How often should I water my coco coir seedlings?

Asked by: Rhonda Stevens

WATERING COCO COIR A good rule of thumb would be to water every four or five days. You also need to use a pot that provides good drainage, as your coco coir requires air as well as moisture to promote healthy plant growth. If there’s too much moisture inside, there won’t be enough air.

Can you over water seedlings in coco?

Coco is a sponge, and like a sponge, when squeezed water comes out, but not all the water. The sponge will remain damp and coco can still appear wet without having enough available water to give to the plant. Constantly watering coco results in over-watering.

How do you take care of coco seedlings?

Coco should never be allowed to get very dry. As a result, seedlings should be watered once or twice per day once they are placed in their seedling pots with coco/perlite. The amount of water needed for each event is very small because the seedling pots are small, and you never allow them to get very dry.

When should I feed my coco coir seedlings?

Once the first set of initial leaves called Cotyledon, responsible for providing all the nutrients a plant needs for sprouting, fall off in 2-3 weeks, you can then feed the plant with a 10-10-10 liquid fertilizer diluted to 1/4 of its strength.

How do you plant coco coir seedlings?

You can either use 100% coco coir for your soil or mix it with your favorite potting soil or potting mix. If you want to make your own seed starting mix for small seeds, it is better to use fine pith coco coir. Since coco can hold so much water, you don’t need to water your seeds as much as you would with regular soil.

Should I water Coco every day?

WATERING COCO COIR

A good rule of thumb would be to water every four or five days. You also need to use a pot that provides good drainage, as your coco coir requires air as well as moisture to promote healthy plant growth. If there’s too much moisture inside, there won’t be enough air.

How often do you water seedlings indoors?

HOW OFTEN to water your indoor seedlings. On average, your seedlings will need watering every 48 hours. Water them daily or twice a day, and you risk getting poor germination or disease. So it’s best to err on the underwatering side.

Can you use coco coir for seedlings?

Coco coir’s superior moisture-holding capacity, aeration, and antifungal properties make the coconut byproduct an excellent choice for seed starting. With the proper additives to improve nutrition, coco coir can be the foundation for healthy seedlings.

How often should you feed seedlings?

Mix the fertilizer at half the recommended rate and apply it twice a week. You can continue this feeding program until the seedlings go into the garden, or switch to less frequent full strength feedings, every 7-10 days. What should you feed your seedlings? An all-purpose, water-soluble fertilizer is best.

How much water do I add to coco coir?

The rule of thumb for rehydrating dry coco coir is to find the weight of your coco coir and add a volume of water roughly 10x the weight of the dry coco brick. For example, if we have a 600g dehydrated coco coir brick, we will need to add around 6000g (6L) of water.

Can seeds germinate in coir?

Containing all the benefits of coco coir, they’re water retentive, naturally sterile, and offer excellent drainage and aeration. Once the seeds have germinated, coco dots can be transplanted with seedlings directly into pots or beds. Coco coir’s fine structure makes germination easier on smaller plants.

What is the PPM for seedlings?

400 to 500 PPM

Seedling: 400 to 500 PPM — The information above applies here, though any starter nutrients will affect the readings. Early Vegging: 650 to 750 PPM — This is when you typically transplant.

What should my pH be in Coco?

Acceptable pH Range for Coco: 5.5-6.5

Coco does not buffer the pH of nutrient solution as effectively as soil and therefore it is critical to set the pH of the nutrient solution inflow within the range of 5.5 to 6.5.

When should I give my seedlings nutrients Hydro?

As for when to start using them, a good rule of thumb is to start using them when your plant begins to grow its first true leaves. The leaves that first sprout (after germination) on a seedling contain all the nutrients the seedling will need for the first few days of its life.

What should my Coco runoff be?

Run-off EC Should be within 300 Points of Inflow EC:

The EC of the run-off will be slightly higher than the inflow, but should be very close. Under normal conditions, the run-off EC may be up to 300 points higher than the inflow.

How often should I flush Coco?

Every 1-2 weeks

Procedures to Follow when Using Coco-based Mediums
FLUSH the medium on a routine basis. Every 1-2 weeks is what we suggest. Check the “Run-Off” for proper pH level and (when Flushing) for a low ppm / EC value.

How do I add nutrients to coco coir?

Coco coir is an excellent growing medium as long as you maintain the pH between 5.5 – 6.5 and make sure the plants have enough calcium and magnesium. Any quality cannabis nutrients made for hydroponics will work well for growing in coco coir as long as you also use a Cal-Mag supplement.

Does coco coir need perlite?

No. It does not. Adding perlite to coco coir has its fair share of upsides and downsides, but the benefits clearly outweigh the few shortcomings. You will notice improved plant growth and a significant increase in yields as part of the benefits of mixing perlite with coco coir.

Can you grow in pure coco coir?

You can grow almost any plant in coco coir as the material acts just like any other potting soil or peat. As long as you know what you are doing, almost all plants will benefit from being planted in coco coir. You can use coco coir to grow everything from exotic plants, to even more common plants and flowers.

Can you grow vegetables in coco coir?

One such method growing in popularity is the use of coco coir, created from the fibrous husks found within a coconut. It’s a viable alternative to peat moss, which can take hundreds of years to replenish once harvested. Growing vegetables with coco peat is similar to using conventional composts or soils.

Is growing in coco better than soil?

When compared with soil, coco tends to dry out a lot quicker, meaning your plants will need to be watered more frequently. Key benefits of opting for growing in coco include high yields and quick harvest, additional room for root development and pH neutral values.

Can you mix soil with coco coir?

Coco coir in your soil

Mixing coco coir into existing garden soil can be a boon for plants. Bringing a versatile combination of water retention and natural drainage, the coir will loosen the texture of clay soil, reducing waterlogging.

Does coco flower faster?

The light, airy nature of coco promotes root growth. Overall, you get bigger and faster growing plants than you do in soil.

Does coco coir have bugs?

Fungus Gnats (Sciaridae)

Substrates that contain a high level of microbial activity and abundant organic matter such as coir and peat attract fungus gnats. For this reason, fungus gnats are a common problem when growing in coir.

Can fungus gnats grow in coco coir?

Why do you get fungus gnats? These insects love damp organic matter, which happens to be great for your plants too. The more “good stuff” in your soil, the more likely that you are to attract fungus gnats. Soils that hold moisture especially well, including those with coconut coir, are more likely to see fungus gnats.

Can springtails live in coco coir?

I use straight coco fiber or coarser dendro bedding. As long as it is damp it clumps well and you can easily shake springtails out with wire mesh kitchen strainer.