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interested in coco

jojajico

Active member
Veteran
hey, up to now i have been just skipping over this forum, not really considering it as a possible medium for me to grow in. for whatever reason tonite i stoped in to take a look and yall have sparked my interest. now i read the sticky that said that do not treat coco like it is soil but my question is can u do an organic grow in it and will it support micro-organisms like soil can, beneficial bacteria like mycorrhizal? what exactly makes it a superior growing medium compared to soil? ive seen that some people have been getting better yeilds in coco than in soil so that is what has drawn my interest.
 

Dalton

Member
hey jojajico.
Coco can support beneficial bacteria and some of it even comes pre treated with it.
The amazing thing about coco is that can hold lots of water and air AT THE SAME TIME.
and it is super easy going. Maybe just run one plant in coco for now and see if you like it.

Good luck Dalton
 
G

Guest

yeah man give it a try, I trippled my yield the first time I went coco. Its much easier to control feeding cycles, since you can basically flush the medium several times a day.
 

jojajico

Active member
Veteran
wow trippled your yeilds impressive. im planning an experimentation cab to go sid e by side to my mane flowering cab i will def. give this a run and see if i should make this my main meduim. thanks guys.
 

jojajico

Active member
Veteran
i searched through the forum but didnt seem to find anything like a coco coir user guide lol. can anyone point me in the right direction?
 

jojajico

Active member
Veteran
did somemore research and found some good info i wanted to share.

"When coconuts are harvested a bi-product of the process is the fibrous husk of the fruit. From this husk coir fibre or coir dust is produced as a bi-product of extracting the long fibres.

This fibrous dust has been found to have a lot of beneficial properties for growers in both the conventional and hydroponics markets.


Coir peat is the binding material that comes from the fibre fraction of the coconut husk. This coir dust is graded and a special grade is screened, washed and processed into products for the agricultural and horticultural industries. Coir peat acts as a multi-purpose soil conditioner and growing medium. Its texture is consistent and uniform and it is a completely homogenous material. Coco coir is composed of millions of capillary micro-sponges that absorb and hold up to nine times it's own weight in water. It has a natural pH of 5.7 to 6.5, plus an unusually high Cation Exchange Capacity and 27% of easily available water. All this ensures that coir peat will hold and release nutrients in solution over an extended period of time without rewatering.

Used as a growing medium or as a potting medium coco coir peat outperforms most of the popular brands of peat and sphagnum peats. This also has the added benefit of reducing the destruction of valuable peat bogs and wetland marshes worldwide where peat moss is currently mined for horticultural use.

It has been observed by the Hydroponic and Horticulture Industries that plants grown using coir develop larger roots, stems and blooms. This is because unlike ordinary soil, which is easily compacted, coco coir peat provides more air spaces and aeration for plant roots, giving rise to a greater oxygen uptake by the plant. Also, because it can retain moisture, up to nine times its own volume, while still maintaining excellent air filled porosity,the provision of vital nutrients to the roots and soil is greatly enhanced. Coco coir peat has a naturally high lignin content which encourages favorable micro-organisms around the root zone. Overall, this results in better plant growth and higher yeilds.

Due to it's fibrous and sponge-like structure coco coir peat is ideal for soil conditioning, whether to aid moisture retrention in sandy areas, or to help lighten heavy clay soils. It is by far the most effective and economical way to revitalise degraded soils without the risk of contamination. Having a slow degradation rate, it conditions the soil and promotes the development of an optimum pH level. Coco coir peat has been universally accepted as an excellent plant growth substrate as well as a soil additive.

Coco coir peat will last three times as long as Peat Moss and Sphagnum Moss. It is hydrophilic, meaning it will re-wet easily without the use of chemical wetting agents and it is capable of holding and releasing nutrients over a period."

http://hydroponics-gardening-information.com/Coco.html
 

jojajico

Active member
Veteran
o almost forgot for those of you who dont know what "high Cation Exchange Capacity" is, it is the measure of fertility in soil (or in this case coco coir). i had to look it up lol so ill save some of you the leg work.
 
B

bonecarver_OG

nice post mate :D :D this is a good introduction to coco as a medium :joint:
peace :D
 
Last edited:

jojajico

Active member
Veteran
its def on my list of things to do which have to do with weed lol. kinda feel stupid for skipping over this forum all this time. o well live and learn.
 

jojajico

Active member
Veteran
what about adding organic soil admendments to it like you would soil. can i add bat guano and hydrated dolomite lime as i would in soil? does it mix well with other substrates?
 

gaiusmarius

me
Veteran
yes you can, just make your normal full power earth mix with the whole works, guano, worm casting blood and bone meal etc, then add about 30% coco to that earth mix and that's it, treat like any soil grow, adding slightly more nutes as needed.

and yes it's made for beneficials. coco and beneficials like trichoderma and mycorrhizal work really well together.

when i posted that you shouldn't treat coco like earth, i was talking about pure coco specially. but if used as a supplement for the soil, it's an other story. even if you would treat coco like a soil grow, it would still give you a harvest, but to reach the full petential of coco, it needs to be treated like a hydroponic medium in terms of watering. anyway, you will find loads of threads with info about coco and guides to using it, try searching "coco guide" inside this forum.

here is a link or two for ya:

every thing you ever wanted to know about canna coco slabs

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=49771

coco guide anyone:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=47003

info about canna lose coco in bags:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=49764
 
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