coco is a natural medium, but it grows like a hydroponic medium and still if done right, you can achieve a taste thats very close to superb earth grown product. the fact that you can use the coco slabs for 4 or even 5 harvests is another very telling point in it's favor. when you grow in coco you are growing in a natural renewable resource. the coir is like the perfect medium for plants, they love it. but best of all it is so very simple, no air stones no chillers etc. it's as easy as growing in earth but as fast as growing in hydro.

I'd like to know how you can use a medium for 4 or even 5 harvests. I'm currently in rockwool and am intersted in switching. I realize salt buildup accelerates as the medium gets drier but there is still salt buildup. I guess this partly depends on the nutes used...I'm currently using GH nutes. Also...how do you deal with the root mass that develops in the coco slabs when reusing them? Maybe I'm misunderstanding things.

As for not aerating the res I thought, new to hydro, that part of the reason for aerating the res was to help control bad bacteria?

Another reason I'd like to get away from rockwool is I'd like to use something like Botanicare's PBP. In this case the plan would be to use bacterial/fungal supplementation and from what I understand coco is bacteria friendly. I'm also looking at putting a biofilter (like a 5 gallon bucket filled with aquarium type Bio Balls) in the system as a bacteria reactor of sorts.

As for nutrients anyone interested in letting me know what they're using please PM me as I'm researching what to switch to.

Thanx...

[gaiusmarius]

Hey bonecarver, for pics of my watering equipment check back to page two. it shows my pump and inline filter as well as the black ldpe hose i use and the blue compression connectors, that can be got in T pieces and L pieces for corners as well as end pieces to block off the end. you then have the black pipe coming to the middle of your table and you add as many holes as you need drippers and stick the spaghetti lines in and you're done. my dripper lines are only 75cm, so for a 2 meter wide table i had to make to main pipes. so i had it come up from the tank to the middle of the first table then down the middle to the end, from there a left turn to the next table middle and then back again and an end pice to cap it. but some of those spaghetti drippers i've seen recently were 1 meter long so you could even water the whole 2 meter wide table with one main black line down the middle.

Hey Redux,

that's the cool thing about my way of growing in coco. i use the medium for at least 2 runs, this time i'm just finishing my third go with the same set of coco slabs. basically i use a zym product the whole time in my nutrient tank. this is permanently dissolving left over salts and breaking down dead roots. the coco is very active in terms of beneficials, so with only a little encouragement you can re use the coco many times.

if you were to veg for 2 weeks in the coco slabs, then you might only get 2 runs out of them as they are not that big. but in a normal see of green garden you only have to veg a few days in the actual coco slabs and your plants end up around about 1 meter when full grown. using this system i can reuse the coco 4 times easy. 2 times in the first 4 holes i cut in the new slabs. then another 2 runs in the 4 holes i cut in between the first set of holes. i always plant in chess board pattern. i know people who have used the same slabs for 7 grows. it's a hydroponic medium but has a lot of advantages of bio with non of the fuss and bother. the only thing that limits you is the pests that tend to come after a few runs. mainly gnat larva. although you can treat them and i do, at this point i will start to think how to get new slabs organized for next time.

if you go to coco, you would be best off going for some coco specific nutrients. canna's A+B for coco, really makes life easy and allows you to get a fine harvest without any other products if you use it right. adding the zym product is advisable for coco reuse. some flower booster like pk13/14 is also no bad thing when added at the right time and dose. both canna and hesi make great coco nutes and zym products, hesi is slightly cheaper.

Right now I'm also using Diamond Nectar and Kool Bloom. Are these contraindicated for coco? I've heard that Kool Bloom tends to leave a fairly heavy salt buildup as compared to other nutes/additives.

As for not aerating the res...I still don't get that one. I believe you that you don't need to but I would think no aeration is unhealthy for the res itself...ya know that old adage...problems start in the res? This just goes against what I've been taught and learned about hydro and rockwool slabs. I'm sure coco provides much better aeration than rockwool.

I'm sure this is buried someplace but how is it possible to run higher root zone temps with coco? What is it about coco?

One last question...for now...is there a big dif between using slabs and just buying pressed coco blocks and using it in pots or filling a tray? I was thinking about the possibility of just filling a tray with coco fiber thus giving the plants the maximum potential area for root growth. When a cycle was done I could just pull the root mass out and top off with fresh coco. I know this thread is about slabs but I'm just looking at options.

Right now I use cycle feedings through spaghetti lines into rockwool slabs. Seems like the switch to coco could go pretty smoothly...maybe.

EDIT - Oh yeah...I was not aware that aeration caused phosphorous depletion. Instead of down couldn't you just use a high P fert to acidify things?

Have you ever played with something like Nitrozyme in coco? I was pretty much organic in soil before starting the hydro thing recently. The soilless mix I used was mainly coco. Should I treat straight coco similar to a soilless mix? The mix I've used was fairly heavily ammended with things like perlite, guano, greensand, etc.

[gaiusmarius]

Originally Posted by Redux

Right now I'm also using Diamond Nectar and Kool Bloom. Are these contraindicated for coco? I've heard that Kool Bloom tends to leave a fairly heavy salt buildup as compared to other nutes/additives.

anything leaving a heavy salt build up, should be used sparingly if at all.

As for not aerating the res...I still don't get that one. I believe you that you don't need to but I would think no aeration is unhealthy for the res itself...ya know that old adage...problems start in the res? This just goes against what I've been taught and learned about hydro and rockwool slabs. I'm sure coco provides much better aeration than rockwool.

it's all part of the beauty of coco as a medium. you don't need to have an air stone in the tank. but only when used with drippers to water with. a ebb and flow would probably need aerated water i'd imagine. but with drippers it's pointless as the water collects so much air on the way to the plants through the drip system that aerating the tank would change nothing. it makes it a true pleasure to work with. no water cooler no air stones and pumps, just a tank with nutrient solution that gets used up bit by bit when the pump runs till it's close to empty when you refill it.

I'm sure this is buried someplace but how is it possible to run higher root zone temps with coco? What is it about coco?

it's not that you can run higher root zone temps as such, it's just that coco has natural stuff in it that will not allow root rot to start, which means even if the temps get high, the coco will keep the plants in good shape. in that way it's more like earth, the coco it's self protects the roots.

by watering only a few times a day, you avoid the pump heating up the water, like it does in nft or aero. hence you don't need a water chiller. as for air that is supplied in great abundance by each drop of water as it enters the slabs as well as by the coco's own amazing air retention capacity.

One last question...for now...is there a big dif between using slabs and just buying pressed coco blocks and using it in pots or filling a tray? I was thinking about the possibility of just filling a tray with coco fiber thus giving the plants the maximum potential area for root growth. When a cycle was done I could just pull the root mass out and top off with fresh coco. I know this thread is about slabs but I'm just looking at options.

no there is no difference, using coco in pots or as a bed, also works great with drippers. the only thing to watch for with cheaper coco, is the high initial salt levels. but if you flush your coco before use you will be fine even with cheap stuff.

Right now I use cycle feedings through spaghetti lines into rockwool slabs. Seems like the switch to coco could go pretty smoothly...maybe.

yep, thats a perfect setup for coco, just use coco slabs instead of rock wool slabs?

EDIT - Oh yeah...I was not aware that aeration caused phosphorous depletion. Instead of down couldn't you just use a high P fert to acidify things?

yes indeed this is a good point, your ph will keep raising if you aerate your nutrient solution. you do normally add phosphoric acid as ph minus.

Have you ever played with something like Nitrozyme in coco? I was pretty much organic in soil before starting the hydro thing recently. The soilless mix I used was mainly coco. Should I treat straight coco similar to a soilless mix? The mix I've used was fairly heavily ammended with things like perlite, guano, greensand, etc.

no i only ever sprayed it on young vegging plants. but i don't spray anymore unless i have to. as far as the soiless mix. it's either one or the other. straight coco can not be treated the same way as it can if you mix it with all kind of supplements.

to me you either use a good earth mix with all the additives including some 20 to 30% coco. which you treat like a standard earth grow. or you use straight coco, which is inert and needs everything to be added. coco specific nutes take all the guess work out of things.

Thanx mucho Gaiusmarius . I'm gonna dig through all the threads in this section before getting back to you.

[Dalton]

Hey what's up Gaius,
got a couple of questions for ya.
I'm pondering rolling my own slabs because all we have around here are the GH slabs and I heard they are garbage. I found sleaves to resleave rockwool slabs(if that makes any sense to ya) and I'm thinking about packing them up with the coco from the profit discs. How big are the drainage holes in the canna slabs? and where are they? And what's the texture of the coco in the canna slabs, is it more hairs or coir?
Oh one more thing. I couldn't get 1/8 inch lines so I got the 1/4 inch lines and barbs they didn't have a hole punch so what do you think would work well to tap into the feed lines. Sorry man none of this is metric. Thanks- Dalton

[gaiusmarius]

the slabs have holes on one side the bottom,lol. the holes are about the size of a pencil, make two rows of holes in the bottom of each slab. as for the slabs, the stuff inside is very lose. in fact when it's well moist it looks and feels very much like earth. there are hardly any hairs.

as for the holes, get yourself one of those hole punchers for leather, and turn the wheel to the size you want and use it to punch the hole you need. let me dig up a pic.

edited to add the pic:

Hey gaius, have ya heard anything through the grapevine about these Canna COGr slabs? https://www.canna.nl/english/index1.html

[Farmer John]

I have a few slabs somewhere here, maybe I'll give it a try, do I get any success with GH Flora series?

[1KindPup]

I would like to start by adding some more thanks to all the contributors of this thread, especially gaiusmarius. It seems that you have a very good understanding of growing in coco. This has always been my idea of the ideal system, but a few factors have limited me to simple and cheap soil growing setups, until now. I believe that I am finally ready to venture out into the world of coco, and have a decent idea of the setup that I intend to build.


I would like to hear any constructive criticism or any ideas that would help me with my setup, as I have learned everything I know about growing from free online web forums. Something about that satisfies me; to know that I don't have to pay $5 for a copy of High Times or some other magazine designed around selling products, but instead I can discuss these topics with people I have never even met and yield extraordinary results. Again, I thank everyone who has had a positive impact towards our community.


Here is my grand idea:

Grow Cabinet: Mill's Pride C-24 Wardrobe Closet, 47"wide x 20"deep x 60"tall (growing space)

Lights: Veg: 324w T5 daylight. Flower: 300w HPS + 216w T5 warm.

Growing trays: "Dutch Leech Tray"

Coco Blocks: "Boss Block 6" "

Nutrients: Canna Coco

Strains: Bogglegum, MK Ultra, Strawberry Cough, NL.

Drip System: Pressure regulated drippers 2 per block, adequate water pump, runoff into separate tank.

I think that I will be able to figure out the watering needs and times, but I have a few questions:

Is there any recommended drip rate for the drippers? Faster drip/shorter cycle. Slower drip/longer cycle.

Will those 6" blocks be sufficient for full grown (2-3 ft. tall) plants? I am used to growing in soil and many of my plants become root bound in 1 gallon pots even before flowering, and those 6" blocks are smaller than those pots.

Also, I noticed in some pics on this thread that people are using those coco blocks on top of something else that looks like a coco slab of a larger size. I may be totally wrong here, but that may answer my previous question.

Again, any ideas or corrections are encouraged, and again I thank all of you who make this awesome practice possible.