Cleaning Method for Coco

I’ve been using coco for years, mostly Canna Coco or Botanicare brands. I use it in a blend of 70/30 coco/perlite for a container garden. The coco I’m using now is the same coco I’ve used in my last ten grows. I thought I would share my method of cleaning the coco for reuse.
GS

Step 1 The first step to cleaning actually begins 2 weeks prior to your harvest date. This is when I start to flush the medium prior to harvest. I flush for 2 weeks with plain water to eliminate the salts and nutes from the containers. I harvest the plant by cutting the stem just above the soil line.

Step 2 Next, I remove the stem and root ball from the container with my hands. I dump the container in a nursery flat and level it out.



Step 3 Using a chopstick, run it through and make circular patterns in the coco. This will remove the remaining roots from the coco by collecting them on the tip of the chopstick. Discard the roots and any other foreign matter.





Step 4 For the final step, I place the clean medium in a large, open container for storage until the next grow. Leaving it uncovered, keeps it dry.

Do you use any enzymes, like Hygrozyme? I've also seen those Canna bags advertised as "can be reused up to 3 times" or something. Does it really degrade after a few uses, or is the "up to 3 times" simply to get you to buy more?

Hi CT,
I use cannazym throughout my grow. The coco can be used over and over as long as you keep things clean. Canna's coco in the bags come ready to use, no buffer needed and great quality.
GS

great stuff GreenStreet

that's a great method to reuse the coco in pots. i don't even bother with the fine roots as the zym will turn them back into nutrients soon enough. in fact on my slab grow i just cut the old cube away and replace it with a new one, then the third run i will cut new holes in the slabs in between the old holes, this way i can do 2 more runs. but after 4 i usually get new slabs, although i know a guy who has been using the same slabs for close to two years now lol.

anyway great tip

Great read!

gaiusmarius said:

great stuff GreenStreet

i know a guy who has been using the same slabs for close to two years now lol.

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Holy cow. You would think that after that amount of time they would have released all of the nutes they hold and it would just be inert by that point.

coco is inert. that's the whole point. it's a hydroponic medium. you only have to chose to treat it that way. using a zym product all the time keeps the old roots and salt build up under control.