Grow Mediums reusing and pretreating coco - advice from experienced users please

[stonedBRO]

Hi there,

Most people say you should not feed nutes till a plant has a few sets of leafs, then again I have heard people feeding nutes from day 1...

However I have read online that when reusing coco some people prepare the coco with cannazym to help decompose roots left from the previous grow into useful foods, rhizo to help establish new root growth and calmag as a basis for making up for a potential lack of.

Some wash it through with plain water to get rid of excess salts build up during the grow, some people say never wash it through with plain water as it will remove the "buffer".

I would just like clarification of some of these facts / myths

If users could post their own experiences of anything I have mentioned above it would help myself and other users.

For example, I have just flushed the coco from my last grow for a week before I pulled it, derooted it as much as I could by hand, refilled back to 30L with spare coco, I then washed / hydrated it with 2L of water, when i saw a little run off, I then mixed 5ml cannazym (to help dissolve old root mass into useful foods) and 5ml rhizo (to help my new bean get hench) in another 2L which I then watered the 30L of coco.
I planted my bean in shortly after.
Would the EC of 5ml each of cannazym/rhizo diluted in 2L and poured into 30L of wet coco be to much for germination...?

Only time will tell, personally I'm hoping it's created a supercharged breeding ground o

Please if you no what your talking about, share your experiences, I'd love to know!

Play safe, StonedBRO

 

[Roark]

I flushed and picked through my coco once in my 4x4 table. I did not use any enzymes. Had loads of issues. Nute lock out dampening off on three plants it was a mess.
Turns out coco is cheap enough for me that I just use new every time. I put the spent cocoright to the flower beds these days. They love it.

Hope yourz goes better. Sounds like you have done a good cleaning job.

 

[T.T.Tarzan]

I always reuse coco, it seems to get better everytime in my experience. I just do the usual 10-14 day flush at the end of a grow, pick the biggest roots out (I don't spend too much time sifting through roots) then water with plain ph'd water a day before I plant a new bean. Coco is cheap enough to just use new everytime but personally I'd rather reuse it.

As to the question regarding the e.c, I'd say that's too much for putting a seed straight into. I probably would have gone with 0.5ml-1ml per litre, over time you'll be adding more as your plant gets bigger so all the dead roots will dissapear. I hope it works out for you and let us know how it goes

 

[Truu]

I'm the same with roark. I think you should be fine with what you are doing in preparation for a reuse. I would recommend adding in a small dosage of grow, and b-1 to your pre-buffer.

I've reused many times, however it's just easier for me to buy new and start fresh.

 

[JAYAR]

Here's my 2 cents worth, i've reused the same coco now for a while and it works fine, i do water it with cannazym before i germinate and also through the first 2 or 3 weeks. Get yourself an EC meter, theyre cheap too at like under 20$. I feed from day 1 at 0.8EC as is recommended by Canna, never hurt any seedlings like that.

About the excess salt buildup, simply pouring water will not remove it. You need a product that will do it, like Drip Clean which keeps salt out of pumps/hoses/coco. Someone had a good metaphor about how calcium builds up in showers and if you spray water on it, it wont get rid of it.. u would need a remover. Same applies for coco.

"AFN smoke out"

 

[stonedBRO]

Well personally I have reused my 50Litres a few times.
Not using all though, keeping 20L stored till the end of the grow, then mixing it up a bit.

Will leaving it out, to dry out 90% cause damage to it, or be less effective.
Surely, just rehydration makes it as good as new?

I have also flushed coco with many litres of water, prior to replanting, would that effect the coco in anyway or the buffer?

I heard some bad things about Drip Clean, effects to plants? Anyone heard of this or actually use the product and can vouch for it? Worth buying?

In my mind I have created a nice rich environment, lol I may have made the EC a little too toxic but we will wait and see, hopefully not!

Ps if you had a choice of what to germinate a bean under, between a 180w ufo 60cm away or a 125w veg clf 4inches away...which would it be?

 

[stonedBRO]

Truu, what is b-1?
And by can you elaborate on what you mean by adding grow? Canna a/b?

And thank you all for your replies, on behalf of myself and the viewers of this thread.:Aloha:

 

[stonedBRO]

Truu, what is b-1?
And by can you elaborate on what you mean by adding grow? Canna a/b?

And thank you all for your replies, on behalf of myself and the viewers of this thread.:Aloha:

 

[Truu]

B-1 Is a vitamin supplement to help reduce stress and help young plants start a little easier.

I use superthrive, you can get it at most stores in the gardening section. AN makes b-52 which is the same I think. There are other lineups that have similar.

Grow would be your base nutrient for the vegetative state. So yes it would be a&b I guess that's a 2 part? My lineup just has a grow and bloom. Basically you want to throw a little nitRogen in there.

 

[stonedBRO]

Okay thanks for the info on B vits, sounds like something we want in our chem cupboard!

And yeah canna a/b is a two part mix.
I'll be sure to cut down on the cannazym and rhizo and add a little a/b to the next precharge if all goes well.
Will also add a little bit in the next water just to give it a little appetiser

Have a good week everybody, I'll update when I'm back online!

Play safe, StonedBRO