought of putting together a drip system, but am a bit over dealing with plumbing, and it's not a big issue right now.

Having looked at the root balls of the 3gal fabric pots, and thought about their requirements through 6 weeks of growht (1 veg 5 bloom), showed that larger pots might give a bit of a buffer on watering. But they were doing great for the size of the top growth. So I'll try them again with this other strain and see if it works better. I've revised my schedule to be a more frequent lower dose feed regime - sticking with generally a 75% rate maximum, with a few full strength booster feeds every few weeks, and the rest at about half rate (alternating days during veg, every day during bloom). Which seems to be a better approach to me trying to regularly juggle/estimate feed strength based on previous run off (I log all of it just in case). So I guess I'll be following your methodology with this practice.

I'm yet to setup a res. At the moment I'm mixing as I go, which isn't too bad during veg, but will look into a small one for flower - which may then lead to a drip system for the flowering tent (which would make sense and be a huge help). I'm keeping my nute lineup as simple as possible. I'm not interested in buying everything or chasing snake oils - I'm using GH micro/bloom at 6/9 ratio for base, supplementing with calmag or epsom salt occasionally, silica and recently using humic acid. I'll also start using some cold pressed neem oil as a soil drench (again with trace elements). I'm also using a 'complete' mychorrizal innoculant. Aside from that, it's just love and affection! I might get some monopotassium phosphate for a bloom booster later on, and have thought of trying a zyme product, but not for now (have used extra bloom to increase PK as per H3ad's method of 6/12 in week 4).

Cool chart, I made one simular using a Word Doc. I've tried to upload it but it didn't work. That was the old RIU site so maybe the new one will work. Anyway it is colums of three with 6 total "days" on each paper. Take note I made different sheets for veg and flower for obvious resons.
My flower chart is something like this

Date:_______Day:_______
strain:__________________

______ml_________
______ml_________
______ml_________
______ml_________

EC_______PH______
Runoff____________

Notes_____________
__________________
__________________
___________________


So filled out it looks like this


Date:__5/16__Day:___16____
strain:___Purple Buddha_____
___2___ml protekt__________
___10__ml Foliage Pro______
___2.5___ml__Dyna Bloom___
___15___ml__Ful-power Humic
EC .56 (560ppm .5 scale PH__5.7____
Runoff____.54_______
Notes: Per 2 gallons
of Ro water_______
________________
___________________

Cheers Moon Shiner. I've actually been toying with this a bit more over the past few weeks. In essence it's the same, but I've simplified it all into 1 or 2 pages and like you split for veg and bloom - though it's similar right through. The principal of my method is the same - feed every 2nd day in veg 75% (or as needed) and similar in bloom with a few tweaks. I'll upload my new layout soon.

The main sheet I use is my log sheet, much like what you have posted. Mostly so I have recorded my inputs, run-off isn't something I worry about as much now. Keeping the feed strength a little lower and more constant has helped rather than alternating feed strength so much over the course of a week. Also the fabric pots I'm using need more water, so am feeding them a little more often with a slightly weaker feed too. Rocking 1 week in 12/12

This is the current version I have. Includes: 2 week clone cycle, 8 week veg cycle, 8 week bloom cycle (perpetual).

Each week is broken down in 7 days with a guide to feed/maintenance for each as appropriate. Also includes a log sheet for daily use, and a clone log sheet.

All of this is based on my setup, and I don't strictly follow it all - just use it as a guide (and as you've seen, it's a work in progress).