Coco grow media

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BigBossJC

Member
Anybody got a good coco media recipe are any other advice about using it? I always grew with soil but was looking into coco. So would appreciate some advice.
 
Bareback

Bareback

Well-Known Member
BigBossJC said:
Anybody got a good coco media recipe are any other advice about using it? I always grew with soil but was looking into coco. So would appreciate some advice.
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There's lots of advice in hydro section.

Be sure to rinse the hell out of it.
 
zem

zem

Well-Known Member
coco needs to be soaked in H2O2 and preferrablly calcium nitrate to precipitate sea salt. check the water that you soaked it in to see if ppm is going up then flush until it stops going up. IME this is very important in coco and I noticed that plants' roots thrive in it when it is clean
 
B

BigBossJC

Member
zem said:
coco needs to be soaked in H2O2 and preferrablly calcium nitrate to precipitate sea salt. check the water that you soaked it in to see if ppm is going up then flush until it stops going up. IME this is very important in coco and I noticed that plants' roots thrive in it when it is clean
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Appreciate the advice
 
MickFoster

MickFoster

Well-Known Member
BigBossJC said:
Anybody got a good coco media recipe are any other advice about using it? I always grew with soil but was looking into coco. So would appreciate some advice.
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Get a good quality coco to start with - I suggest the bagged rather than the compressed brick. A lot of manufacturers buffer or pre charge their coco so it's ready to go out of the bag. I always pre charge my coco with 1/4 strength nutes at a pH of 6.0 and mix a 70/30 coco/perlite mix. Good luck.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I grow in straight coco. I used to add perlite but I don't anymore. I use Botanicare CocoGro 5kg bricks. It's double washed and buffered. I don't rinse it. I just put a brick in a tote and re-hydrate with 1/2 strength nutes and transplant my "well rooted" seedlings or clones into 3 gallon fabric pots filled with coco that's damp not dripping wet. I squeeze excess water out while filling the pots. . I usually have roots starting to come out the sides of the pots in four or five days.
 
Smok3yMcChok3y

Smok3yMcChok3y

Well-Known Member
I jumped in and just bought all the coco crap I need. I'll check back in after I fail a few times and learn ya whatever if any I figure out.
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
Coco isn't the holy grail, but it will let you warm your feet away from soil (until you go back).
 
Smok3yMcChok3y

Smok3yMcChok3y

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
Coco isn't the holy grail, but it will let you warm your feet away from soil (until you go back).
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Or in my case let you air out your water pruned toes. With a 70/30 mix of coco perlite about how often would you all recommend watering? Or.better yet are there any threads you all learned from that I should look into?
 
Smok3yMcChok3y

Smok3yMcChok3y

Well-Known Member
Got ya. So obviously tweaked to fit my particular situation bit round about 5-5 minute floods to waste similar to how I used to run my ebb tables?
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
Coco isn't the holy grail, but it will let you warm your feet away from soil (until you go back).
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It's not the holy grail but it works great when it's done correctly just like anything else. I've been growing with it for so long that I have everything down pretty good. I still make mistakes but those are always due to trying something new.

I do think soil is the best option for those that want to just grow a couple of plants without doing anything more than buying a bag or two of soil. Coco can be difficult at first but it's not hard to grow in and can produce great results.
 
Smok3yMcChok3y

Smok3yMcChok3y

Well-Known Member
I just can't do soil. I don't have the patience for 10 week veg when I know 4 or 5 weeks in my buckets would produce the same sized plant. Same reason I can't run reg seeds. Just can't bring myself to put in weeks of effort then chop chop those dudes and I have a little one so not much time for breeding projects yet.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Smok3yMcChok3y said:
Or in my case let you air out your water pruned toes. With a 70/30 mix of coco perlite about how often would you all recommend watering? Or.better yet are there any threads you all learned from that I should look into?
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It depends on the size of the plants and how fast they drink.

I use blumats so no more drain to waste / % of runoff anymore. 10% runoff when watering in coco but only if the coco needs watering. You don't need to water everyday in coco if it's already wet. It's not a bad idea to let the coco dry out somewhat early on so that the plants roots will seek out moisture and grow. Once the plants get bigger you'll need to water them daily using whatever method you choose.

One of the biggest mistakes people growing in coco can do is put a plant with a small root structure in too much coco and then think they need to water daily. That just keeps the coco too wet. I transplant plants from 2" x 2" or 3.5" x 3.5" pots only when I can grab the stem, pull the plant out, and have nothing but a bundle of roots. Those go into 3 gallon pots of coco that had excess moisture squeezed out. I don't water until it starts to dry out more than an inch from the top.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
tyke1973 said:
I use Gold Label 60/40 and now i can't see me ever using any thing else.
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Is that the blend with hydroton and coco? If so that's some excellent growing media. I like the clay balls but it is a hassles to deal with after the grow. I can't put it in the garden because I grow root vegetables and I'm not going to spend the time cleaning it up once it's mixed with coco. But I'm sure the plants love it.

Now that I grow in straight coco the root ball and coco goes straight into the garden after harvest.
 
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