Grow Mediums Slow draining coco

[Smiffy_420]

Well lads, hope yer all good.

I've been running straight canna coco in solo cups for the best part of the last year or so. One thing I've noticed is once daily fertigation the coco drains normally.

If i change to twice daily fertigations after a week or 2 the coco gets compacted and when watered the water pools up to the rim of the solo cup and them can take a min or 2 for it to pass through to run off.

Anyway to avoid this without adding perlite (hate using the stuff, too messy, other half complains)

 

[low_and_slow]

1) You can wash your coco to get rid of any "fines" before planting. Some people use a huge mesh pasta strainer to wash out all that dusty garbage that causes compaction. If you start with a super premium coco you usually don't need to do this, and Canna is usually g2g out of the bag.

2) This might be obvious but make sure your drain holes are nice and large.

3) Saturated mediums won't absorb as much immediately, and they definitely drain more slowly because you're using gravity to push through the medium against the 'head pressure' of the water that's already there. So when you water dry coco, you're filling in air pockets with water; watering wet coco, you're pushing water out the bottom with the weight of more water on top, and that takes a lot longer to do.

4) I have switched from pure coco to 50/50 coco/vermiculite, and I'm NEVER going back.

"It is the way." -The Mandalorian

Edit: perlite is literally garbage. #antiperlite #vermgang #perlitepollution #perliterunsoffandmakesafrigginmess


"It is better to keep one's mouth shut, and be thought a fool, than to say 'add perlite to coco' and remove all doubt" -Confucius

 

[Smiffy_420]

1) You can wash your coco to get rid of any "fines" before planting. Some people use a huge mesh pasta strainer to wash out all that dusty garbage that causes compaction. If you start with a super premium coco you usually don't need to do this, and Canna is usually g2g out of the bag.

2) This might be obvious but make sure your drain holes are nice and large.

3) Saturated mediums won't absorb as much immediately, and they definitely drain more slowly because you're using gravity to push through the medium against the 'head pressure' of the water that's already there. So when you water dry coco, you're filling in air pockets with water; watering wet coco, you're pushing water out the bottom with the weight of more water on top, and that takes a lot longer to do.

4) I have switched from pure coco to 50/50 coco/vermiculite, and I'm NEVER going back.

"It is the way." -The Mandalorian

Edit: perlite is literally garbage. #antiperlite #vermgang #perlitepollution #perliterunsoffandmakesafrigginmess


"It is better to keep one's mouth shut, and be thought a fool, than to say 'add perlite to coco' and remove all doubt" -Confucius

1. Yeah i wasnt washing the coco, for my newest run i did wash the coco with boiling water to kill springtail eggs.

2. Drainage holes are fine, they drain grand when watering once daily.

3. The surface of the coco does be dryish 12hours after watering thats why i start the twice daily feeds.

4. I've only used verm for shrooms, maybe next run ill try the coco/verm mix.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

@Smiffy_420 Coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. Try adding a surfactant to your fertigation. I like Yucca Powder as an organic choice. A drop of soap (not detergent) will work also.

 

[Smiffy_420]

@Smiffy_420 Coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. Try adding a surfactant to your fertigation. I like Yucca Powder as an organic choice. A drop of soap (not detergent) will work also.

Yeah that has happened in the past alright if i missed a watering, ill try soap, what kind of soap, like the kind for washing dishes?

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Yeah that has happened in the past alright if i missed a watering, ill try soap, what kind of soap, like the kind for washing dishes?

Soap not dish detergent. Look it up.

 

[St. Tom]

ive grown a fair few solo cups also after a while i think the coco gets so rootbound it becomes harder to water after a certain period i also use a mix of clay pebble and canna coco also if you don't feed it twice a day it will dry out and then you will have even more problems getting feed through

 

[Smiffy_420]

Soap not dish detergent. Look it up.

Google says dish soap is a surfactant ‍

 

[low_and_slow]

Google says dish soap is a surfactant ‍

So are yucca powder, aloe, really you're looking for something that breaks surface tension on water but won't harm your plants. Some dish soap has bleach alternatives and weird scents and colorings, so I think folks on here likely will steer you away from those.

 

[Smiffy_420]

So are yucca powder, aloe, really you're looking for something that breaks surface tension on water but won't harm your plants. Some dish soap has bleach alternatives and weird scents and colorings, so I think folks on here likely will steer you away from those.

Ah yeah i get you, i was obly asking about dish soap as thats what i have, i may look for some yucca powder