growing in coco problem

basically i have a grow box with:
2x 65w compact flouro lamps 6500k and 1x exhaust fan(pretty small but moves the air)

anyway my problem is that my coco isnt "drying out". its staying permanently moist/wet. which makes me think there isnt enough heat in there but my plants grow fine.

its just coco no perlite or anything mixed in. just wondering how long it should take to dry out. its been a week and its still wet.just concerned of fungus gnats etc. should i put a layer of sand on the top to stop gnats growing?

thanks

coco wont completely dry out. that is one of its good properties. it retains moisture very well but doesnt clump up so even if you kept pouring water through it it would only hold onto what it can. just leave it an extra day or 2 between waterings and you will notice the difference. im using coco for 2 of mine and at the minute im only watering once a week to help dry the medium out a bit.

also i have tried the sand trick. it works but makes life difficult. use a fly strip and let the medium dry out for 1-2 weeks so the eggs dry up if you have any. also a small dose of h2o2 in the water will kill any eggs but can burn plants slightly

ok man no worries. thanks

how big is your pot and plant? If you put a seedling in a 3gal pot it would probably take a month to dry up. Start small i think this is extremely important in coco so you can constantly get fresh nutrients.

You do not want coco to dry out.
I water daily until there is about an inch and a half of runoff in the tray.
I want the tray to be dried out the next day.

fungus gnats love coco. you can get yellow sticky paper. I have heard of people putting potato slices on the coco and removing them each day. I guess they lay eggs in the potato.

I have had success with nematodes bought at a hydro store.
A small bowl of apple vinegar with a drop of soap mixed in will attract gnats, then they drown.

I have used mosquito dunk crumbles in a small bowl with water placed on the coco. A few days later I noticed a lot less gnats.


The gnats are annoying, but do not do harm. It is their babies, the larva that eat roots that can hurt your plants.

Yeah I guess I should clarify you just want the pots light not completely dried out. But still keep in mind pot size to plant size