Noob Questions about preparing Coco.

[Wasabi420]

not sure if anyone said this but here goes.. MY METHOD

soak coco add pearllite then add earthworm castings

ratios:

1 compressed brick(2 cubic feet)
1 bag earthworm castings
1 1/2 bags pearllite

i know these measurements are wacked i would have to look at my bags to see but im too lazy right now. i may do it later if you want

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

Ok Heres my latest version.

Coco Prep for potting Version 3.

- Bricks go into a Hot water bath ~160F+ water till water reaches room temp.
OR if coco is bagged and uncompressed like Canna or B'Cuzz No hot water bath.

-Coco is mixed by weight, with 25% perlite. (OPTIONAL)

-48HR Aerated compost/casting tea
-1/2 tbs molasses per gallon
-Microherd of your choice. GH subculture, etc.. Rhitozoic (sp)
-GH Rare Earth. (humic and fulvic ammendment)
-1/4 tbs epsoms per gallon.

Apply Tea onto coco, till coco comes together, hand mix all together.

Coco will now be watered with 6ml Micro 9ml Bloom 3X a day via drippers drain to waste scenario.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

not sure if anyone said this but here goes.. MY METHOD

soak coco add pearllite then add earthworm castings

ratios:

1 compressed brick(2 cubic feet)
1 bag earthworm castings
1 1/2 bags pearllite

i know these measurements are wacked i would have to look at my bags to see but im too lazy right now. i may do it later if you want

Hmmm earthworm castings..

I see that as an easy slow release organic fert, so you prefer that over say casting teas?

 

[One Love 731]

I use the GH bricks. I put half a case of bricks in the bottom of a 55 gal Rubbermaid container and add 10-15+ gals of 6m 9b nutrient solution @5.3 ph, let sit for a few hours and then I rake it out. That's it. I clone in small plastic cups with this mix, I also use it to transplant into 1-2 gal containers, to easy. Don't complicate things

Karma, One Love

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

I use the GH bricks. I put half a case of bricks in the bottom of a 55 gal Rubbermaid container and add 10-15+ gals of 6m 9b nutrient solution @5.3 ph, let sit for a few hours and then I rake it out. That's it. I clone in small plastic cups with this mix, I also use it to transplant into 1-2 gal containers, to easy. Don't complicate things

I dont think my prep is that complicated. Its simple to me anyways.

-Hot Water Fluff and Rinse.
-Amend as needed.
-Add adjuncts like organics, and things to support the bacteria.

This is my first stab at really trying to grow coco, so I'd like to make it as close to perfect as I can.

Other than that..

I see you treat coco in a method like rockwool, (the low PH soak). Why 5.3?.. isnt the suggested coco watering PH around low 6?.

I've never checked the PH runoff of coco or the water after a soak, is it alkaline therefore the low 5.3 PH soak?

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

I think what he's saying basically is... your 3 steps, can be reduced to 1. Not that one is right and the other isn't.

The PH I've used successfully is from 5.5-6.2 in pure coco. The GH Cocotek bricks were hydrated and rinsed, that was it. There's simple, and then there's simple.

Do it, I'm very curious about simple coco based organic setups. I'm thinking about doing a few experiments.

I'll be using 33% Perlite / 67% Coco this time around, it's my first run with anything other than straight coco.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

I think what he's saying basically is... your 3 steps, can be reduced to 1. Not that one is right and the other isn't.

The PH I've used successfully is from 5.5-6.2 in pure coco. The GH Cocotek bricks were hydrated and rinsed, that was it. There's simple, and then there's simple.

Do it, I'm very curious about simple coco based organic setups. I'm thinking about doing a few experiments.

I'll be using 33% Perlite / 67% Coco this time around, it's my first run with anything other than straight coco.

I see what he's saying, I _do_ like simple, but there has to be a reasoning behind it. And I'm willing to go the extra step to make coco not just good but really good.

Now here's a question for you. 33% perlite?.. Why _that_ number?.
is that the optimum?

I personally picked 25% because of the math, Easier to mix by weight. 5lb bags of perlite, 10 lb bags of coco.

But as far as adding perlite, I think its justified, it seems like coco seems to compact down a bit, and the perlite keeps it airy.

All in all I am a coco noob, worked with it once, but I'll try to keep an open mind.

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

If you used 5 pounds of perlite, 10 pounds of coco... that's 1/3 perlite 2/3 coco.

I picked it because like you said, it's easy to mix. 1 part perlite to 2 parts coco.

By weight though? Is the coco wet or dry? I'd say measure by volume... but that's just what I plan to do.

Going the extra step isn't always good. The more things you do, the more things that can go wrong. I'm not saying it will, I'm just saying... the less variables, the easier it is to isolate a problem.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

If you used 5 pounds of perlite, 10 pounds of coco... that's 1/3 perlite 2/3 coco.

I picked it because like you said, it's easy to mix. 1 part perlite to 2 parts coco.

By weight though? Is the coco wet or dry? I'd say measure by volume... but that's just what I plan to do.

Going the extra step isn't always good. The more things you do, the more things that can go wrong. I'm not saying it will, I'm just saying... the less variables, the easier it is to isolate a problem.

Geebus?.. am I that stoned? Lol.. you're right.

I see what you mean about making the coco simple and additive free, but I'm speculating here, it seems like the majority of the coco users running from compressed blocks (most likely what I will use) work it over in some manner.

There seems to be little interest in ammending the coco as far as molasses and other stuff. I'll assume its not cost effective.. considering my grow isn't exactly 100% organic, I might be expecting too much from beneficial bacteria. Possibly my money would be better spent on those fancy air pots I keep seeing.

I'm pretty sure mixing by weight is the most consistent way. I mean coco does expand quite a bit, and compresses alot too.

 

[One Love 731]

when ever I make nutrient solution or top up a reservoir I set it @ 5.3 PH simply because it will drift up as long as things are right. Different nutrients will be more available at different PH levels, it never goes above 5.8. Most of the coco were talking about is made for hydroponics, growing is hard enough without complicating things. I only run water through the last 10 days, seems Ive heard running straight water through coco will mess up the cec or something. I run coco wet, I water @ lights on and 90 minuets before lights out, the coco never gets to dry except for the first week of flower when I only water at lights on so the girls can root up good. My method is working for me, although I would like to try some Cana coco or maybe Roots coco mix. I hope all that you do, serves you. Karma, One Love

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Geebus?.. am I that stoned? Lol.. you're right.

I see what you mean about making the coco simple and additive free, but I'm speculating here, it seems like the majority of the coco users running from compressed blocks (most likely what I will use) work it over in some manner.

There seems to be little interest in ammending the coco as far as molasses and other stuff. I'll assume its not cost effective.. considering my grow isn't exactly 100% organic, I might be expecting too much from beneficial bacteria. Possibly my money would be better spent on those fancy air pots I keep seeing.

I'm pretty sure mixing by weight is the most consistent way. I mean coco does expand quite a bit, and compresses alot too.

Air pots would be a solid investment. I wouldn't stray from the most basic system you can get until you know you can grow well with that. The more variables you add into a new system, the harder it is to identify a problem if one arises.

I was wondering myself about the weight/volume thing. I was just planning on getting a few large containers, and scooping up two buckets of coco and 1 bucket of perlite, and mixing it all together.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

Air pots would be a solid investment. I wouldn't stray from the most basic system you can get until you know you can grow well with that. The more variables you add into a new system, the harder it is to identify a problem if one arises.

I was wondering myself about the weight/volume thing. I was just planning on getting a few large containers, and scooping up two buckets of coco and 1 bucket of perlite, and mixing it all together.

Point taken.. I think I can handle just about any growing problem, I think my coco prep is simple enough and shouldn't cause problems.
the ammendments are few and for the most part inexpensive. I'm a coco noob, yeah, I admit that. But I'm not an inexperienced grower.

Getting off topic a bit.

Air pots at the very least are reusable. I'm impressed with the root circling I see. I would rather spend the extra money on those pots than saving a bit buying grow bags. As you said its a solid investment.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

Coco Prep for potting Version 4.

- Bricks go into a Hot water bath ~160F+ water till water reaches room temp.
OR if coco is bagged and uncompressed like Canna or B'Cuzz No hot water bath.

- Fluffed brick coco will be soaked as follows, 6ml Micro, 9ml Bloom for at least an hour
and excess liquid squeezed out. Ph of runoff around 6.

-Coco is mixed by weight, with 25%-30% perlite.

Adjuncts: ( I may add them.. Possibly)

-1 pouch of GH Subculture B. (Suitable for use with salt nutrients)
mixed dry into coco-perlite.

-GH Rare Earth blended into mix as per instructions.

Coco will now be watered with 6ml Micro 9ml Bloom 3X a day via drippers drain to waste scenario.

Notes:
Removed the addition of epsoms, the nutrient "soak" should be enough.
Named what culture I will be using, its specific to salty hydro applications.
Molasses removed, sub-culture has its own sugar in it.
GH rare earth seems more useful than say diamond black. or so I'm guessing.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

Grat3fulh3ad Sez

"When introducing microlife into your system, what are your goals?
The main role of microlife in an organic system is to convert unusable organic compounds into usable inorganic ones... This role is unnecessary when using readily available nutrients...
There are, however, also enzymes which are by-products of the life cycle of some beneficials... adding these could provide usable benefits to your garden... The main concern would be in providing the microlife with organic material for food... In the coco example, the trichoderma feed on the coco.
However, you don't want to provide food for the wrong kind of microlife... Pythium for example..."

Now I'm kinda thinking about the purpose of microlife in the grow, Its valid for me to add these things to my coco. I do intend to add things like floralicious, later during bloom, so I think it only makes sense to have the microlife futher process such additives, as well as feed off the coco.

So adding a microherd to the coco in theory should add to the final quality of the product.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

Coco Prep for potting Version 5.

- Bricks go into a Hot water bath ~160F+ water till water reaches room temp.
OR if coco is bagged and uncompressed like Canna or B'Cuzz No hot water bath.

- Fluffed brick coco will be soaked as follows, 6ml Micro, 9ml Bloom 1/2 Gram per gallon of epsoms for at least an hour and excess liquid squeezed out. Ph of runoff around ~6 or lower.

-Coco is mixed by weight, with 25%-30% perlite.

-1 pouch of GH Subculture B. (Suitable for use with salt nutrients)
mixed dry into coco-perlite.

Adjunct: ( I may add it.. Possibly)

-GH Rare Earth blended into mix as per instructions.

Coco will now be watered with 6ml Micro 9ml +1/2 gram gal epsoms Bloom 3X a day via drippers drain to waste scenario.

Note: Added epsoms to the coco conditioning. Looking at H3ead's notes. he suggests
1 gram per gallon, I think this is a little much, (I tend to go lower with salts because of long term buildup mainly).

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

Well, I think that version 5 is acceptable to the coco community . No comments as of lately so this is a good thing?

I think I've covered all the bases,

-Sanitize & wash the brick coco, dont condition premium coco.
-Calmag problems and treating the coco for such.
-Coco conditioning.. etc.. wash, ph, etc..
-Validating the usefullness of microlife,.
-Pretty much agreed that 6:9 with GH flora series is a good alternative to coco nutes.
-Using perlite is pretty much up to the user, no real ratio other than 30%.

Thanks everybody!

 

[dancer]

Brilliant info in this thread, thanks guys but I'm curious why not to use GH grow part at all?

Cheers

 

[ThePizzaMan]

It is not a prerequisite to pre-treat your coco. I soak my coco in a rubbermaid tub until it becomes malleable. Then I rinse tap water through it and put it in a bucket. Then I add the perlite..and then I fill my pots and transplant my clones or seedlings.

Easy peasy.

 

[Lazyman]

Here's my two cents on prepping coco:

I fill a big wheelbarrow with 2-3 bales of coco, add well water or RO to decompress
Add a cup of spinosad (Capt Jacks Deadbug brew) to each 2 bales to kill fungus gnats, stir.
Add some full-strength grow nutes (powdered or liquid) and some 1/2 strength bloom nutes
Add cal-mag, ph the wheelbarrow and stir, let sit for about 30 minutes. Save the liquid for the next batch, I re-use it 2-3 times before making a fresh batch.
I hate perlite with a passion, if you need more aeration (shouldn't be needed) add some coco chips or coco bark to the mix. It is biodegradable and NOT WHITE! Easier to dispose of.

That's about it, should be ready to use and won't harbor gnats, and won't starve young plants of food while the coco soaks it up.

Or, if you want to save the hassle and are bucks-up, go buy Canna Bio Terra + Soil, it's amended coco right out of the bag, just add spinosad to deal with the inevitable gnat problems.

 

[benzo]

For rinsing, get a old pillow case. put coco in there and run water thru it til your ec is less than .1

i tried using 5 gallon buckets. 18 gallon rubbermaid totes, but the pillow case was by far the easiest way to rinse.



as for precharging the coco, people above already answered that question in dept.