Feed back about coco bricks from Petco?

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This is a question for a friend of mine that lives up in the mountains. There is no hydro shops around & he's too paranoid to order online he found coco coir bricks at a petco.

http://www.petco.com/product/10813/...essed-Coconut-Fiber-Expandable-Substrate.aspx

Would these be ok to use or do you think that they can contain something that would harm his plants?

 

[headfortrinity]

nice find, looks like it comes out to about $3.50 a brick with shipping for the 6 pack.
it says it can be used for "vivaria soil " which I googled and discovered that is a type of live plant medium for a reptile habitat. Should be ok to use, just give a brick a good flush and test the E.C. for excess salts. I all most ordered it myself but the shipping stopped me, because i can get it from the hydro shop for less.

 

[Retardo Motabon]

It will work, with some work! The majority of the coco bricks i have seen sold at garden centers and shops like the one mentioned in the link are filled with salts. It will take alot of flushing to work well. Might not be worth the effort if much is needed. i've been through it, it sucked!
RM

 

[magiccannabus]

Look through my gallery folders if you want to see the evolution of a grow using this coir. The three packs are a lot better deal though. Ordering online is a LOT cheaper, but this coir is better than I ever expected. The worst I have found in it was a lot of dead white beetles, and one time I found a pebble in it. If you notice in my gallery, near the middle of my time in flower, I was using this coir without even flushing it, and I think it's clear from the pictures that it does not kill your plants. Still, these days I flush it, because I can, and it doesn't hurt anything. I just use a five gallon bucket with small holes drilled around the base of it to strain it. I just stick that in the tub and run the shower head over it.

 

[icon]

thanks everyone! He is planning on mixing it with his soil for a late outdoor grow i'll tell him to just flush it really well he doesnt plan on using much so it sounds like it will be ok.

 

[beejium]

i run pet shop crap from time to time. it works, but be sure to rinse. what i do to avoid bugs is bake the bricks at 350*F for 30 minutes and then submerge in cold tap water to expand. after that i rinse it 5-7 times total.

 

[bicyclebenny]

nice find, looks like it comes out to about $3.50 a brick with shipping for the 6 pack.
it says it can be used for "vivaria soil " which I googled and discovered that is a type of live plant medium for a reptile habitat. Should be ok to use, just give a brick a good flush and test the E.C. for excess salts. I all most ordered it myself but the shipping stopped me, because i can get it from the hydro shop for less.

I use it regularly w/ no problem after several rinses. I also have Earth juice which has needed many rinses, too and is still a PITA. Too fine, I think. I like it ok mixed with ~20% perlite. I'll take the Petco stuff over Earth Juice anytime.

 

[southpaw]

Never put plants in it, but bought a brick one time for worm bedding. Flushed it well and the wigglers loved it.