What's new

sterlizing coco

D

doctor.dank

Member
Hey guys, I've had problems with Root Aphids and I want to avoid them in the future. I imagine I got them from grow store botanicare coco.

Whats the easiest and quickest method to sterilize coco a few bags of coco at a time?

Thanks for the input.
 
SecondAttempt

SecondAttempt

Active member
Skip the bags get blocks, throw them in the oven... my oven holds 2. However the compressing process evidently uses steam so they should already be sterile.

If you wanna use bags find a friend that works at a pizza shop that can bake the coir after hours or build yourself a solar oven in the back yard.
 
Z

Ziggaro

^^^

I don't use an oven though just hot water to break it up and RO+ 400 ppm grow nutrients to flush
 
GrowerGoneWild

GrowerGoneWild

Active member
Veteran
If I was to sterilize coco, I would find a large insulated container, like a cooler or something like that and pour boiling water over it, and try to get it at least 160F. (use a non contact IR thermometer to check) And try to let it cool as slowly as possible.

I guess you could hydrate it and "cook" it in the microwave or oven but the blocks I buy are compressed and I'll fire up my electric kettle and pour boiling water over the block.
 
Loc Dog

Loc Dog

Hobbies include "drinkin', smokin' weed, and all k
Veteran
I had no problems with last grow, except fungus gnats. Beginning of flower used gnatrol, which did not do the job. Having air-pots does not help, with holes everywhere for them to enter. Started mosquito dunks 5 weeks before harvest, an they were completely gone by end.

I have run all coir through strainer, and only have minor roots in coir. No visible signs of bugs.

Are there any beneficial micro-organisms in the re-used coir?

Would I lose anything by running boiling water through it?

Will definetly use mosquito dunks everytime.
 
Dropped Cat

Dropped Cat

Six Gummi Bears and Some Scotch
Veteran
doctor.dank said:
Hey guys, I've had problems with Root Aphids and I want to avoid them in the future. I imagine I got them from grow store botanicare coco.

Whats the easiest and quickest method to sterilize coco a few bags of coco at a time?

Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...


I grow micro, and I soak my bricked Sunleaves Chunk
first to expand it, and flush it to EC 0.1

After that I bring to boil a large stock pot of water
and process a few handfuls of the coco at a time,
maybe in the water 4-5 minutes. I use a wok spider
to remove the boiled coco and transfer it to a tub
of room temperature water.

If you used two stock pots at a time I'm sure you
could get the results you need quickly.

Time in prep to kill bugs before they appear, to me,
is worth the time spent.
 
Dr.King

Dr.King

Member
Veteran
Loc Dog said:
I had no problems with last grow, except fungus gnats. Beginning of flower used gnatrol, which did not do the job. Having air-pots does not help, with holes everywhere for them to enter. Started mosquito dunks 5 weeks before harvest, an they were completely gone by end.

I have run all coir through strainer, and only have minor roots in coir. No visible signs of bugs.

Are there any beneficial micro-organisms in the re-used coir?

Would I lose anything by running boiling water through it?

Will definetly use mosquito dunks everytime.
Click to expand...

Gnats are easy man. Always top your medium with atleast 2 inches of regular sand if having problems with bugs. No bugs after that will be able to lay their eggs on the sand as it is way to hot for the eggs to hatch or live. Hope this helps man.
 
Loc Dog

Loc Dog

Hobbies include "drinkin', smokin' weed, and all k
Veteran
Dr.King said:
Gnats are easy man. Always top your medium with atleast 2 inches of regular sand if having problems with bugs. No bugs after that will be able to lay their eggs on the sand as it is way to hot for the eggs to hatch or live. Hope this helps man.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

Barrier methods do not work with airpots. There are hundreds of holes on sides, and bottom is almost completely open. Fungus gnats are not my concern, since mosquito dunks create bacteria that eats them from inside.

I am trying to be proactive, and avoid and microscopic pests that could become an issue in future. Most people I know, throw it away and start fresh. Wondering if it is disadvantageous to re-use.
 
whatthe215

whatthe215

Active member
Veteran
Don't buy botanicare loose coco.

Canna seemed better than botanicare, but I've since switched to Gold Label coco. Nice and clean, consistent low runoff ppm out of the bag.

Sterilizing with bleach won't kill gnats/aphids I don't think... but I do run 'sterile' coco full cycle. Keeps roots fresh which means no food for gnats to be attracted to. 2ml/TEN gallons every watering. You can use up to 4ml/TEN gallons to knock back a light pythium infection.
 
CoCoSativas

CoCoSativas

Active member
MoPho said:
Light bleach solution. For root aphids you can mix mosquito dunk bits into your coco.
Click to expand...

Soooo I did that, it works but its way more effective to soak the dunk in your rez in a teabag... if you handwater when you inflate your coco pour in nutrient solution that had dunk soaking in it, goodby fungus gnats and all sorts or flying pest... the problem with adding dunks as ammendment or topdress is they have to be wet al the time and do way better dispersing into your water as they were designed to be used.

Id skip the bleach or peroxide... kills the trichoderma... dont want to pay for more..

I just leave a dunk in my mixing jug. I use a 3 gal jug I shake up and use over two days. I just shoved a dunk in there so it wont come out. I dont want the gnats coming back they reallk screwed my shit up. Once this dunk is toast im probably fine for a while but if they come back I still have most of the pack. I didnt need to use a whole one but I dont want it coming out the top of the jug its one from the top of a water dispenser. Its perfect size for two days so I only mix every second day and my mix is always fresh.
 
CoCoSativas

CoCoSativas

Active member
stevewinthrop said:
Recipe for fire
Click to expand...

Agreed. Other potential hazards... coco contains tannins I dont really think its safe to just do things with coco without considering possible reactions. Im not saying microwaving will cause any problem related to tannins but im not a science expert and therefore dont conduct experiments in my home.

Ive also neaver owned a microwave I dont like them. Took my wife getting used to but they are a waste of money and ruin food so I just cook everything fresh... not related to the topic but im high and feel like blabbing..
 
M

marrdogg

Member
Veteran
stevewinthrop said:
Recipe for fire
Click to expand...

If your coco is moist going in then NO, no fire. Dude do you honestly think I would tell someone to do something that I haven't done many times in past? Instead of coming in with that half assed remark you should have at least added something productive to the thread.

PEACE!
 
S

stevewinthrop

Member
marrdogg said:
If your coco is moist going in then NO, no fire. Dude do you honestly think I would tell someone to do something that I haven't done many times in past? Instead of coming in with that half assed remark you should have at least added something productive to the thread.

PEACE!
Click to expand...

Hey man, chill, loose coco is dry, you didn't say to get it wet first. I was just saying that putting coco from the bag unto the microwave will get you a fire, which will kill everything as well, but it will cause a fire for sure. Maybe next time you could say "get it wet then put in the microwave for 10 minutes". You think people are smart enough to figure that out, but not everyone is
 
Asslover

Asslover

Member
Veteran
Gnatrol works wherever Mosquito dunks do, they have the same ingredient.
However, neither works for root aphids. Which i seriously doubt you got from a new bag of Botanicare coco...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top