Do You Re-use your Coco?

[Snoopster]

I won't reuse it indoors. I'm on my first coco grow. I'll save the stuff for outside - greenhouse/aquaponics/seedlings.

I get the botanicare bricks for $14 which is cheap coming from hydroton.

I just spent an hour and a half yesterday cleaning out my old hydroton so I can use it outside.
It was a pain.

 

[pinecone]

I'm re-using my organic coco-based mix just cutting enough of the stump out to get the new plants and replanting; no taking roots out, no enzymes, and no letting it sit. I re-amend via top dressing. It is working well enough that I'm going to keep doing it this way.


Pine

 

[Harinama]

I've reused all coco since i started with coir 1.5yrs ago. I break out the major mass of roots, bust up the clods, then let sit for a few weeks before reusing. I do water to 20% run off the first time, and use double the hygrozyme and dripclean than for normal feedings.

About 8 runs in, coco is doing fine! As there is a little loss, and i upgraded to 5gal smart pots(from 3.5 hempy), i've added an additional 4cuft brick recently.

with a good rinse, and root treatments, dripclean there is no reason not to reuse coco indefinitely imho.

 

[B. Friendly]

coco has a 4 year life
use it for 3 and throw it out

 

[Lazyman]

I haven't yet, as I have a huge (3K square foot) veggie garden and the soil is heavy clay. Between the 5-600 gallons of used coco-perlite and my big-ass compost pit I've been amending the crap out of the soil and making it lighter and fluffier every month. Just need to get it all tilled in.

Once that's all caught up and good I will start reusing my coco, though I run a dead res and salt nutes so there will be no microbial benefit, but saving $500 a month on new coco is a good deal.

 

[ChickenChaser]

Here's a short article for those that want to have a go at reusing coco - http://urbangardenmagazine.com/2011/02/reusing-media-coco-coir/

 

[Oldmans_Herbs]

yupp. i re-use/compost