Fertilizers

if you use spagnum peat oss as base or another media with similar water holding capacities, you want 50/50 mix with a perlite or similar amendment. coco holds 2/3rds the water per volume. you can see the algebra at work here. this is why coco is 2:1 not 1:1.

if it comes with a sugary cereal name or packaging like it belongs in a sugary cereal aisle at supermarket, consider a different brand :P you are in a soilles substrate. it needs more perlite, 'next' time. it shouldn't cause a problem, but roots are happier with more fluff and o2 penetration. 70/30 or 2:1 ratio is all you need. does not have to be perlite. there are several options. for example, vermiculite also adds a bit of available silica, which other options do not. you should by "hydro" nutes for soilles substrate. if it is 100% soluble, immediately plant-available, and hopefully ph-balanced, then it's a 'hydro' nutrient mix. If it isn't ph-balanced, i refer back to my other suggestion of buying different brand that does make a proper hydro nutes. you can look up your product and figure it out. you'llknow if it is ph balancd if you don't experience ph-drift under normal circumstances. those that do drift as not buffered, or improperly buffered... they were too cheap to pay a chemist for their expert input, in most cases, or simply don't care about a quality product. you provide everything to the plant. so it better have a proper ratio of N/P/K/Ca/Mg/S + trace elements. if it does not, you are going to run into problems. again, you can check labels for this info. you'll want to fertilize every irrigation with 10% runoff. While ratios will have to be fine-tuned, the overall concentration should be around 1,3 to 1,5 EC to start, then react to what the plant tells you. someneed more. somemay need closer to 1,3EC to not have a buildup of some toxicity or another. the plant has no excretion system for waste. what you feed stays in there to be used or rots. it'simportant to give proper ratio as it is to give proper overall concentration. manic botanix has a nutrient ppm calculator. it's a good tool while you learn. calculating concentration of each nutrient provided is useful info when trying to diagnose problems or hone your formula. a good formula should only need very minor adjustments relative to seasonal changes and some genetic variety that is possible. i regulary run many strains off 1 reservoir with zero problems. if you have a mix that works for some but not a lot of others, it's the mix,no the plants. a good mix will work with 95% of plants. anything less should be improved upon over time.