coco prep/charging etc

siftedunity · Mar 5, 2013

ive been growing with coco for a few years now but im interested in everyones prep before using it.

who here pre charges their coco, and/or washes it through?
who here just uses it straight from the ba with no ill effects?

mugenbao · Mar 5, 2013

I've often been lax when rinsing and prepping the coco, but no more. I recently lost a dozen seedlings because I wasn't feeling well when setting things up and decided to not rinse the coco well. This is the first time I've had problems, but I'm determined to not allow it to happen again.

siftedunity · Mar 5, 2013

i actually used to rinse it and let it sit with calmag for a while. now i just use it from the bag. what brand do you use? my preference is canna proffesional..

watts · Mar 6, 2013

My coco doesn't have excess sodium so i just run half strength nutrients through it until runoff and then I plant the clones in there a day or two later. Near harvest I flush very well and I just re-use the coco.

siftedunity · Mar 6, 2013

its good you re use and i have a few times but tbh i havnt thought of a mess proof way to wash it through etc.

LEDNewbie · Mar 6, 2013

Why do guys pre charge coco and let sit before transplanting clones in? Why not put clones straight in and then water with half strength nutes afterwards?? Thanks guys..

Reason I ask is I'm new to coco and before my clones got killed by Broad Mites I had transplanted my clones into 4" pots of coco. I used Canna coco straight form the bag. Placed clones in and watered with a VERY light nute solution. Like 300ppm on the 700 scale. Plants roots took off and within a week roots were already at the bottom of the 4" pots. Just looking for wisdom here as when I get up and running again I'd like to make sure I'm doing things properly :thank you:

siftedunity · Mar 6, 2013

precharging can stop you getting cal/mag issues further down the road potentially.

watts · Mar 6, 2013

I'm not sure I guess it just depends on each person. I don't like my coco to be waterlogged when transplanting or young clones. If you buy good brick coco that doesn't have a bunch of sodium, you can just expand the coco with half strength nutrient solution or whatever strength you need, then its good to go in the pots.

shredGnar · Mar 6, 2013

LEDNewbie said:
Why do guys pre charge coco and let sit before transplanting clones in? Why not put clones straight in and then water with half strength nutes afterwards?? Thanks guys..

Reason I ask is I'm new to coco and before my clones got killed by Broad Mites I had transplanted my clones into 4" pots of coco. I used Canna coco straight form the bag. Placed clones in and watered with a VERY light nute solution. Like 300ppm on the 700 scale. Plants roots took off and within a week roots were already at the bottom of the 4" pots. Just looking for wisdom here as when I get up and running again I'd like to make sure I'm doing things properly

You should be fine,

Pre charging coco is essentially watering with nutrients (I use about 700ppm) due to bonds between positive and negative charged ions. Coco is negatively charged and wants to grab the positively charged calcium (and possibly other nutrients) from your salt based nutrients.

The first time you feed the coco more or less steals the calcium and can lead to issues down the line.

I just like to expand my botanicare coco with very hot water (I feel it kills any potential bugs) in my utility sink, then let it cool over night. The next day ill pull the plug in the sink and rinse/pre charge with approx 700 ppm of just base nutes and pyretherin (again, bugs).

Many ways to do this I believe many just use loose stuff right out of the bag with no real problems..

siftedunity · Mar 6, 2013

shredGnar said:
You should be fine,

Pre charging coco is essentially watering with nutrients (I use about 700ppm) due to bonds between positive and negative charged ions. Coco is negatively charged and wants to grab the positively charged calcium (and possibly other nutrients) from your salt based nutrients.

The first time you feed the coco more or less steals the calcium and can lead to issues down the line.

I just like to expand my botanicare coco with very hot water (I feel it kills any potential bugs) in my utility sink, then let it cool over night. The next day ill pull the plug in the sink and rinse/pre charge with approx 700 ppm of just base nutes and pyretherin (again, bugs).

Many ways to do this I believe many just use loose stuff right out of the bag with no real problems..

well when i first started pre charging a while back i was on another forum where the advice was to precharge with calmag only.. but for the same reason you mentioned above. so ive never precharge with nutrients before, just calmag. which seemed to be fine. whats your take on that?

shredGnar · Mar 6, 2013

siftedunity said:
well when i first started pre charging a while back i was on another forum where the advice was to precharge with calmag only.. but for the same reason you mentioned above. so ive never precharge with nutrients before, just calmag. which seemed to be fine. whats your take on that?

If its working for you, I would say go with that. I do believe cal/mag are the ones that cause the most issues however you only have to do it once so I figure better safe than sorry and rather use base nutes.

LEDNewbie · Mar 6, 2013

With pre charging does any time need to be left between transplanting clones? Or can I pre charge and then transplant a couple hours later?

shredGnar · Mar 6, 2013

LEDNewbie said:
With pre charging does any time need to be left between transplanting clones? Or can I pre charge and then transplant a couple hours later?

That is fine, after you transplant water well with whatever strength nutrients you plan on feeding your new clones..

azad · Mar 7, 2013

I use coco straight out the bag,with no probs..
Ive tried Canna and Playgron with no probs.looking for the Plantmagic coco to try next.

siftedunity · Mar 21, 2013

i dont rate plant magic. i got a few samples lately to try and wasnt impressed at all. their new calmag sup is shit.

bmaster · Mar 22, 2013

Precharging coco

Precharging coco

I use coco bricks. Most of the coir you get today has been prewashed with fresh water. Therefore I use distilled water to expand brick, then charge with solution of calmag+,Roots Excelurator and b52 (kelp,b vitamins, humic acid,etc). I leave it for a day before using it.
That solution is great for seeds and clones. If using for transplant then feed with regular nutes after transplanting.

grassott's dad · Mar 23, 2013

siftedunity said:
i actually used to rinse it and let it sit with calmag for a while. now i just use it from the bag. what brand do you use? my preference is canna proffesional..

We use canna professional too for this reason. As it's pre-treated by experts there's no need to rinse and our plants love it. Big 50l bag for a ten quid. I know you have to rinse other coco brands before use but not this stuff :yes:

Lesterburnum · Mar 23, 2013

I have used straight canna out of the bag for years with great results and never precharged. I did try a brick once and had to wash it a couple times to get the ppm of wash down to acceptable levels. I think it depends on brand of coco.

Lesterburnum · Mar 23, 2013

I haven't seen the canna professional. I might have to ask for that and try a plant or two in it.

medicalmj · Mar 24, 2013

shredGnar said:
You should be fine,

Pre charging coco is essentially watering with nutrients (I use about 700ppm) due to bonds between positive and negative charged ions. Coco is negatively charged and wants to grab the positively charged calcium (and possibly other nutrients) from your salt based nutrients...

Do you know where (websites) the chemical reaction of this process can be found? I'm interested in the net ionic equation of this process.

coco prep/charging etc

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