A couple of Basic questions on Coco

[Welshwizzard]

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!

 

[KersD]

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??

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

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

 

[Seamaiden]

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.

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.

 

[KersD]

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.

thanks alot, although Im not familiar with the smell of hydrogen sulfide.. I guess i should change my avatar pic cuz Im realizing now that it looks like I'm saying "I grew this" when I didnt. (I just found a nice pic of the cut I think Im growing.LOL) What Im sayin is that Im a "Noob".. but back to the topic, I just opened up that bucket which I realize now has been more like a month since I put it in there. Looked really really hard at the top layer for anything Unusual or moving haha, I did see a teeny tiny little white spot, and i scoped it with my 40x and it is in fact some type of mold. Looks like little spider webs.. but thats the only place I saw that. started turning it over a bit with my hands and realized of course that the bottom layer has stayed completely sopping wet where as the top was not nearly as wet. It does smell different down there, I caught a whif of something foul for a sec. so I think im just gonna toss it. It would have just been much easier to do my upcoming transplant with the stuff I already have.

 

[Seamaiden]

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.

 

[KersD]

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

Thank you. This stuff says "100% Organic Premium Coco Coir" OMRI cerified. so Im pretty sure I dont need to Flush it like that, As long as I pre-charge w/ some Ca/Mg I should be good, is what I understand. But thanks for the tip on flushing if I ever do need to.. I AM going to use your method of keeping the lid OFF this time and just keep turning it till it dries up, THEN I'll put a lid on. LOL, Rookie Mistake.

 

[KersD]

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.

So are you saying its possible to still use if I just get some H202 or something and throw some in? If so, How much and in what way?

 

[Seamaiden]

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.

 

[KersD]

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.

Ohhh Ok I understand. Thank you for sticking with me and being patient LOL, All this over 1 lousy pound of coco. But more about what you said about an E.C. test of slurry. I would be looking for a 0.0 reading to be free of having to flush first? Is this what you mean?

 

[KersD]

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.

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?

 

[KersD]

Anybody out there that has read the past few of my posts and replys from SeaMaiden, does anyone know If what Im doing now with the coco as said in my previous reply will take care of the problem? And if so, Do I have to let it dry completely out before I know its ok to use?

 

[Welshwizzard]

I've no idea sorry Kers, but I love how this thread has opened up a new world to what I knew before! If this is still basic then holy moly I need to read epic amounts.

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

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

 

[Seamaiden]

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?

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.

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

im w/Seamaiden's suggestions.


the hydrogen peroxide H2O2 will degrade to O2 but i do not know the ammt per gal to use for your situation but your dry method should be good.


peace

 

[KersD]

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

Thanks man, i dried it to almost completely dry over about an 8 hour period while Having it spread to no more than 1 inch thick anywhere and turning it over MULTIPLE times... I honestly thought there would be no way for anything anaerobic to stay alive in there with how much o2 the entire medium got when I put it back in the bucket last night, but now that I see this there's no way I can use it!! Reason being, I only have 2 plants and they're my first 2 babies EVER! One of them Im trying to Mumsai so shes not getting flowered, but the other one Im planning on flowering and Its in need of a transplant any min here. Im not positive, but Im pretty sure its gonna start showing signs of root bound soon. Something I DON'T want! I have just barely been able to nurse them back to health after a SERIOUS mag. deficiency and I need to make sure everything from here on out goes smooth with her so I can see if she's even worth my fucking time. Supposedly its SVF OG, I got 2 clones from a dispensary and they were COMPLETELY purple stalks when I bought them, not to mention the little bit older one looked totally Fried. Im thinking they were just dumping straight tap water over the clones that were living in the shop for about a week in CLEAR 6oz cups.. Im rambling, you can see all this in my thread titled "Mag deficiency in SFV OG". ANYWAY, my point is I cant take the chance with this one girl I have.. She's my baby and I love her.. Thank you for the help tho, I really appreciate it.

 

[KersD]

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.

I won't waste it,but I won't be using it with my babies now. As you can see from my reply to "SSH" above. As far as the H202 or peroxide I want to add my great white when I transplant and I want IT to live well, so in the process of killing the bad shit I dont wanna kill my good shit. Thank you again SeaMaiden for ALL of your help, between the few threads you've already helped me out tons! I studied quite extensively before starting this endeavor, but there's nothing like experience. So, I will put the coco in question to good use but I will be breaking another lb off my brick or just hydrate the whole thing now that I know how to store it, Correctly! LOL

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

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...

great idea and much easier on the back.

your post reminded me of using a pillow case on the next wash i do.


peace