Coco Coir Training: ChocoLope Auto

ThomFoolery I ended up with an extra plant this run and I don't want to kill it. So I'm taking this as an opportunity to learn how to grow using Coco and perlite with timed feedings multiple times a day. At present I am still testing the timer and pump and once I figure out how stable it is then I'll be able to add more details to the diary. But I plan to stick this little sucker in the corner and pump it full of nutrients. See how big it'll get. I am thinking 6 small feedings a day. Since the pot is so small it will take it less time to start drying. I don't see why this won't work, but Ita a learning exercise and I'm really stoked to get it going. And I have no experience. I'm almost set on how I'm handling the runoff and exactly how I'm setting up the substrate. Still need to run tests on the equipment to determine how it pushes the solution and how much it pushes for different amounts of time. Pump doesn't work... Lol. Shit. So I need to fix this or replace it. This was a cheap little system, they all pretty much are so Im Going to just buy the pump and timer, all the tubing, emitters, etc, etc and do it myself. I really wanted it to be one with wifi so I can use my phone as the interface, and keep up with it when I'm not home, but eh... It's better to have a good pump and timer and be done. This supposed to be as simple as it can be. 12/12 77gph Pond pump and Hydro farm autopilot timer. Everything is up and running. The transplant from soil into coco was nothing short of brutal. I really thought she was going to die within an hour, but she pulled through until lights off, and came back looking fine. When I did the transplant I left half the roots in the soil.... It's going on 48 hours now and she still looks alive. It is very possible that the plant still dies, but until then I am hoping I make the right decisions. I dimmed her down a bit, and dialed back the nutes to a milder dosage ( down to 0.6 from the original 0.9 ) There is definite stress, as you can see, but she's alive. This is what we have FloraGro, Micro, Bloom, and CaliMagic. These are to 2gals. I went by EC not by per gallon. These are the amounts it took to reach this point. FG: 2.5ml 0.1 FM: 1.0ml 0.1 FB: 2.0ml 0.1 CM: 1.5ml 0.3 pH: 5.5 Temp: 68.3, EC 0.6 Feeding solution @ 0.6. 16ml every 3 hours for 18 hours while lights are on only. Trial and error. I have no experience with this. I am just going by what I've read and what I think may work. 12/13 She's actually growing. So I guess the worst parts over. Moved her back to 275 ppfd and I'm currently working on a new drip emitter. I'm trying to make something that utilizes a loop of 1/4 tubing with 4 holes so it wets the entire substrate. So far as a pressure/flow issue. It's either sharp streams pointed directly at the stem, or random and tiny droplets. More to come...

ThomFoolery 12/15 I don't know about this plant... I think the transplant was just too much stress and it's done. I knew it was a long shot with an auto flower. I'm going to give it 2, 3 more days. If I don't see a major improvement, I'm pulling it. It looks like the other one I started with this one is lagging too. I had an accident with another plant fallling over on it. Anyway, I went all the way on the drip irrigation system. Ended up installing a main line and then I ran a 1/4 line off the 1/2 main line that runs down the center of the tent. I just couldn't leave it alone and ended up building a pretty decent system. If I add 6 or 8 emitters then I'll upgrade the pump. 80gph won't be strong enough for 8 lines. So it's a bit more involved than living soil, and I enjoy that, as long as I have time. One plant doesn't take a lot. Just check pH 2x a day and adjust if needed. It will swing about 3 points every 12 hours. So I set it to 5.7 or 5.8 and when I get home at night it's at 6.0 or 6.1. It is way more forgiving than dwc and if the pH were to drift bad, then I have plenty of time. It's only got to be right 6 times during the day. 3 days.. I didn't want to kill her, but I'm not going to spend 3 months growing a joint either. 12/16 Looks like she's getting stronger. Took a video of the drip system in action. I tweaked it and added 2 inline drippers so they each have half the cup. They seem to drip pretty even in my other tests. I'm watching close . I hope she takes off so I don't have to start over. Color looks good. My pH was lower than I thought. By .4 points. So I fixed that and the plant seems to have taken notice. Hell the pH was probably just gotten to where it was in range. I got so used to the pen being accurate I totally forgot to double check it. It's right now. Watching... Waiting...