question about watering coco

Lethidox said:

you don't let coco dry out cause i think of catatonic exchange. basically if you let it dry out it has a harder time reabsorbing the water so it basically will slide off the surface more. thus why if that happens people recommend you soak the pots i think. currently testing this is HP pro mix which is a spaghnum moss base works really good so far. i try to feed daily as well; well every watering but have gotten nitrogen toxicity a little so i tone it down and just adjust feeding based on how the plants look.

i don't grow in coco but will be after i run my HP mix dry which is probably after 1 more grow. lots of people grow in coco though and it is actually a sustainable medium.

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WingAK said:

Yeah I agree that they probably are. I’m just trying to say the way weed is being grown today is what people know and there is better ways now but like myself are stuck in the old ways because it’s the only info we can get and when we hear of a better way we brush it off because it seems to simple not to be dumping 10 different chemicals on a plant. Just like the book you got do you think they could sell that book without over complicating a grow no they couldn’t.

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Kingrow1 said:

If you dry a nutrient solution your left with salt but not all will go back into solution and thus remain insoluable.

This probably to do cation exchange capacity or CEC i think you were saying.

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Lethidox said:

yea im not super keen on the whole CEC i did a slight research on it and thats what i came up with. im testing that with my pro mix hp on my current grow. thus why i water often but less amounts. bottom stays moist but it's not water logged. even after about 2-3 days it's still pretty moist a 4th day it will get dry though.

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Kingrow1 said:

Wiki is a good read for cation exchange especially in soils.

Its not really somthing you need to know in much detail, most stuff we buy is made by scientists who factored it in so we dont have to like my soil or your promix.

Its one of the least influential subjects ive read... like yer i still use the same ferts and same doses before finding it out as after.

Pinch of salt stuff

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Lethidox said:

i only take it into consideration cause i had issues with my soil before 2 different brands but they do not soak up as much moisture as the pro mix yet are both spaghnum bases. so doing an experiment to see why is that. the 2 even had less perlite then the promix but i let it dry out more.

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Aussieaceae said:

There's "Anion Exchange Capacity" as well.

In my opinion, it's far simpler to refer to it all as Exchange Capacity.

Each organic material / compound is comprised of different minerals, chemicals / nutrients and structure etc. These materials each break down at different rates, and release their ions at different rates. Water speeds up this process. It's these ions that are readily absorbed by the plant..

An analogy for myself is to think of a sponge.
We come along and poor water on it. The sponge reaches full capacity, and leaches some of what it was already holding. But also absorbes more water. An exchange happens.
It really is a very simplified explanation though.

Some materials don't absorb as well, or break down nearly as fast as others.

In gardening's case, it really is just a case of keeping a good balance of organic materials, and amendments.

One example for myself, would be each time i dress some top soil with green cow manure, i like to spread a little lime or gypsum down first.
The manure is loaded with a lot of anions, such as phosphorus. The limes have a lot of cations, predominantly calcium.
So we water the manure in afterwards. The manure fills with water, leaches some of it's compounds and hits the lime. Some of these anions and cations attach to one another. It balances out, and helps prevent burning our plant's.

In my opinion exchange capacity really isn't all that necessary to know. As long as your soil has a nice texture, plenty of organic material, and ph is in a good range, it all balances itself out fine.

I always just think of that sponge. Works for me.

Anyway that's my 2cents.

Cheers.

Edit: regarding coco coir, it has a high cation exchange capacity. It naturally holds a lot of cations. This is why a lot of growers like to lime their coir, and supplement calmag etc.
It leaches a lot of cations, but holds on to a lot as well.
It's like a sponge.

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Aussieaceae said:

There's "Anion Exchange Capacity" as well.

In my opinion, it's far simpler to refer to it all as Exchange Capacity.

Each organic material / compound is comprised of different minerals, chemicals / nutrients and structure etc. These materials each break down at different rates, and release their ions at different rates. Water speeds up this process. It's these ions that are readily absorbed by the plant..

An analogy for myself is to think of a sponge.
We come along and poor water on it. The sponge reaches full capacity, and leaches some of what it was already holding. But also absorbes more water. An exchange happens.
It really is a very simplified explanation though.

Some materials don't absorb as well, or break down nearly as fast as others.

In gardening's case, it really is just a case of keeping a good balance of organic materials, and amendments.

One example for myself, would be each time i dress some top soil with green cow manure, i like to spread a little lime or gypsum down first.
The manure is loaded with a lot of anions, such as phosphorus. The limes have a lot of cations, predominantly calcium.
So we water the manure in afterwards. The manure fills with water, leaches some of it's compounds and hits the lime. Some of these anions and cations attach to one another. It balances out, and helps prevent burning our plant's.

In my opinion exchange capacity really isn't all that necessary to know. As long as your soil has a nice texture, plenty of organic material, and ph is in a good range, it all balances itself out fine.

I always just think of that sponge. Works for me.

Anyway that's my 2cents.

Cheers.

Edit: regarding coco coir, it has a high cation exchange capacity. It naturally holds a lot of cations. This is why a lot of growers like to lime their coir, and supplement calmag etc.
It leaches a lot of cations, but holds on to a lot as well.
It's like a sponge.

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Bakersfield said:

Coco is considered a medium cation medium.
Problem with coco is the cation sites are pre loaded with potassium and Sodium. This can cause Calcium and Magnesium to become locked out and unavailable until the coco becomes conditioned. This is why Cal/Mag acts as a silver bullet with unconditioned coco grows.

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Aussieaceae said:

Couldn't agree more.

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Bakersfield said:

You Aussies tend to know your coco.

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Aussieaceae said:

Yeah it's really popular here because of the heat throughout most of the year.

I've made the mistake of not amending it as well. Best way to learn sometimes right?

Great medium for indoor here.

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Kingrow1 said:

I water when the pots feel lighter but the coco is still wet. For a well rooted plant in the right size container this will be daily, for a non rooted plant every two to three days maybe but i nay wamt much longer so pot size is key here.

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inDC4now said:

Nice explanation @Kingrow1. Seedlings and young plants in early growth would need less frequent feedings until their roots fill out the pot. At this point they might be ready for re potting and one sign would be the pot feels lighter more quickly. After a re pot they might get less frequent feedings again, though these feedings would have more volume.

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Bakersfield said:

You guys are closer to the source.

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