Z
z-ro
Sure it's not springtails? Those come in Atami coco a lot. I've used every bagged coco out there, bcuzz is the best hands down.
-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
Bcuzz coco, Mites in the media!
- Thread starter smurfin'herb
- Start date
DONAJTHEIII
Member
stevewinthrop
Member
Springtails look much different than an isopod. Springtails actually have Springs on their tails (imagine that).
do they look like this. your pic is small.
this picture makes me shrudder and all itchy
True.
I remember reading this thread a while ago and was going to say the same thing.
The difference between brands depends on the ratio of different structures of coir such as pith/dust/fiber, and that has nothing to do with whether it's bagged or compressed. A bagged coir can be full of grit, dust, and badly buffered, and a compressed bale be light fibrous and well buffered.
The quality depends on the specs given to the manufacturer as to what percentage of each to use and whether it will just be compressed, washed, or washed and buffered. All the company does, as you say, is hydrate it and sell it on.
You can save yourself money and security risk by using a good quality buffered block and hydrating it yourself. The main thing you need to know is whether it's properly buffered and if they can provide you a data sheet, which they should be able to. Your expanded block should measure about 0.2ec on an extraction test unless if it's sold as buffered.
Hydrate it with 1.0ec of balanced nutrient and you're ready to go.
Preparation
Let's take a look at how this natural product should be prepared by the manufacturer. This is the biggest concern in selecting coco coir for hydroponics use. (Don't be tempted to use the 'ornamental variety' you sometimes find at your local garden center. This may still contain high levels of salt.) The outer fibers of the coconut are removed by soaking them in water. This soaking process involves either the use of fresh water or, more commonly, the use of tidal water which can be very high in salt. As coco coir has an excellent cation exchange ability it tends to hold onto things like salt which, when used in a hydroponic or indoor set up, can wreak havoc on your plants. Good quality, hydroponic grade coco coir will have not have a high salt content, but you should always flush it through with a low EC nutrient solution before use until no more tannins are coming out. Tannins can easily be seen as they stain or color the water brown. Some indoor gardeners check to see if the PPM of the water coming out of the coco is the same as the water they're putting in - but a more reliable method is the 1:1.5 extraction method which better determines the actual pH and EC of the coco itself.
How To Test The Suitability of Coco Coir for Hydroponic Applications
You need to get an idea of the electrical conductivity and pH of your coco coir.
1.Take a handful of coco coir and put it in a bowl. For the most representative sample, take a pinch from different parts of the bag.
2.Mix with about 6 oz of di-mineralized (reverse-osmosis) water and leave for a few hours.
3.Mix again and measure the pH.
4.Strain off the coco coir so you are left with just the water. Measure the EC and pH of the water.
A good score is around 1.0 EC. (The lower the better.) 1.3 is acceptable.
The pH should read between 5.3 and 6.2.
Let's take a look at how this natural product should be prepared by the manufacturer. This is the biggest concern in selecting coco coir for hydroponics use. (Don't be tempted to use the 'ornamental variety' you sometimes find at your local garden center. This may still contain high levels of salt.) The outer fibers of the coconut are removed by soaking them in water. This soaking process involves either the use of fresh water or, more commonly, the use of tidal water which can be very high in salt. As coco coir has an excellent cation exchange ability it tends to hold onto things like salt which, when used in a hydroponic or indoor set up, can wreak havoc on your plants. Good quality, hydroponic grade coco coir will have not have a high salt content, but you should always flush it through with a low EC nutrient solution before use until no more tannins are coming out. Tannins can easily be seen as they stain or color the water brown. Some indoor gardeners check to see if the PPM of the water coming out of the coco is the same as the water they're putting in - but a more reliable method is the 1:1.5 extraction method which better determines the actual pH and EC of the coco itself.
How To Test The Suitability of Coco Coir for Hydroponic Applications
You need to get an idea of the electrical conductivity and pH of your coco coir.
1.Take a handful of coco coir and put it in a bowl. For the most representative sample, take a pinch from different parts of the bag.
2.Mix with about 6 oz of di-mineralized (reverse-osmosis) water and leave for a few hours.
3.Mix again and measure the pH.
4.Strain off the coco coir so you are left with just the water. Measure the EC and pH of the water.
A good score is around 1.0 EC. (The lower the better.) 1.3 is acceptable.
The pH should read between 5.3 and 6.2.
Unclecrash
Member
I have a big ass tub (the biggest) from wallmart . I load it 3/4 full and spray with spinasad and close the top. Come back in a few days. Never seen anything crawling ever. Extra work ..yep. but compared to bugs in the tents whats an extra 3 minutes to mix and spray. Then I load up smarties and run a 3/4.5 flush through them in the bath tub (way less messy than soil) and then transplant. Superthrive helps at 1 drop per gal for plant stress. Works 4 me
I see a lot of people say a drop a gallon. I read it differently off the package. I don't have it in front of me but I think it's a drop a cup,1/4tsp per gallon. I could be wrong but at a drop a gallon it don't seem like it would do much. I have been mixing it1/4 tsp a gal and use it as foliar spray and for rooting too.
Weeded1s
Member
Use superthrive 1 drop per gallon .. no more. Do not use as a foliar. And cut out during flower. I only really use it when cloneing...if then. Sometimes I use 1 drop per liter (thats when clonening) but that stuff is soo strong and ive seen wacky leaf formation structure due to too much. Carefull when adding hormones.
stevewinthrop
Member
I've always used it as directed and on the bottle it says to use 1/4 tsp per gallon.
http://superthrive.com/mobile/applications.html
1 drop per gallon is not enough to do anything.
i didn't know it had hormones in it. i bought a bottle like a year or 2 ago. it smells like pee or something gross and vegetable oil. i've been using like 4 drops+ a gallon and watering with every watering when i needed more nitrogen but short acting.
haven't noticed anything weird though. in fact i'm not even sure it's nothing more than snake oil.
haven't noticed anything weird though. in fact i'm not even sure it's nothing more than snake oil.
I respectfully disagree. 1/4 tsp per gallon may not cause issues but I feel is probably way more than is necessary. I probably use 1/2 tsp for a whole 18 gallon mix, and only use it occasionally during veg. During cloning I will add 1 drop per 16 oz of water and let my cuttings sit in that water while I prepare my cloning station and while I am doing the razor slicing and placement of the clones.
Nutrient manufacturers love to double the application rate. Just look at all the people burning their plants trying to run 2.0-3.0 EC following the directions on the bottle.
Superthrive contains vitamin B1 as well as 1-Naphthyl acetic acid, aka NAA, which is a rooting hormone. Combining NAA with another rooting product containing IBA has been shown to decrease cloning time as well as increase root formation and mass. Vitamin B1 is supposed to help with plant stress.
I have no conclusive results to show myself, but the research is readily available to anyone with access to Google.
1/3 - 1 mil per gallon in my clone solution. works fine no issues with wacky leaves.
i've got some cloning powder around here somewhere once i find the bottle i'll try using it with ST on my next clones. i can't be sure what helped me finally root something in a rapid rooter, i was hittin em with superthrive, kelp and a moisture dome. one or all those helped these clones root.
Unclecrash
Member
Yup that's how I read it. And use it. I read in Snype's thread on cloningsomeone figured he was using it in his solution @ least 3 times the recommended strength and his formula is popping roots in 3 days.
My last run I took cuts with scissors and trimmed off the lower nodes with said scissors. I dropped them into my cups with rooting media (growstones) and they rooted. No slicing the stem or rooting powder or superthive. Just some tap water once a day.
Not exactly rocket science going on over here.
i know how to take clones, i just use plain dirt and water most of the time. i had to go through all these to root clones in a rapid rooter. typically i just put several cuts into a pot of dirt and cover. in a week or so they should all be rooted. the end.
