Choosing the right compressed coco coir

J

JamesMacGill

New member

• May 14, 2017

• #1

Hey guys, I need some insight on compressed coco coir bales. I have access to 4 brands and I don't really know which one to choose, the brands are:

GH Cocotek
Botanicare cocogro
Roots organic
Coco bliss premium

I would like to know, in your experience, which one of these is worth buying. I'm looking for the standard very low ec, stable pH, adequately aged, clean and safe for seedlings out of the bag coco coir.
It has to be one of these 4 as I have to order online and the re hydrated brands cost way to much in shipping charges.
I know that bot GH and Botanicare are supposed to be very good but I also heard of some troubling consistency problems with'em, with high ec/salt, pebbles and chunks, etc.
Roots organics seems pretty nice but i can't find much recent reviews. As for coco bliss, it seems to be a very good coir but I can't find reviews.

Any help/experience sharing is appreciated.
Cheers.
James.

 

Cameltom

Member

• May 14, 2017

• #2

I wash all my bricked coco.

 

P

prune

Active member

Veteran

• May 14, 2017

• #3

Ive used the Botanicare for decades and have only received one bad brick (must have been the compressed fines from the bottom of the run). Otherwise, I prefer it for the reliable texture and porosity.

 

ChaosCatalunya

5.2 club is now 8.1 club...

Veteran

• May 15, 2017

• #4

if you can, why not "spread the risk" ... buy 2 or 3 brands, label, test.. that way if one is poor, you have not ruined a whole crop, or used an inferior brand...but you know which it was and can avoid.

 

J

JamesMacGill

New member

• May 15, 2017

• #5

Cameltom said:

I wash all my bricked coco.

Click to expand...

I will end up doing so if I am not happy with the ec I get when I re hydrate the first batch. I would still prefer to have a properly washed/buffered coco from the manufacturer out of principle (less water waste is never a bad thing).

prune said:

Ive used the Botanicare for decades and have only received one bad brick (must have been the compressed fines from the bottom of the run). Otherwise, I prefer it for the reliable texture and porosity.

Click to expand...

Cocogro seems like a serious contender indeed. I like the fact that it is properly aged for 18 months and washed with rain water. Yet, roots organics is aging its coco for 24 months in what seems to be similar conditions. I don't really know what those extra 6 months of composting do to the final product but both brands have very good reviews overall.
Plantonix coco bliss on the other hand claims to wash the heck out their coco and guaranties very low salt/ec in their final product but nobody talks about them anywhere and they don't say how long they age their coir.
I've read enough reviews on cocogro to know that, sadly, a non negligible percent of the users complain about high ec/salt which would be a nightmare to deal with in my micro grow so I am still on the fence.

ChaosCatalunya said:

if you can, why not "spread the risk" ... buy 2 or 3 brands, label, test.. that way if one is poor, you have not ruined a whole crop, or used an inferior brand...but you know which it was and can avoid.

Click to expand...

Your suggestion is wise but not practical in my case as I am an extreme micro grower, I do dwarf autos SoG in 0.4l pots, so it wouldn't be the best solution for me. One 5kg brick will probably last me a couple of years, therefor I'd prefer to pick the right one from the get go.

Thanks for all the help, guys, I'm still opened to more reviews/advise.
Cheers.
James.

 

Dropped Cat

Six Gummi Bears and Some Scotch

Veteran

• May 16, 2017

• #6

I use Sunleaves bricked coarse coco, much prep for me,
but I got time.

I grow micro, 0.4l pots.

I don't care for the luxury of ready for use coco, too many
folks been let down by the fast track, I rinse to EC 0.1, dry and sift,
then boil, chill and pre soak in EC 0.6

No bugs, no worries

 

CalMag

Well-known member

Veteran

• May 18, 2017

• #7

I think that the richest in long fibers with less "fine pieces/powder" is better.. then i use to wash it and precharge it with mineral nutes for coco and at the transplant add some michorrizae/trichoderma.

I use boiled water to hydrate it at the first step.

 

DJXX

Active member

Veteran

• May 18, 2017

• #8

Cocogro Botanicare...100% flawless product...used Sunleaves also with great luck...Cocogro worth every penny..DJXX

 

hyposomniac

Active member

• May 18, 2017

• #9

Switched between roots and cocotek b4 going canna route.
Most recent cocotek had a low runoff, 0.3 ec using .2 tap water, but had a shit-ton of superfines in it, and lots of fucking sand.
Roots generally had nicer fiberous texture.

Canna makes a nice brick coco if u can find it..

 

stoney917

i Am SoFaKiNg WeTod DiD

Veteran

• May 18, 2017

• #10

Why are these blocks becoming so popular???? Only benefit I can think of transport n maybe cost ... Even free I won't use them again...

 

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noodles05

Member

• May 18, 2017

• #11

Bricks are cheap & if you dont have a hydro store nearby, then its accesable.
I flush the heck out of it, in the shower, until what i am putting in equals what is coming out.
I then mix with potting mix & perlite to finnish.
Its cheap and works, but takes time & effort if your low on cash.

 

G

Grifagod

New member

• May 20, 2017

• #12

Coco brands

Coco brands

I've used many brands of coco. Mostly bagged, ready to use. Coco grow and general hydroponics seemed to be full of sand. When reusing it, and flushing it well, there was a LOT of sand left on the plastic.
I now use a cheap brand called "grow it" with better results. The grow it comes in 2.5 cu. ft. Bales. Didn't get ANY sand when flushing it. Also, plants are healthier than any grow before them.
I mix all coco 50-50 with perlite. Otherwise, the coco holds too much moisture and takes too long between feedings, it doesn't dry out quick enough.
Also, i have NEVER charged coco and never had problems. I add calmag at every watering but quit the calmag after third week of flowering.
The pics are of my veg room. They are papaya, wh.rhino, choc. Cream, truthband, and ak47. Combined seed plants and clones.
Would have pics but just joined this forum and have no idea how to get pics on here.

 

O

omgwt

Member

• May 29, 2017

• #13

i like ugro rhizo, worked just fine for me the past few grows. you could use the plastic bags they come in as pots or repot into something more solid if you need to die plants down to the pot or want another size pot (theyre like 1 gal or 4L)

 

S

Sorceror

Member

• Jun 18, 2017

• #14

I've been using Earth safe coco earth and this run I haven't even washed it, just precharged. I hope I don't run into any problems. Anyone run this stuff? It's in Canada.

 

mean mr.mustard

I Pass Satellites

Veteran

• Jun 30, 2017

• #15

CocoGro is the best I've tried. I still wash it but really not as much as many.

I have popped beans and rooted cuts in it.

Those two things didn't work so well with GH's brick.

 

S

Stond_Face

Member

• Jul 14, 2017

• #16

Hi All,

At this point, i suppose i have been through about 100 5kg bricks, from a few manufacturers.
I like Botanicare cocogro best. The particle size is consistant. And, cocogro does not spontaneously grow mold or fungus when i store the expanded coco in a closed tote for a few weeks. I do have that trouble with some GH bricks.

I can not seem to be able to root cuts in coco that has any mold so the mold thing was a real problem for me.

My current routine...I have a access to my water heater that is close to the grow.
Recently, i started to hydrate my 5kg bricks with 140F water directly from the heater.
Then, I flush tens of gallons of tap water through it until the EC is like 0 to 0.2.
Then, I pour 5 gallons of 1.4 EC nute solution ( with calmag )on the coco and let that soak for hours.
I have not been doing the hot water thing for very long now, but I believe that stopped the mold growth problem. And, it for sure kills any gnat eggs in the brick.