Welshwizzard
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I'm def going to use an empty pot when I change up in a week. Never thought of it and its so simple!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Yes, it's fine to use. You can let it dry out, too, if you like, but obviously you'll have to rehydrate it.I got one of the 5k (11lb) bricks of G.H. CocoTek and it says to add 9 Gal. of h2o to hydrate it! The Botanicare 5k brick says to add 3 gal. I think.. I thought this was alot, but I went with it anyway. I broke off 1lb of dry coco and used 1.2 gal of h2o charged with cal/mag, a bit of FloraBlend and a drop or 2 of Superthrive. My problem is that I only used a bit of it and the rest I put in a 3.5gal Hydrofarm bucket with a lid on it, its Black and the lid is almost like rubber so it seals damn near air tight, but with that much water its still wet in there and that was over 3 weeks ago.. I mean the coco holds all the moisture in so until you grab some and squeeze you cant tell how wet it really is, but IDK.. It smells fine and i dont see anything growing in it like mold or anything so it should be ok to use still right??
Yes, it's fine to use. You can let it dry out, too, if you like, but obviously you'll have to rehydrate it.
It may begin to grow mold on it, what you'll observe will likely be a thin, white covering. That is likely a beneficial type of mold, assuming it doesn't concurrently smell musty, or sulfuric (hydrogen sulfide smell means it's become anaerobic). You can add in beneficial microorganisms, and they'll keep it cycling and healthy, too, though mycorrhizal fungi will not be among them--they require live roots to live and grow.
when i re-hydrate coco i use tap h20 and once it is hydrated ill then wash/flush it b/c i buy cheap sunleaves coco bricks.
to flush it i use a 5 gal bucket w/holes drilled in the bottom, fill w wet coco and let water hose flush it real good. during the wash ill use another 5 gal bucket to press excess h20 out then continue to flush. i press excess h2o out before i put it in a large tote until i need it. i like to keep turning over the coco so the top dry layer mixes w/ the moist bottom layer to prevent it from smelling funky. once dry ill put the lid on and i do not pre-charge w/ANY nutes b/c it gets stored and used a lil bit at a time......ill moisten coco to be used w/nutes as i use it.
be careful but id think its ok.......you should be able to see any mold and jmo but i would toss any that does have mold. if its just anerobic id re-flush it good and maybe pre charge w/some h202.
peace
It's a rotten egg smell. If it has a foul smell, then it's likely gone anaerobic and needs some O2 in there to kill off the microbes that are producing the smell.
Being organic or certified doesn't mean it's not free of salt. I would do a slurry test of EC at least.
Edit: Yes, it's possible to still use it. You have to get it aerated again, oxygenated, that kills off the anaerobes for the most part. It's something I've only done by spreading out in the sunlight, not used H2O2, but that ought to work. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure of what amount you should use.
Being organic or certified doesn't mean it's not free of salt. I would do a slurry test of EC at least.
Edit: Yes, it's possible to still use it. You have to get it aerated again, oxygenated, that kills off the anaerobes for the most part. It's something I've only done by spreading out in the sunlight, not used H2O2, but that ought to work. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure of what amount you should use.
Yeah, once it dries out that should both kill the bad microbes and help bring up O2 levels in the media. I would still use some hydrogen peroxide, and use your NOSE once you do moisten it again, keep the sniffer out for any bad smells that would indicate a problem.I spread that coco out over some plastic in my garage with a 20" box fan blowing over it and my garage cracked, and where Im at its about 98-100F outside so my garage is even hotter with dry hot arid ass air running over it do you think this will work to get rid of the anaerobic shit?
ill always have something to learn and thats the great part about this community, so many knowledgeable growers willing to help.
i wish i could say 100% try it b/c it will work but its your call. i may experiment w/1 plant but no more than i could stand to loose. root health is vital and starting off w/an anaerobic medium is no good so keep that in mind.
good luck and keep us all informed.
peace
Yeah, once it dries out that should both kill the bad microbes and help bring up O2 levels in the media. I would still use some hydrogen peroxide, and use your NOSE once you do moisten it again, keep the sniffer out for any bad smells that would indicate a problem.
I hate waste, so if I were in your same position I would be doing what I could to clean it up.
When my back objected to the bucket method of rinsing, I switched to an old fitted sheet and have never looked back. My neighbors look at me oddly when I'm rinsing a sheet-ful of whatever it is, but then they're accustomed to odd birds...