Perlite layered airgap in coco anyone tried?

[Grower2020]

Yeah he grows in coco too , but he uses worm castings and slow release dry amendments so it's a n organic coco , gets amazing results too .
Should check him out on YouTube just type mr canuck autoflowers into YouTube and he will come up he's like the most watched organic coco grower on YouTube

 

[Grower2020]

I usually mix worm castings in my coco. At least 25%. I used to add perlite too but it's annoying when it floats to the top or when i dump my used media in the yard/garden and it floats away during heavy rain. So instead i just use smaller fabric pots and the coco will naturally aerate when the plants pulls moisture from the coco

So just coco and worm castings only ? And just water with ph'd water to 6.2-6.5?

 

[TorturedSoul]

What's the accepted pretreatment method for coco coir these days? Still flush slowly by trickling water through it for 24 hours after initially hydrating/expanding the block, then soak for an hour or two in a weak calcium nitrate solution with a bit of Epsom salt? Or...?

 

[Grower2020]

What's the accepted pretreatment method for coco coir these days? Still flush slowly by trickling water through it for 24 hours after initially hydrating/expanding the block, then soak for an hour or two in a weak calcium nitrate solution with a bit of Epsom salt? Or...?

Brick form or already hydrated and buffered?

 

[Grower2020]

Oh just saw brick. Soak in a tub with clean water . Can be tap water . I ph'd my water but don't think u have to if your water is under 7 and over 5.5 .
Once soaked and hydrated fully , tip water out out and then flush it again.
I soaked mine in a solution using ro water and 2ml per litre of water used.
Turned out great
The excess calcium washes away when you do your first water to runoff with plants in it any way but also fills the cation sites with maximum calcium splits completely buffered .

 

[Grower2020]

Check ec runoff is like 300 and no more after buffering

 

[TorturedSoul]

Okie dokie.

 

[Grower2020]

Okie dokie.

You from Australia too man ?

 

[Southerncough]

So just coco and worm castings only ? And just water with ph'd water to 6.2-6.5?

That's just how I prep the media. Once plants are in it i add bottled nutrients and amendments (diluted to 1/2 strength for the babies)

 

[Grower2020]

These things are just exploding. 29days today n just starting to stretch ‍‍

 

[Southerncough]

Looking great!! Should have some yummy flowers in no time

 

[Grower2020]

Looking great!! Should have some yummy flowers in no time

Yeah man I can't wait to see what the coco produces , I've always been a soil man and thought I'd give coco a try in hope for more dense buds with bigger plants and yields. I've had two previous failed attempts in a short space of time and now this. I'm jaw dropped , almost gave up on it because of all the work coco requires ,onky to be failing. Thought I'd give it one last ripper effort a d finally nailed it so far. The jobs not done yet though. Have to see how they go when they start drawing different nutrients and see if they come up with any deficiencies or other problems. Fingers crossed

 

[Skunksta]

Your be fine , just get soil issues out your head and think coco and you wont mess anything up.So forgiving coco as i have already said glad its dailed in with temp/nutes/watering/etc when it works it works real well.Only way back to soil for me in organic.

 

[Grower2020]

Your be fine , just get soil issues out your head and think coco and you wont mess anything up.So forgiving coco as i have already said glad its dailed in with temp/nutes/watering/etc when it works it works real well.Only way back to soil for me in organic.

I definitely agree that it works well
Thanks again for all your input along the way skunksa

 

[Southerncough]

The great thing about coco is that you can change course pretty quicky to meet the plants needs, even flush it for a blank slate if you need to fix toxic overfeeding, yet slow enough that your plants won't die in 2 hours like they could when a hydro system goes awry.

 

[Grower2020]

Cleaned up my tent and installed second light tonight
Yep definitely nailing coco now only just starting to stretch really now amazing results at 30 days from seed for a coco beginner I think.

 

[Grower2020]

Well lads they have come a long way in the past 8 days that's for sure . Learning so much about coco I'm still living it. Only thing is in definitely building an waterimg system with drain tub also so just fill rez flick switch for irrigation , wait 5mins , turn off, wait to drain and then flick switch to empty drain tub. Can't imagine pulling out 12 big plants to feed and putting back in twice a day by hand , fark that lol I'm too smart for that shit lol

 

[Grower2020]

Probably get only 8 plants comfortably in this 6x6
8×5/6 =40-48 oz .
If I can get that I'll be happy any more is a bonus

 

[Grower2020]

A bit of a popping tonight to free it all up of crud down the bottom

 

[Grower2020]

You get out what you put in