Holding down the Coco?

[carrotsyo]

What are people using to hold down coco/perlite so the perlite doesn't float up when you water? Hydroton clay?

I tried lava rock from a local place and all 4 of my seedlings failed. I rinsed the coco fairly well but the runoff was still dark. The lava stone seems to be water soluble? wtf?

Its sad because I lost the last seeds from a strain I wanted to try.

 

[MIway]

Uv got to rinse the lava rocks... Fair amount of water too, but it does the trick. I kinda liked lava rocks... Just heavy and a pita.

Try using chunky perlite... Won't have as much an issue... Get the really chunky stuff.

 

[dansbuds]

Why are you adding perilite to your coco ? i've found the only perilite i need in coco is in the bottom inch of the buckets so the coco doesn't stay saturated . its better for root growth . but coco is the best medium for water retention ... its like a sponge . no real need for it in the pots other than the bottom inch .... and many use other things like hydrotron , lava rock , grow stones etc....

just my opinion

 

[Desert Hydro]

ive had trouble starting seeds in coco. could be the salts in it or could have just been me. idk. i prefer to start in rapid rooters or similar and then into small rockwool block and then into coco. sounds like a lot but its not too bad.

 

[Granger2]

Perlite is for air retention. To each his own... -granger

 

[Hundred Gram Oz]

Give your lava rock a good rinse out, fill up an empty pot full of lava rocks and put it under the tap in your bath, keep rinsing until the water coming out of the pots drainage holes gets clear.

HGO

 

[SeaMaiden]

What are people using to hold down coco/perlite so the perlite doesn't float up when you water? Hydroton clay?

I tried lava rock from a local place and all 4 of my seedlings failed. I rinsed the coco fairly well but the runoff was still dark. The lava stone seems to be water soluble? wtf?

Its sad because I lost the last seeds from a strain I wanted to try.

I stopped using perlite, and switched to rice hulls. You can also use just coco, no perlite.

 

[Lowman]

I read along time ago that lava rocks will fuck with your Ph unless you weather them first. I put them outside for a year to be rained on and snowed on and frozen before I use them.

 

[psg1]

I read along time ago that lava rocks will fuck with your Ph unless you weather them first. I put them outside for a year to be rained on and snowed on and frozen before I use them.

Are you getting your rocks straight from the volcano? Haven't they been weathered, by definition, for thousands of years already?

 

[akula]

I stopped using perlite, and switched to rice hulls. You can also use just coco, no perlite.

Hey SM, I have been really interested in switching to rice hulls for a while now. Could you tell me a bit about what kind of rice hulls are best (if there even is a difference) and what kind of mixure percentage you use.

Thanks.

 

[SeaMaiden]

I can't tell you what's best, only that I get mine in large bales from the local feed shop. This animal bedding type does sprout, but it's not a big deal, very easily pulled (and kinda cool that you could grow a wee bit of your own rice, but I digress). Percentages stay in the same realm as perlite, anywhere from 25%-40%.

I've been told that there is a nursery version of rice hulls that doesn't sprout. I've never seen it or used it. I've been told that not all areas of the country have access to rice hulls, but they may have access to peanut hulls or other nut hulls, and I think those may be good to try if you can't get a hold of the rice hulls.

My goal in using them was to eliminate a non-renewable product in my mixes that's got a greater carbon footprint than I'm aiming for, since perlite is not only mined, but must be heated as part of processing. The rice hulls are an agricultural waste product, so they exist no matter what as part of our food production. Closing the loop, so to speak, that is/was my goal.