I ordered one of those packages of Jacks from eBay. A couple ppl make smaller packages of the a&b + ES and sell them for 30-35$. Saw a few ppl give ‘em a thumbs up, and I figure I’ll convince my buddy that it makes sense to either both do different nutes. Or even convince him to try the Jacks first, too.
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I’ll be using tap water. I got my city water report.
Just wondering if I might run into problems using the regular “a” instead of the “tap water” version of “a”
Growing in coco, you will have to adjust pH. When I use tap with Jack’s, my pH lands at around 6.4-.5. Using distilled or RO it hit 5.9ish. There are some really good pH up and down adjusters. I have my mixing set ups, though, that I don’t have to adjust. But for coco growing, you need the pH of your nutrient solution to be between 5.8-6.1.
When I say Jack’s, I’m referring to the A&B system, and I mean tap water.
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Cool. When you mentioned the RO/Distilled water, I worried that might make a huge difference
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Honestly, for me, in coco it’s much easier to use RO/distilled. I can’t stand adjusting pH lol. Plus, my city water is inconsistent. There’s always some kind of construction that changes the pH and PPMs
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I for sure want to install an RO system in the future. Our city water is from the Mississippi River, so it’s pretty chlorinated. Gets that swimming pool smell on occasion. I’m a pretty nerdy gardener as is, so I was really hoping I could draw off my rain barrel, but we’ve been in a drought for so long, I’m back to using city water for everything in our flower gardens. I’m actually planning to test the water I have left in the sun to evaporate some of the chlorine and get an idea of what I’m dealing with.
I am curious about PH up/down, though. That GH “bundle” or whatever u wanna call it has it, but if I have to use it, is using that w/Jacks a problem? Is there a “jack-friendly” version or are they all basically the same?
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And being a MN guy, I’m glad you mentioned the construction work issue. Half the city is being dug up for most of the summer (especially because of the extreme temp swings last winter creating a million new potholes) and that really affects water and I had just kinda forgot about that!
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If they have fill up stations anywhere near you, like Glacier Water or other brands, that’s what I use. I take my 5 gallon buckets every other week and fill up for 25¢ a gallon. I love right on the gulf coast and we’ve been without rain for about 3 weeks, but have been hitting 100+ almost every day this month
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Geez! Can’t believe I hadn’t thought about that! Yeah, we have a great one - glenwood engelwood. Went there weekly as a kid. This is why I love this forum!
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I mix 5 gallon batches of Jack’s at a time. I put 20ml silica and mix the snot out of it, then I do the Jack’s. If you go straight Jack’s with distilled /RO, then the pH drops to like 4-5. Silica raises pH, and adding it first to said water, balances it out. But the Silica is an initial pH stabilizer, but it helps make cell walls stronger in the plant itself.
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Ditch the neem oil and go with Capt Jack’s Deadbug. Neem oil cannot be used during flowering.
I used neem oil on my last grow, plants hermied on me, could the neem oil have caused it?
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Ran into a couple of hiccups which changed a few variables in my plans. After ordering Jacks from EBay, at least one of the bags was ripped open once my package arrived.
Seller was totally cool about it, is replacing it, but since the Jacks was the last thing we were waiting for, and we already have the GH flora series, GH cal mag, and GH Armor si’ (silica), it’s going to be GH nutes.
Another change of plans will be RO water. I really liked your H2O filling station idea and proceeded to find out that the one I was gonna go to hasn’t existed for years, and the one at the grocery store was quite $. And, frankly, the extra $ for RO is a hard sell to the better half. 
Still gonna try to convince her that RO would eliminate potential complications and help “idiot-proof” the grow. If I am unable to accomplish that, my thought is to keep a clear, large Tupperware in the basement grow “area” fill it and let it sit for 24hrs to evaporate chlorine. Also, I use this to dienfect the basement just in case there are dust mites and/or mold, etc.
I also have the handheld wand, which is supposed to work with water. Are these adequate steps to make my city tap water less of a “wild card”, so to speak?
Re: the FF Cultivation nation 70/30 coco mix
According to the bag it has already been buffered. So does that mean I should or shouldn’t soak it in cal mag & silica again?
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Probably not if used within manufacturer recommendations. Neem oil is relatively safe, but it will change the flavor of your buds if used during flowering.
I use neem oil in my normie job all the time, love it. But I can see exactly why it would be bad for flowers. Really watched a lot of @Hellraiser ’s topics, and he had used it. I had never used Jacks bug killer or whatever, but I’ll just grab that. No real downside, it seems.
I’m planning to germinate Monday. I’m debating between germinating straight to the 5 gal bags with a dome or into the coco plugs I have, then into the 5 gal home. Again, this goes back to my own comfort with growing most of the plants I use in my normie job. I’ve always been a “less stress is better” for seedlings, and no matter what you do, transplanting is extremely stressful. Just seems like an unnecessary stress that doesn’t have any real benefits I can see. Photos, with the luxury of recovery time, is totally different.
Is there something you think I might be missing?
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Just really wanted to touch base with y’all who have been helping me out here. Just really want to make sure I’m starting off on the right foot!
You convinced me of the jacks and thankfully the replacement for the damaged bag came in 24 hours! Awesome customer support!
Germinating water to paper towel, after glass of water, already have tails peaking out, now on paper towels. Here’s my first question:
I want to put germinated seeds (Amnezia Haze Autos from ILGM) either in the coco plug, and place that directly into my 5 gal smart pots of coco. Or just skip the plug and go straight into coco.
Thoughts?
My other big question is that the FF 70/30 is buffered but w/o nutes, the plugs have myrrh…, but that’s it, do I need to saturate the premixed coco w/RO (also taking your advice, buying RO water from filling station) or do I mix 1/2 strength Jacks, And then add RO water til I am at ideal seedling EC & PH and saturate the coco to 20-30% runoff immediately before planting the seeds?
After your advice and being referenced to the Dr Coco site, it seems that mixing at 1/2 or even higher strength and then diluting it with RO water until I get to ideal EC and watering to 20-30 % run-off 2x a day is smartest.
I also have silica like you suggested, but it is armor si from GH and I’m just curious about mixing different lines (shouldn’t be an issue, right?) and what strength and how often I should add it. (Always first into the mix, right?)
Wanna thank you again, your straight forward info helped my silly anxiety! Lol
@MidwestGuy
@dbrn32
@Hellraiser
Starting my grow journal and really would appreciate any guidance!
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I’ve not used plugs. I’ve always used solo cups, but you will want to have to coco pretty damn when planting, and use mixed nutes for this. But when you plant your germinated seeds, just spray the inside of a clear solo cup and use it as a humidity dome. The first few days, the plant is taking in moisture from it’s cotyledons and first leaves while establishing roots.
You should only have to feed once a day, maybe every other day for the first couple/few weeks. Later on, you may end up with 2 a day feedings. It’s not uncommon if they grow vigorously.
This is totally fine and what I use. I also have TPS Silica Gold. No worries there. I add it first, at 5ml per gallon, to my distilled/RO, and mix it well. Then, mix your Jack’s in the appropriate order and strength (part a, Epsom, then part b). You have to mix them in this order, and mix well. If it is cloudy when mixed, then there was an error. It should be clear with an ever so slight tint when mixed.
Start with Jack’s at full strength. And then add RO or distilled, like you said, to hit your target ppm. Jack’s is pretty gentle though, and I rarely ever dilute it.
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Perfect! Thanks so much. Your input really helped me make some decisions! Hope I can give you props for a successful first run in a few months!
I am curious if my EC targets should be lowered due to the fact that I’m going with autos?
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Actually found this and the EC targets are a bit lower than the ones on the Dr Coco site. Seems if I go for the low end I should be just fine.
You have thoughts?
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That should be ok. And with the Jack’s, you can adjust the different amounts you add to try to compensate for any deficiency or toxicity.
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