Coco Coir

[Becorath]

You know I never Truly appreciated the water retention of coco until I stopped using peat based soil in my soil mix and started buying coco. I just watered my plants and while carrying them back to the tents (I water in a shower to keep my tents clean) And was shocked at how heavy they were. Coco will forever be in my organic soil mix.

 

[budbro18]

i run promix with a little added perlite or i grab the hp which just has extra perlite and a little more coco i think.

Ive only fucked with coco once but with air pots it dried out too fast for me to not have an auto feed system.

 

[Twitch]

straight coco....
bad ass

 

[Becorath]

My setup isn't straight coco. It also has perlite, compost, and other amendments as well. So I would say maybe 50-70% coco... It is an amazing base for my soil. I will use it as long as something better doesn't come along.

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

Straight coco has good enough drainage. The more perlite...the more you'll water.

 

[Twitch]

straight cocccoooooooooo.....

 

[WhiteRooster]

Coco has the perfect pH for cannabis

 

[AZGreenAcresMM]

One bag of Pro Mix HP and 2 bags of Canna CoCo is what I start with.

 

[Becorath]

Straight coco has good enough drainage. The more perlite...the more you'll water.

It is barely 10% Perlite. I add some mainly out of habit. I mix the amendments adn perlite together first, then into the coco. The visible perlite allows me to see when it is thoroughly mixed.

Coco has the perfect pH for cannabis

I usually add a bit of dolomite to raise the ph after amendments and for the minerals, but yea, I never really have ph issues. Always just under 7.

 

[WhiteRooster]

At Oaksterdam they recommend for beginner growers something like Botanicare's Readygro which has perlite and earthworm castings in so you don't have to add it

 

[st0wandgrow]

Interesting thread. Other than bedding for my worms, I've never messed with coco coir. I'd like to give it a try though. I use a peat base for my amended soil, but it's quite acidic, and I don't particularly care for how it's harvested. Not really sustainable.

Any of you tried both peat and coco? If so, what's the pros and cons to both as you see it?

 

[Nullis]

I've been using both coco coir, sphagnum peat and associated products for several years now.

Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 is one growth mix I use frequently, which has sphagnum, coir, and perlite (limed). Mix with Earthworm castings (20-25%) and you have a good basic seedling mix, which can be amended further for other needs. Usually I use SAM#4 in combination with Ocean Forest. Otherwise I add straight coco coir to OF.

All coco coir is not created equal; just as all sphagnum is not exactly the same. There are different consistencies, textures* and other characteristics of the coir, such as: rinsed\low-EC\degree composted\buffered & pH which can be from about 5.2-6.5+ (my bag of Roots Coco Palms says 5.2-6.3).

*There are three primary grades of coco substrate product, which is of course derived from the husk of the coconut from harvesting, leaving us with: chips, fiber and pith (dust). All coco coir products are a mixture of chips, fiber and pith, or pith and fiber. Personally I like the high-Pith products, which still contain some fine coco fibers, e.g. Botanicare CocoGro or Root's Coco Palms. These have also been rinsed and buffered, composted (coir breaks down quite slowly) which should make them even easier to work with. One thing about coir you might have heard is that it has a tendency to hold onto calcium and magnesium a bit too zealously, and so requires a little extra such as a mineral\CaMg product if your water source lacks dissolved minerals. Coco coir itself has some potassium it can provide, which is always good.

In general I prefer the texture, consistency and porosity of high-pith coir over sphagnum peat, and the lack of acidity is definitely an added bonus. Coir is an abundant industry by-product and renewable resource, whereas most sphagnum peat harvesting, as pointed out, is not sustainable... which is another great big plus for coir. Benefits certainly seem to outweigh the minor and workable flaws.

 

[Becorath]

I've been using both coco coir, sphagnum peat and associated products for several years now.

Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 is one growth mix I use frequently, which has sphagnum, coir, and perlite (limed). Mix with Earthworm castings (20-25%) and you have a good basic seedling mix, which can be amended further for other needs. Usually I use SAM#4 in combination with Ocean Forest. Otherwise I add straight coco coir to OF.

All coco coir is not created equal; just as all sphagnum is not exactly the same. There are different consistencies, textures* and other characteristics of the coir, such as: rinsed\low-EC\degree composted\buffered & pH which can be from about 5.2-6.5+ (my bag of Roots Coco Palms says 5.2-6.3).

*There are three primary grades of coco substrate product, which is of course derived from the husk of the coconut from harvesting, leaving us with: chips, fiber and pith (dust). All coco coir products are a mixture of chips, fiber and pith, or pith and fiber. Personally I like the high-Pith products, which still contain some fine coco fibers, e.g. Botanicare CocoGro or Root's Coco Palms. These have also been rinsed and buffered, composted (coir breaks down quite slowly) which should make them even easier to work with. One thing about coir you might have heard is that it has a tendency to hold onto calcium and magnesium a bit too zealously, and so requires a little extra such as a mineral\CaMg product if your water source lacks dissolved minerals. Coco coir itself has some potassium it can provide, which is always good.

In general I prefer the texture, consistency and porosity of high-pith coir over sphagnum peat, and the lack of acidity is definitely an added bonus. Coir is an abundant industry by-product and renewable resource, whereas most sphagnum peat harvesting, as pointed out, is not sustainable... which is another great big plus for coir. Benefits certainly seem to outweigh the minor and workable flaws.

Great information here. Thank you.

 

[bioWheel]

Coir is awesome!! Blows peat based mixes away imo. Go for it!

 

[Canvas]

I've been using both coco coir, sphagnum peat and associated products for several years now.

Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 is one growth mix I use frequently, which has sphagnum, coir, and perlite (limed). Mix with Earthworm castings (20-25%) and you have a good basic seedling mix, which can be amended further for other needs. Usually I use SAM#4 in combination with Ocean Forest. Otherwise I add straight coco coir to OF.

All coco coir is not created equal; just as all sphagnum is not exactly the same. There are different consistencies, textures* and other characteristics of the coir, such as: rinsed\low-EC\degree composted\buffered & pH which can be from about 5.2-6.5+ (my bag of Roots Coco Palms says 5.2-6.3).

*There are three primary grades of coco substrate product, which is of course derived from the husk of the coconut from harvesting, leaving us with: chips, fiber and pith (dust). All coco coir products are a mixture of chips, fiber and pith, or pith and fiber. Personally I like the high-Pith products, which still contain some fine coco fibers, e.g. Botanicare CocoGro or Root's Coco Palms. These have also been rinsed and buffered, composted (coir breaks down quite slowly) which should make them even easier to work with. One thing about coir you might have heard is that it has a tendency to hold onto calcium and magnesium a bit too zealously, and so requires a little extra such as a mineral\CaMg product if your water source lacks dissolved minerals. Coco coir itself has some potassium it can provide, which is always good.

In general I prefer the texture, consistency and porosity of high-pith coir over sphagnum peat, and the lack of acidity is definitely an added bonus. Coir is an abundant industry by-product and renewable resource, whereas most sphagnum peat harvesting, as pointed out, is not sustainable... which is another great big plus for coir. Benefits certainly seem to outweigh the minor and workable flaws.

This is a cruical point.. there are 3 main grades of Coco.

I found that the pith, when used by itself, or with perlite, held way too much water, in both 5 gal buckets and 5 gal cloth pots. It made watering correctly a nightmare. It was when I switched to using chips on the bottom, and in layers, with layers of 'bird's nest' fiber, and layers of regular compost/soil, that my watering problems vanished, and I can now keep my plants wet constantly, they always have enough air in the grow medium.

 

[Pepe le skunk]

Also do a mixture of coco and light warrior with the bottom layer being subs super soil. The PH of the feed water is 6.3-6.6. Is this the correct PH for 50-70% coco?
Above Nullis mentioned that adding extra CaMg is a good idea. How often does it need to be added? Can I just mix in epson salts or dolimate to the coco/soil?
Coco is low in nutrients so should I be feeding NPK more than three times a month in flower? Other times I use water ph'd to 6.3 and vermelli tea.

Thanks to all who reply. Just want to make sure I am feeding correctly using coco.

 

[Eat Your Weedies]

I have been using Miracle Grow Moisture control that uses coir and i am very happy with the stuff. HOWEVER, I am willing to do a side by side test run using pure coir and anything you would like to recommend! Miracle grow coir based potting soil is EXPENSIVE. I have plenty of access to leaf mold since I live near Seattle, WAY more than I need so I was thinking of using that as part of any mixture. But I am willing to bet if that you do not fertilize with some NKP at some point, the harvest will be diminished, but I wil keep an open mind
I love the coir because very little water leaks out when you water the plants, so no mess or need for containment tubs