Re-using Coco

[EddieShoestring]

i'm still sieving and flushing..........what a palava.

for me the most important aspect of the re-usability of coir is security; you try getting 20sacks of coir in and out of a 12th floor flat in an inner city highrise every 3months and you'll get the idea.
The first time that I tried it I flushed 1000L using an old Dutch Pot system and a jug. I was testing the ec and got it down to ec0.7 ish (or thought I did)-used Cannazyme etc-something went wrong.
The AKs that were potted into it-shrivelled-showed a multitude of def's and burns and allsorts-half died, the other half just survived and grew on through it. Nothing like that had ever happened in coir before and so it must have been due to not flushing properly. Incidentally the Sk#1 potted in the same stuff, and grown beside the AKs, showed no symptoms whatsoever.

I did some experiments afterwards:flushing some coir down to virtually the ec of the tapwater-letting it dry-flushing again and then testing the runoff. Guess what? It was about 3.0. That's not good.
This time i have been careful to flush and flush it but have had someting similar, on some strains, but to a much lesser extent, and re-potting in fresh coir and TLC have pulled things around. I wonder if using GH Ripen to the end of flowering may be something to do with it.
In future I will use fresh coir-or a mix of old/new for the smallest of seedlings/cuttings


cheers
eddieS

 

[down2grow]

So what kind of zyme product are you guys using? If reusing coco, you have to use the zyme product from the beginning til end? Sorry for the noob questions. I just harvested and went with bcuzz coco following he Rezipe. I did do a 10 day flush with straight RO. I have the whole line of H&G(coco & aqua flakes) that I was going to save for another run. So that means that I have Multi Enzyme. Can that be used or do I need something like hygrozyme?

Thanks guys

D2G

 

[SergeantGod]

HYGROZYME...........

 

[gigante]

i'm still sieving and flushing..........what a palava.

for me the most important aspect of the re-usability of coir is security; you try getting 20sacks of coir in and out of a 12th floor flat in an inner city highrise every 3months and you'll get the idea.
The first time that I tried it I flushed 1000L using an old Dutch Pot system and a jug. I was testing the ec and got it down to ec0.7 ish (or thought I did)-used Cannazyme etc-something went wrong.
The AKs that were potted into it-shrivelled-showed a multitude of def's and burns and allsorts-half died, the other half just survived and grew on through it. Nothing like that had ever happened in coir before and so it must have been due to not flushing properly. Incidentally the Sk#1 potted in the same stuff, and grown beside the AKs, showed no symptoms whatsoever.

I did some experiments afterwards:flushing some coir down to virtually the ec of the tapwater-letting it dry-flushing again and then testing the runoff. Guess what? It was about 3.0. That's not good.
This time i have been careful to flush and flush it but have had someting similar, on some strains, but to a much lesser extent, and re-potting in fresh coir and TLC have pulled things around. I wonder if using GH Ripen to the end of flowering may be something to do with it.
In future I will use fresh coir-or a mix of old/new for the smallest of seedlings/cuttings


cheers
eddieS

Then you`re doing something wrong. Maybe too much ferts or too low PH. Maybe both. EC 3.0 means a big salt build-up which should never been in your coir. If so flush with tap water a long time...

So what kind of zyme product are you guys using? If reusing coco, you have to use the zyme product from the beginning til end? Sorry for the noob questions. I just harvested and went with bcuzz coco following he Rezipe. I did do a 10 day flush with straight RO. I have the whole line of H&G(coco & aqua flakes) that I was going to save for another run. So that means that I have Multi Enzyme. Can that be used or do I need something like hygrozyme?

Thanks guys

D2G

any zyme works. yes, use it from beginning till end. zymes are not that important, but defenitely helpful....

 

[gaiusmarius]

a good trick when you are running the drippers to flush, do it in stages, i will turn the pump on for about 30 mins of flushing then turn it off to drain for 10 or 15 mins, then turn on again for another 15 mins of flushing, some times longer, i keep doing that till the ec of the return is around 0.6 and stays that way. but yes as the water evaporates it leaves higher salt levels behind again, so it's worth doing it properly. when it come to flushing i use only plain ph corrected water.

 

[mean mr.mustard]

A point regarding the sour spot that I can't believe nobody touched on:

Compaction prevents coco from being colonized by rootmass. Perlite does help this.

 

[Tokesome]

A point regarding the sour spot that I can't believe nobody touched on:

Compaction prevents coco from being colonized by rootmass. Perlite does help this.

The perched water table is the area or head of water that remains in almost all pots. It doesn`t always affect things in a big bad way, but it certainly can.

As the pot is fed from above (til run off)the water starts moving down the pot by force of gravity. Combating this is the absorbtion or holding ability of the medium, be it coco, compost or soil. Gravity pulls the water through the pot until a point where it`s power cannot make the medium release anymore. You`d be surprised how much this can be.

To teat for yourself how much, take 2 small plant pots and insert a suitable wicking material and inch and a half into the centre hole of one of them, and leave the other one as is. Fill nearly to the top with, in this case coco. Place the two pots over 2 seperate containers that will catch the run off. fill the pots with equal amounts of water until run off is coming through from both, and then measure the run off when the last one has finished dripping.

The one with the wick will start dripping first and stop dripping last and the one with the wick will run off a reasonable amount more than the other as it leaches the perched area at the bottom of the pot. I`ve apply this technique to my 14ltr pots, with pots raised 3 inches off the drip trays, in my growing for the last 2 or 3 grows now, since having the dead area at the bottom of the pots affect the yield badly. I have nice evenly moistured coco now.

I came on this thread because I`m going to re-use my coco this grow, its something I`ve never done before. I`m going to get a sieve to remove the roots and use cannazym.

Cheers, Toke

 

[Harinama]

another option is to add 1" perlite at the bottom of the pot, as we do in hempy..

 

[maxmurder]

so how soon does everyone re-use their coco? i'm trying a 4x4 tray with 5-50 litre bags of canna, 4 plants per bed using the whole canna feed. i tried this cuz i need to reuse my medium or at least add a bag or two for next round. i was hoping to replant no later than 2 days after harvest. can i just mix in some new coco and plant (with some old roots in it?), or is it best to shovel onto tarp, let dry, remix etc.?? i have hydroton on the bottom for drainage.

 

[Craven_au]

I just sifted 100L of coco what a pain in the back but not in the pocket

The top green container is from a worm farm and just fits into the 70L blue container.

Add coco and shake the shit out of it took me about 30mins

 

[Herborizer]

For Hygrozyme...

I am Drip to Waste. My reservoir is 60 gallons. Lasts me about 1 month. If I put hygrozyme in my reservoir so that I am effectively feeding it every time, will Hygrozyme destabilize the nutes in my reservoir? Will the Hygrozyme still be effective after being in the reservoir for days, weeks, 1 month? Anything special I should do?

Thanks!

 

[OPT]

Feeder roots are so small when using Canna Coco, how do you separate the tiny fuckers? I once tried to sieve the shit but was unsuccessful, but with how expensive Canna is to ship, i'd rather reuse.

OPT

 

[Justin_Credible]

I just sifted 100L of coco what a pain in the back but not in the pocket

The top green container is from a worm farm and just fits into the 70L blue container.

Add coco and shake the shit out of it took me about 30mins

So, I have a question/s.....if u in 6.0 flush no nutes, just water then u doing the sift thing and re-using the coco? So as long as i take and do good flush the coco has nothing in it at all? Or is this coco that u only use to transplant big veg plants or plants almost ready for flower? Just curious is all, if I do not have to throw out coco I won't.
How long before u HAVE to throw it out if at all? Or are u just re-using for a year or something? I just threw out all mine from my 1st run!
Wish i had not missed this thread.

 

[icon]

heres an option to try before trying to sieve your coco coir by using pondzyme
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=111148
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=67488&highlight=pond+zyme

 

[Harinama]

if you have had gnats, i recommend ONLY azamax. Nothing else got rid of those pesky critters in my garden, and more recently also thrips.

i reuse my coco/perlite always. I flush/sparge using a pillow case with just tapwater. Basically i am looking for nearly clear runoff. Then i have a condition cycle to bring it back to useability using these amendments. Generally i pour at least 1gal conditioned h20 through per 3gal of coco.

1) Cannazyme or the like is crucial to breakdown the dead roots so they don't suck oxygen from the live roots
2) cal/mag: coco seems to bind to these keeping them from the plants, always amend unless your nutes compensate
3) dripclean: removes salt from your coco.

Good luck, good flush/conditioning and you should be able to use your coco over and over and over and...

 

[Cousin Cleatis]

For Hygrozyme...

I am Drip to Waste. My reservoir is 60 gallons. Lasts me about 1 month. If I put hygrozyme in my reservoir so that I am effectively feeding it every time, will Hygrozyme destabilize the nutes in my reservoir? Will the Hygrozyme still be effective after being in the reservoir for days, weeks, 1 month? Anything special I should do?

Thanks!

No hygrozyme won't destablize your nutes. Other Zyme products you can use are Sensi Zyme, Canna Zyme, Multi Zen. In regards to gnats they love hygrozyme. It's like Candy to them.prepare to combat those if you run it the entire rearing cycle. I use Hygrozyme and Multi Zen from weak 4 of veg into weak 4 of flowering. In regards to gnats I just throw mosquito dunks in my res with a panty hos around it so it doesn't clog any lines. Keeps them to a minimal. Azatrol and Azamax work but theres more room for error.

 

[Justin_Credible]

if you have had gnats, i recommend ONLY azamax. Nothing else got rid of those pesky critters in my garden, and more recently also thrips.
<clip>

K+2U
1st time EVER that a guy at grow shop sold J.c. on something and it worked...all be it, he said it would work on mites...it did not...but it sure as hell killed off all those crappy gnats. No more stupid fucking sticky trap stuck to the side of J.c.'s face anymore!!!!