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Originally Posted by jangel  Great start, Brussels. I am curious how you conteract the acidity I have read happens in older coco grow media. Have you used coco coir before or is this a new media for you? Do you buy the media in brick form and break it down or does yours come broken up? How easy is the media to acquire? I know at my hydro store I have seen it in bricks.
Thanks for the info in advance and thanks for adding to GP's knowledge base by doing this. I am looking foreward to watching your girls grow!
Peace |
jangle, lets see if I can address your questions; most will not be from first hand experience, rather what I have learned from my friendly hydroponic store guy.
BTW, he not only has wonderful grows in progress with the various systems he sells, but coco grows of tomatoes and bell peppers as well.
I had asked him if this particular coco product needs to be washed/flushed -- he states that he never has washed his, and that it has been pre-washed. It is a bit more expensive than other bricks I've seen, but still...being the cynic I am, I've flushed mine three times, and allowed it to sit out during two thunder storms.
My first experience using coco is for cloning. I find it absolutely amazing with the speed roots develop. My C99's root in six to seven days. My second experience has been in transplanting a very dilapidated mother into coco. I had completely washed the roots clean of potting soil, and re-potted her in coco. Four days, and she's doing well.
I had given ten clones to one of our little grow-OP's member who grew them out in coco, all under lights with great success. I was only intermittently involved with that.
I use a wheel barrow to break the brick apart. It's very easy: just add a couple gallons of water, and let it sit a while. The stuff just falls apart.
I do intend to do a complete flush on the plants every four weeks, even though I'm not certain they'll need it. There is something of a flush every time I add solution -- I feed there until there is a runoff. Maybe I'll do the fourth week flush on half of them simply to see if it makes any difference. This should be a fun exercise, and hopefully I can keep those little worms away from them. So far, the little plants, one and two weeks old, are doing just fine.
B