Questions on Coco

[Original Lowryder #12]

Hello everyone! I am going to be starting my first coco grow here soon and had a few questions related to it to get me started. Most just about beginning phases of using it.

I am going to be using a brick of cannacoco that I rehydrate. I guess first question would be what would you rehydrate if with? I have straight RO if that's best. Or should I use a nutrient mix?

My second question is, what's the best way to start these with coco? I normally use jiffy pellets but I'm considering using solo cups with coco in it and then transplanting around day 10. I know this one is more of a 'what works best for me' situation but I'm curious what works for all you coco growers. I don't want to over/under water so whatever is easier to get the hang of would be better.

 

[Frankthetank]

@Mañ'O'Green
@JP1
@Lil Dab

There. There’s my wisdom….

 

[Frankthetank]

@Mañ'O'Green
@JP1
@Lil Dab

There. There’s my wisdom….

I do know you need to buffer the coco with calmg…. So hold off doing anything until one of the experts chime in….

 

[JP1]

Break a piece of coco off the brick and rehydrate with ro. This will tell you if you need to flush it or if it's ok to start seeds in. I never trust coco. If your runoff is under 450ppm, then just rehydrate. Expect to lose a lot of small bits in the process. If the coco is fine then soak overnight in 350ppm 5.5-5.8. Let warm/dry in the tent for a day and drop your seeds in

 

[Original Lowryder #12]

I do know you need to buffer the coco with calmg…. So hold off doing anything until one of the experts chime in….

Okay yeah that was a concern of mine as well. The bricks are supposed to be pre buffered but I'll definitely check.

Break a piece of coco off the brick and rehydrate with ro. This will tell you if you need to flush it or if it's ok to start seeds in. I never trust coco. If your runoff is under 450ppm, then just rehydrate. Expect to lose a lot of small bits in the process. If the coco is fine then soak overnight in 350ppm 5.5-5.8. Let warm/dry in the tent for a day and drop your seeds in

Thank you, this answered my questions, I appreciate it! Do you use domes over the seeds as well?

 

[JP1]

Okay yeah that was a concern of mine as well. The bricks are supposed to be pre buffered but I'll definitely check.

Thank you, this answered my questions, I appreciate it! Do you use domes over the seeds as well?

That'll tell you if you have to wash it out and rebuffer. Careful if you do it in your bathtub. Lots of tiny pieces wash out of bricks. I've had bricks that are 700-900ppm and that's too hot for seedlings. I use domes until they pop up

 

[Mara Cachafa]

Hello everyone! I am going to be starting my first coco grow here soon and had a few questions related to it to get me started. Most just about beginning phases of using it.

I am going to be using a brick of cannacoco that I rehydrate. I guess first question would be what would you rehydrate if with? I have straight RO if that's best. Or should I use a nutrient mix?

My second question is, what's the best way to start these with coco? I normally use jiffy pellets but I'm considering using solo cups with coco in it and then transplanting around day 10. I know this one is more of a 'what works best for me' situation but I'm curious what works for all you coco growers. I don't want to over/under water so whatever is easier to get the hang of would be better.

I was buffering my Coco bale with CalMag, 7g/GL, but one of the old timers told me it's not necessary (was that you @Death The Cultivator?). So I've just been hydrating with tap water and watering with 1g/GL MegaCrop 1-part a couple of days before transplant from solo cups.
[disclaimer: I have killed quite a few sprouts]

 

[Mara Cachafa]

Break a piece of coco off the brick and rehydrate with ro. This will tell you if you need to flush it or if it's ok to start seeds in. I never trust coco. If your runoff is under 450ppm, then just rehydrate. Expect to lose a lot of small bits in the process. If the coco is fine then soak overnight in 350ppm 5.5-5.8. Let warm/dry in the tent for a day and drop your seeds in

I'm gonna start checking that. I've been using brand-X 5-kilo blocks, whatever's cheapest. I think the last batch was this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Viagrow-11-lb-5KG-Coconut-Coir-Block-of-Soilless-Media-VCCB5/205854519

 

[JP1]

I'm gonna start checking that. I've been using brand-X 5-kilo blocks, whatever's cheapest. I think the last batch was this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Viagrow-11-lb-5KG-Coconut-Coir-Block-of-Soilless-Media-VCCB5/205854519

I've had very mixed results with the blocks and bags. Even if it's buffered doesn't mean they washed the actual, physical salt off the coir enough to begin with. It gets washed out with fertigations eventually anyway, but it can be the reason for rough starts. I like to know what I'm starting with since it's easy to fix with coco

 

[throxic]

If you haven't, check out cocoforcannabis dot com. Lots of good info there. Specifically, cation exchange and how that interacts with cal, mag, potassium, and sodium. I use the ready-to-plant bricks of coco from amazon or the local grow store. I re-hydrate with filtered tap, 5.8pH, and I add 2.5ml/gal of calmag to give a buffer for cation exchange. Some coco isn't buffered and will need more calmag. Dome and heat for germ. Look forward to the show!

JP1 makes a good point, be careful of extra sodium build up from either tap water or lower quality coco. RO hardened with calmag would give you more precise control.