What do YOU use to amend coco??

midwestdensies · Feb 24, 2013

lex strait coco is awesome man. Check the air porosity its greater than rw. Imo either ammend hydrocorn or nothing. I like the reusability of coco and just cutting a plant out by rootball and running an enzyme thru to clean roots and re use for years. Beds rule for this reason

LexLuthor · Mar 15, 2013

I'm bout to plant my seeds in the coco today, I'm using 80/20 coco/perlite for the seedlings, but when I transplant to 3 gallon buckets I'm gonna mix in the perlite at 60/40, maybe even 50/50 if I have enough perlite.

I'm gonna rinse the coco until its below 200 ppm (.5 scale) then pre-charge with Gh Micro, Bloom, Epsom and 0.1% IBA at 3ml, 4.5ml, 0.5g, 0.2g per gallon then dilute the solution to 25% strength, but I won't add the IBA until I already diluted it so it stays at 0.2 g/G. No Cal-Mag products because the Micro has enough Ca and the epsom has enough Mg.

TokinWhiteGuy · Mar 15, 2013

I will definitely be watching this one Lex! KILL IT!

We Solidarity · Mar 15, 2013

midwestdensies said:
lex strait coco is awesome man. Check the air porosity its greater than rw. Imo either ammend hydrocorn or nothing. I like the reusability of coco and just cutting a plant out by rootball and running an enzyme thru to clean roots and re use for years. Beds rule for this reason

i've been experimenting with this...literally rip plants out, shake em, smack the dirt off, rinse it, cut them to their first nodes, and transplant them into coco. Been trying different supplements in the coco to see what works best, but so far haven't lost a single plant and hardly any have shown stress signs. I think tea with kelp, SG and silica works the best for keeping them on track.

We Solidarity · Mar 15, 2013

as far as amendments go, it depends on what you are going for. I run a synthetic/organic regimen, so azomite and humic soil are two amendments I really like. I also like to water my coco through so a little perilite too, and I also innoculate with a teaspoon per bag of coco of each of cap's packs.

GR33NL3AF · Mar 16, 2013

We Solidarity said:
as far as amendments go, it depends on what you are going for. I run a synthetic/organic regimen, so azomite and humic soil are two amendments I really like. I also like to water my coco through so a little perilite too, and I also innoculate with a teaspoon per bag of coco of each of cap's packs.

Good lord, that is the recipe for success...

Which brand of coco do you use? How about your Humic?

We Solidarity · Mar 16, 2013

I switch it up alot, I still haven't found a coco blend that I am 100% set on, but I did like black gold as well as the sunshine coir. Bricks are a pain to work with but there was one brand I can't remember that had such an awesome texture, not super stringy and lots of that squishy pith which is what I like. It must have been some aftermarket company b/c it only comes in every once in a while.

Also - if you've got money to spend the black gold waterhold and most of the royal gold line are probably the best coco products I've used. Seriously no-worry gardening if you're an experienced coco grower

midwestdensies · Mar 16, 2013

Great info We, seems we keep it nearly the same style. Simple, cheap and renewable. I only have noticed better progress run after run on the re use. My current room is on run 1 but will use that shit for years. Imo coco is coco is coco just rinse it. Dont get mexican hydrofarm shit with fucking sand and your good. Seems the difference is the rinsing standards (rhp)

midwestdensies · Mar 16, 2013

Also my peat is crushing coco fwiw. I can post pics if you guys want but this farmer thinks coco came about and was made popular via mmj industry then companies formulated nutrients for coco hmmm.. What do i know just observing some beds i have going on..

We Solidarity · Mar 16, 2013

midwestdensies said:
Also my peat is crushing coco fwiw. I can post pics if you guys want but this farmer thinks coco came about and was made popular via mmj industry then companies formulated nutrients for coco hmmm.. What do i know just observing some beds i have going on..

oh yeah peat crushes everything...i'd use it if the bugs didn't love it so much. Growing up in commercial nurseries peat/poo mixes is all I ever used or saw used. And yeah coco was just marketed as a growing medium because they use it as a terrace builder in azn countries, and it worked decent. I don't think coco is a perfect medium at all, but the advantages are definitely there so I choose to work with it.

and yeah, keep your coco simple. Remember it's not soil, so whatever you amend will probably be washed out or used up in the first month or so. That's why I like the simple amendments that don't immediately break down, and will contribute more to a "soil" environment for the micros.

also - another good amendment for coco is pelletized calcium carbonate. using standard dolomite or hydrated lime I see weird deficiencies I can't explain, but the prills of carbonate (same idea as slow release fertilizer) last a LONG time and make a good buffer/cal source.

Seamaiden · Mar 16, 2013

Chemically, dolomite lime = CaMgCO3 (calcium magnesium carbonate). Hydrated lime = Ca(OH)2 and is acidic, offers no buffering (buffering up is that carbonate molecule, the CO3, and any time you see that combination, you know it's going to contribute to alkalinity, i.e. resistance to pH shift). I can see that causing problems in coir cultivation.

Other sources of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) include oyster shell (flour) and crab and shrimp shell meals. These meals also offer chitin.

I believe that the prilled products are bound with clay, and I would not be surprised if that clay is adding something unaccounted for in the mix.

I can see any carbonate source being depleted after a grow if using more acidic watering/feeding parameters, because all that's needed to get it into solution is a pH that's in the 6.0 range.

ronvmpc · Mar 16, 2013

If I was maiden, what would I be amending my coco with?

LexLuthor · Mar 16, 2013

I never knew IBA doesn't dissolve in water, but I found out the hard way last night lol. You have to dissolve it in alcohol that is 75% or stronger.

LexLuthor · Mar 16, 2013

Oh yeah, and the GH cocoTek bricks, not as salty as I thought. The run-off after hydration was around 300-400 ppm .5 scale and it took me like 1 gallon to bring it down to 150 ppm, for 1 small brick.

We Solidarity · Mar 16, 2013

Seamaiden said:
Chemically, dolomite lime = CaMgCO3 (calcium magnesium carbonate). Hydrated lime = Ca(OH)2 and is acidic, offers no buffering (buffering up is that carbonate molecule, the CO3, and any time you see that combination, you know it's going to contribute to alkalinity, i.e. resistance to pH shift). I can see that causing problems in coir cultivation.

Other sources of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) include oyster shell (flour) and crab and shrimp shell meals. These meals also offer chitin.

I believe that the prilled products are bound with clay, and I would not be surprised if that clay is adding something unaccounted for in the mix.

I can see any carbonate source being depleted after a grow if using more acidic watering/feeding parameters, because all that's needed to get it into solution is a pH that's in the 6.0 range.

see what you think of that stuff sea - it def sets the standard! Works well enough to replace Cal/Mg products in coco as long as your magnesium is covered :)

lex0415 said:
Oh yeah, and the GH cocoTek bricks, not as salty as I thought. The run-off after hydration was around 300-400 ppm .5 scale and it took me like 1 gallon to bring it down to 150 ppm, for 1 small brick.

I was gonna recommend GH coco but figured I might get some flak...I think it's a solid product. Actually thinking about using their 4x8 rolled mats in the last few weeks of flower, see if I can't get a growth spurt from the added root space.

caveman4.20 · Mar 16, 2013

Forty % new coco 60% old mix= 50
% coco 50% soil= happy frog ewc, kelp, protein crumples, TTP compost

LexLuthor · Mar 16, 2013

caveman4.20 said:
Forty % new coco 60% old mix= 50
% coco 50% soil= happy frog ewc, kelp, protein crumples, TTP compostView attachment 298193

^^^^^mmmmm....yummy

caveman4.20 · Mar 16, 2013

Gracias!

midwestdensies · Mar 16, 2013

Peat on right. Same strain, amended the same. Ss4 has lime and perlite.

caveman4.20 · Mar 16, 2013

Here's what the top of amended coco looks like with plant growing in it.

What do YOU use to amend coco??

What do YOU use to amend coco??

midwestdensies

LexLuthor

TokinWhiteGuy

We Solidarity

We Solidarity

GR33NL3AF

We Solidarity

midwestdensies

midwestdensies

We Solidarity

Seamaiden

Living dead girl

ronvmpc

LexLuthor

LexLuthor

We Solidarity

caveman4.20

LexLuthor

caveman4.20

midwestdensies

caveman4.20

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