C
Canvas
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My Botanicare Cocogro, heavily amended with compost, has turned all moldy on me. Both batches.
Batch one, is full of Aspergillis. It is as salty as the sea, which is surely my fault; yet it also does not drain or dry out *at all*.
Mind you, this same batch did produce my best yield ever, 2 oz per sqft, in a DR80 tent with a 600 HPS bulb.
But that was because I filled the canopy by supercropping the plants, the soil/coco was hell to manage.
Batch two, is full of Pythium, and springtails and Fungus Gnats.
Now, the bad bugs and mold surely came from the manure, which was not pastureized. My Bad.
However, the pith is just junk, it does not clear or drain at all, and no amount of perlite will fix it.
All that moisture, and static air, is perfect for mold. Well, almost, the funny thing is, the first batch is so lacking in air, the Aspergillis can only grow on the very surface!
I had no idea how anyone was getting good results with this stuff.
Then I came across this stuff:
It's a block of pure chopped fiber, no pith at all. I now have some wetted out, it's a totaly different world.
I can't see the fiber ever being over watered, it takes a good long while to really dry out, holds loads of air and a good supply of water.
How to use it in my upcoming grow is my current quandry.
The Roots Organics Coco Chips also seem very nice, I have some wetted and mixed with perlite, should be better than pith.
Hopefully I now have the right coco, the pith seems useless no matter the brand.
Batch one, is full of Aspergillis. It is as salty as the sea, which is surely my fault; yet it also does not drain or dry out *at all*.
Mind you, this same batch did produce my best yield ever, 2 oz per sqft, in a DR80 tent with a 600 HPS bulb.
But that was because I filled the canopy by supercropping the plants, the soil/coco was hell to manage.
Batch two, is full of Pythium, and springtails and Fungus Gnats.
Now, the bad bugs and mold surely came from the manure, which was not pastureized. My Bad.
However, the pith is just junk, it does not clear or drain at all, and no amount of perlite will fix it.
All that moisture, and static air, is perfect for mold. Well, almost, the funny thing is, the first batch is so lacking in air, the Aspergillis can only grow on the very surface!
I had no idea how anyone was getting good results with this stuff.
Then I came across this stuff:
It's a block of pure chopped fiber, no pith at all. I now have some wetted out, it's a totaly different world.
I can't see the fiber ever being over watered, it takes a good long while to really dry out, holds loads of air and a good supply of water.
How to use it in my upcoming grow is my current quandry.
The Roots Organics Coco Chips also seem very nice, I have some wetted and mixed with perlite, should be better than pith.
Hopefully I now have the right coco, the pith seems useless no matter the brand.