Buffering, but not rinsing coco?

TBH I didn't use coco when all I could buy is bricks that had to be washed and buffered. Too much work for my lazy ass. Things have changed though. I use Mills DNA Coco Cork now and it's wonderful right out of the bag. It's not bricked and it's already washed and ready to go.

Well glad to hear people who don't rinse, and/or buffer chime in. Cause I just did a brick and was like 'fuck it' ..if it ain't broke. So as always, I didn't rinse or buffer that shit. I will assume for my own piece of mind that the manufacture rinsed it good enough.

NeWcS said:

Well glad to hear people who don't rinse, and/or buffer chime in. Cause I just did a brick and was like 'fuck it' ..if it ain't broke. So as always, I didn't rinse or buffer that shit. I will assume for my own piece of mind that the manufacture rinsed it good enough.

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It depends on the brand. Some are already rinsed multiple times and buffered. Some are not. I use Botanicare which is ready to go. There are a bunch of off brands on Amazon with labels that look like they were printed on an inkjet printer. I wouldn't use that stuff without rinsing real good and then buffering. I use the Botanicare mainly because it's what they carry at the shop down the road and it is washed multiple times and buffered.

Until you rinse it out and see how much better it grows without the "Dust," Your fooling your self. Good luck.

xtsho said:

I rinsed coco years ago before using it but that was back when it was half sand and full of garbage like gum wrappers and bottle caps from setting out on the beach or however they were storing it. Coco hasn't really been a popular medium until fairly recently. The stories of it being full of salt and sand are true but those stories are old. Any decent coco today has already been rinsed and buffered. I use Botanicare Cocogro 5kg bricks and all I do is rehydrate with 1/4 strength nutrient solution and fill the pots. It's already been rinsed and buffered.

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I'm gonna have to disagree with your notion that coco bricks with salt and sand are a thing of the past. I buy 10-15 bricks per year of all different brands. As a matter of fact the last two I bought that are sitting in my living room are Botanicare bricks. I have never used this brand but have used many other brands that are always highly recommended. When I hydrate and rinse them I know they will be filled with sand. I did a review on Amazon and posted pictures of me taking hand fulls of sand that had settled on the bottom. Botanicare will be the same. These companies that sell coco coir sell the bricks by the pound or kilo. Sand is many times heavier that coco and therefore is in the manufactures incentive to leave copious amounts of sand in the coir from the processing. It's pretty easy to prove this. Hydrate brick of coir with 6-8 gallons of H2o. Let sit for a few hours or overnight. Then remove coir with a strainer of some sort and whalla, there will be at least a pound of sand settled on the bottom of your container. I have yet to find a brick that is "clean."

Jypsy Dog said:

Until you rinse it out and see how much better it grows without the "Dust," Your fooling your self. Good luck.

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Exactly, the dust is another thing that will settle on the bottom. I strain all that crap out.

Mountainfarmer said:

Exactly, the dust is another thing that will settle on the bottom. I strain all that crap out.

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Really crazy how much you can flush. Just the little things ya learn to improve the grow.

10WeekFlushBro said:

Yea another +1 for this. Just test what you buy and dont waste your time "rinsing" lol...
"Just bought a 50L bag of premium coco, now before I use it let me run 400L of water through it" Hahaha.. lord

listen guys if you have such little trust in your medium there are plenty of options that are better for you, which don't need to be washed out or compacted, or all the stupid ass stuff people think is necessary with coco. Over half the people posting about this shit don't know anything to be honest. You can grow this plant in a pot of spaghetti

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How much did you pay for your 50L bag oof premium coco?

you have water and coco...why are you unable to rinse it? get a 5 gallon bucket, drill about 100 1/4 holes in the bottom half of it, and set it in the shower.
if you're getting good quality coco, you don't need to do either, if you buy the cheap stuff, it will have a lot of salt in it, the palms grow on the coast and they pile the husks on the beach till they process them.
charging isn't required, it just save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
do what you have to do, but you already know what you should be doing

Mountainfarmer said:

I'm gonna have to disagree with your notion that coco bricks with salt and sand are a thing of the past. I buy 10-15 bricks per year of all different brands. As a matter of fact the last two I bought that are sitting in my living room are Botanicare bricks. I have never used this brand but have used many other brands that are always highly recommended. When I hydrate and rinse them I know they will be filled with sand. I did a review on Amazon and posted pictures of me taking hand fulls of sand that had settled on the bottom. Botanicare will be the same. These companies that sell coco coir sell the bricks by the pound or kilo. Sand is many times heavier that coco and therefore is in the manufactures incentive to leave copious amounts of sand in the coir from the processing. It's pretty easy to prove this. Hydrate brick of coir with 6-8 gallons of H2o. Let sit for a few hours or overnight. Then remove coir with a strainer of some sort and whalla, there will be at least a pound of sand settled on the bottom of your container. I have yet to find a brick that is "clean."

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Well you can disagree but my experience has been different than yours. You said that you've not used the brand I've mentioned. As for highly recommended, who's recommending those other brands you're finding all this salt in? I've been using botanicare for a few years and I'm not getting a bunch of sand or dust.

If you look at my recent post I stated"

"There are a bunch of off brands on Amazon with labels that look like they were printed on an inkjet printer. I wouldn't use that stuff without rinsing real good and then buffering."

I also stated

"Any decent coco will be rinsed or buffered".

The key here is "Decent" and to use a quality brand. There is still junk coco out there but there are also several brands that are selling a product that is ready to go and not full of sand. I just recently rehydrated a 5 kg brick of Botanicare. I filled six 3 gallon containers and didn't have handfuls of sand. There was also very little dust. What there was I just mixed in with the rest of the coco just like they do with the bagged coco. If you buy some off brand like I stated in my last post then you run the chance of getting the same garbage we were getting years ago.

I'm happy with Botanicare quality. I've been just rehydrating with a mild nutrient solution, filling the pots, planting the plants, and growing. My plants grow great. That's been my experience for quite awhile now.

Mountainfarmer said:

Exactly, the dust is another thing that will settle on the bottom. I strain all that crap out.

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Hey Mtf,
I strain mine also. Wondering what sort of strainer. I've been using a kitchen collander but would be nice to have something bigger. Any interesting ideas to share.
JD

Never had sand or salt, but always have dust.
The reason for the rinsing in my opinion.

JohnDee said:

Hey Mtf,
I strain mine also. Wondering what sort of strainer. I've been using a kitchen collander but would be nice to have something bigger. Any interesting ideas to share.
JD

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Untested myself....Another member had suggested 5-gallon paint strainers. They were about a buck each for a 25pack on amazonian.

Mountainfarmer said:

Have you ever taken an EC or PPM reading of the water after hydrating the coco? I do on all bricks i use and the water is always at 400-600 ppm. Thats a lot of salt! Also there is a lot of sand in the coco as well. The high salt and sand content is most likely due to the processing of the coir near saltwater and sandy terrain. I always hydrate, rinse and then buffer or "charge" the coco with a 1/4 strength nutes and 10-15 mls of calimagic. GL

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This is my exact findings also 400ish from the 5kg bricks of botanicare cocogro. I am gonna rinse and precharge in Future real soon. It's little things that make a great start. I've been unable to grow last few years and just got a home to start up

jimmy1life said:

This is my exact findings also 400ish from the 5kg bricks of botanicare cocogro. I am gonna rinse and precharge in Future real soon. It's little things that make a great start. I've been unable to grow last few years and just got a home to start up

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Hi Jimmy...seen guys post those numbers, but not sure what they mean? Maybe you just washed out all the calmag? lol Next brick I re-hydrate...I'm gonna taste the water. Be easy to detect salt.
JD

TintEastwood said:

Untested myself....Another member had suggested 5-gallon paint strainers. They were about a buck each for a 25pack on amazonian.

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I do compost/manure teas with them. Too fine a mesh. Need to go to a restaurant supply and see whats up.

I have never had issues with dust clumping up and creating wet pockets. Which I think is the concern with the dust. I cut my coco w/ perlite so maybe thats combating it.

The first feed after a transplant I water till the runoff is clear.

Jypsy Dog said:

I do compost/manure teas with them. Too fine a mesh. Need to go to a restaurant supply and see whats up.

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I use one similar to this in a 5-gal plastic bucket. For me it's bagged Canna or eqiuv - and a simple 12-24hr bath in 800ppm of calimagic to buffer. Stir and mix well several times during the soak. The superfine chit gets left behind when I press the liquid out of the coco. Ending up with moist coco, not wet. Ready for use with fresh nutes. Easy to do for a little hobby 4x4 grow.

Roger A. Shrubber said:

you have water and coco...why are you unable to rinse it? get a 5 gallon bucket, drill about 100 1/4 holes in the bottom half of it, and set it in the shower.
if you're getting good quality coco, you don't need to do either, if you buy the cheap stuff, it will have a lot of salt in it, the palms grow on the coast and they pile the husks on the beach till they process them.
charging isn't required, it just save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
do what you have to do, but you already know what you should be doing

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The shower idea is really good. I'm on a septic system. I've been googling around to try and see if coco could be damaging to a septic system but I've found nothing. Any reason to be concerned about rinsing a couple hundred gallons of coco a year this way?

Hot Diggity Sog said:

The shower idea is really good. I'm on a septic system. I've been googling around to try and see if coco could be damaging to a septic system but I've found nothing. Any reason to be concerned about rinsing a couple hundred gallons of coco a year this way?

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No damage to the septic system, BUT, be sure you know how full your tank is. I have a tiny septic tank and I need to be very aware of how full it is at any given time. Always a good idea to take a peek before you dump a few hundred gallons of water into it.