Grow Mediums So… how are you guys reusing your coco ?

[Groff]

Decided to open this thread to get a feel as to how folk are reusing their coco.

I'm a few weeks aways from harvest and already prepping for the occasion.

There are many ways to do it, depending on numerous factors, so decided to start blank to have a grasp of how you guys do it. Already got a system you'd care to share?

After my next crop I will attempt the "grandaddy" of coco reuse. Apparently it exponentially increases your plant potential while keeping work to a minimum. This is not a proper tutorial, that will come later

Come harvest, with a knife cut out the stem by the root. Cut out the roots about the size of two fist together right under the stem. Carve a little extra space if needed to accommodate to a new plant to pop straight in, top it with more coco or hydroton, sand, etc… flush heavily with low EC and part 1 done.

Essentially leaving all the root-mass from the previous plant in there. This can work wonders for the new plant if (part 2) you immediately start running a proper bacterial tea, with added enzymes, mycos, and trichoderma (very important). I'm not deep into trichodermas, I know not all trichodermas are the same, and for reference Canna uses Trichoderma Harzianum. Canna sells this as a product called AkTRIvator I believe. Surely there must be another option out there, but quite frankly I haven't looked into it yet.

These guys will be like pirañas at a synchronized swimmer's convention They will devour the dead roots and transform them straight into readily available food for the new plant - while at the same time establishing/colonizing the substrate providing a very healthy and thriving new rhizosphere. Basically a turbo-charged reboot.

Slack or skip a few steps, and root rot pathogens take over and doomsday awaits. I am very excited to try this soon. Seems a bit weird, but that is what mother nature actually does. And the extra mile in running the tea surely beats the logistics of weaving through coco.

Anyone tried this before? What is your preferred method?

 

[talkative]

Worm Factory 360 man, changed my life, takes 4 months to recycle about 2 gal or 650g of coco, and it's good, real good when they get done with it. I'd just feed it to them first but I need more than 2 gal a month. So I put fresh coco in the bottom of the pot and ewc on top then after 1 grow I dump it and make worm bedding.
Once you get the 360 up and running it's 2 gal/mo every month whether you need it or not.
I hate to mention the 360 but it is so perfect, but all the DIY come out of the woodwork every time I blow a c note.

 

[smokersuniteuk420]

I've heard flushing with cannazym can have the same desired effect as it breaks down dead material and turns it into micro nutrients, on the back of the bottle it says to double the dosage before harvest if the medium is being reused, I've been thinking about giving it a try but mines mixed 50/50 with perlite so I don't know if this will effect it or not plus I still have about 30 litres of fresh playgron coco stockpiled so I think I'll use that up first

 

[Roark]

I flush really heavy with weak solution til chop and then rinse with water a few times. Let dry out an it an mix with other spent coco. Then re pot

 

[Roasty McToasty]

I flush with seedling nutes and zyme, after chop i simply cut out the stalk of the harvested plant and refill the hole with fresh coco. Then simply drop a bean with a tap root into the fresh coco. It can be done for 3 uses, but toward the end of 2nd run it gets pretty muddy and water doesn't run through the pot very fast.

 

[Habitual]

What zyme do you use? blocks of coco are cheap but I am so lazy lately.

I flush with seedling nutes and zyme, after chop i simply cut out the stalk of the harvested plant and refill the hole with fresh coco. Then simply drop a bean with a tap root into the fresh coco. It can be done for 3 uses, but toward the end of 2nd run it gets pretty muddy and water doesn't run through the pot very fast.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

you guys are smashing bottled ,or psudo methods and natural process together and its working harder not smarter imho. ill touch on this eventually. coco coir is an easy medium to work with in growing/farming or fruiting plants.

 

[Habitual]

I dont get it can you elaborate ? I listen to all who are in the know. :smoking:

you guys are smashing bottled ,or psudo methods and natural process together and its working harder not smarter imho. ill touch on this eventually. coco coir is an easy medium to work with in growing/farming or fruiting plants.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

kinda in the middle of something else atm to be completely truthful with you ,but ok ill chat about it for a second., Psudo or FAKE methods of bottled feeds limit the natural processes ,or try and mimic them with minimal success compared to the natural process of enzyme breakdown with any physical medium if the proper life exists within them. so plain coco coir CAN do that it just needs to be grown in for a few years first LOL! so thats what you add a living soil mixture with it to heavy it up slight by maybe 20 to 35% soil and then the rest coco coir. recycle it like soil and it'll do the job for you in a few weeks maximum. well does for me anyways ,so worth a shot. cheap,more corect no PH and the like. thats what I mean broseph..get that??

 

[pop22]

I re-use my coco 1-2 more times. I wash it by putting it in 5 gallon paint strainer bags ( you get 3 for less than $5 ) and soaking it in plain water in a bucket, then rinse under a faucet for a couple minutes. After that, I mix it into my raised beds and also feed it to my compost worms. I sometimes mix it with recycled soil. The nutrient I usae is 90% organic, only the micro nutrients are chelated and micros make up less than 1% of most nutrient formulas so with a rinse. not enough is left behind to matter