media Coco Potting Mix

Pac_Heat507

Pac_Heat507

I came accross this potting mix while at the local hardware store.
 
http://www.vanderknaap.eu/en/products-retail/1321608761/Compact-Coco-Potting-Soil
 
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Looked ok and is an option besides MG. Decided to give it a try with some seeds and they seem to be doing ok in it. 
 
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I was wondering if this mix will be ok throughout the grow (obviously adding nutes as needed), or should I add some worm humus, perlite and/or vermiculite?
 
Thanks in advanced.
 
I love coco for seedlings but only as an ingredient to mix with other stuff like peat, bark compost, and lots of perlite (i mix it with fox farms ocean forest soil). I'm sure vermiculate would help. If you use coco alone, eventually the plants will turn yellow and chlorotic looking. It stays wet for way too long and won't allow as much oxygen to penetrate, it also contains very little nutrition except for phosphorus.
 
Your seedlings will be fine as long as you don't overwater them. Bottom watering is good but it's harder to judge how much water you are using. To avoid chlorotic yellow plants you'll have to pot up into a better mix after they've developed their 2nd or 3rd set of true leaves. Those seedling tray cells will probably force you to pot-up soon anyway.
 
Good luck either way. And like i said, don't overwater that soil, let the tops dry out well between waterings.
 
coco is fine for seedlings but you need to move them into real dirt or add some organic material to it when they get bigger since it has no nutrients, unless you're gonna grow hydroponically then keep going with the coco
 
Thanks guys.
 
In your opinion, do you guys think that this mix is ok:
 
25% coco
20% perlite
20% vermiculite
25% soil
10% worm casting
 
I would also amend the soil with some neptune and some cal mag prior to transplant.
 
Sound ok?

or should I just use MG MC poting soil?
 
In Panama, there is no fox farms or other types like pro mix
 
It all depends on what type, but normally i wouldn't use ground soil in containers, at least not that high of a percentage.
 
As with coco, it can also pack up too tight and not allow enough oxygen to the roots, resulting in those chlorotic plants i was talking about. Unfortunately you would not find out until it was nearly too late. Two questionable container ingredients probably would not work well together.
 
If it's a nice, light, composty soil filled with bits of tree bark, then it may work. I would probably go a little lighter on the vermiculite too, once it breaks down it also becomes soggy, adding to a potentially soupy mess. Perlite is excellent of course.
 
Any other miracle grow potting mix besides the moisture control type? Peppers like a drier, airy, well draining soil.
 
Jetchuka said:
It all depends on what type, but normally i wouldn't use ground soil in containers, at least not that high of a percentage.
 
As with coco, it can also pack up too tight and not allow enough oxygen to the roots, resulting in those chlorotic plants i was talking about. Unfortunately you would not find out until it was nearly too late. Two questionable container ingredients probably would not work well together.
 
If it's a nice, light, composty soil filled with bits of tree bark, then it may work. I would probably go a little lighter on the vermiculite too, once it breaks down it also becomes soggy, adding to a potentially soupy mess. Perlite is excellent of course.
 
Any other miracle grow potting mix besides the moisture control type? Peppers like a drier, airy, well draining soil.
Click to expand...
 
There's the regular potting mix as well. 
 
The soil i am reffering to that sold here that claims to be enriched, last time around i used it and liked it in the begining, but then the plants in those containers did not fair well because it was not draining well, got hard on the surface.
 
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It just says tierra negra meaning black dirt, says it has organic nutes as well. No analysis though
 
So, the seedling have been doing very good. they look great. It does retain a lot of moisture and some seeds even had some mold on them. i left them out in plain sunlight so they can dry out a bit. Should not be a problem with the heat and UV index here.
 
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So I just wanted to confirm with the experts about this medium, is it straight coco? or is it mixed with peat or something ? I believe the manufacturer calls the medium "coco peat". It is light and clean.
 
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I will have to transplant these in the next few weeks. dont know what to do about the soil yet. 
 
Any suggestions as to a simple fool proof mix instead of using MG?
 
I have acces to some vermiculite, soil as posted above, perlite and worm castings.
 
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It looks like a mix of fine and long strand coco looks good. One note never ever let coco dry out completely your little ones will die very fast. I wouldn't use the vermiculite if it were me I'd use more coco peat. I use straight coco when I run drip or ebb and flood hydro and love it but by itself it doesn't hold nutrients so in containers I mix it with worm castings and peat moss.
I also add perlite to the mix for drainage.
 
rebelgrower3 said:
It looks like a mix of fine and long strand coco looks good. One note never ever let coco dry out completely your little ones will die very fast. I wouldn't use the vermiculite if it were me I'd use more coco peat. I use straight coco when I run drip or ebb and flood hydro and love it but by itself it doesn't hold nutrients so in containers I mix it with worm castings and peat moss.
I also add perlite to the mix for drainage.
Click to expand...
Thanks! sounds good. 
 
So, for the potting mix how about 
 
60% coco peat mix
30%perlite
10%worm casting
??
 
A few ideas to break that coco mix down further, can you get your hands on any of the following:
 
- Peat
- Pine bark mulch, but you would sift out the medium and larger pieces and not use them. Other mulches would work but you want a bag of the finer stuff with no color treatment.
- Compost, but preferably not dense black dirt. A lighter, more airy compost with more solids in it like twigs etc. That bagged stuff you posted might be ok in smaller quantities, say 10-15% of the mix?
- I'm forgetting other ideas, i'll post  again if i can remember them.
 
Pac_Heat507 said:
Thanks! sounds good. 
 
So, for the potting mix how about 
 
60% coco peat mix
30%perlite
10%worm casting
??
Click to expand...
If it were mine thats about what i would mix. Like jetchuka said maybe 50% on the coco and add like 10% cow manure,chicken or some other compost to the mix.
 
Jetchuka said:
A few ideas to break that coco mix down further, can you get your hands on any of the following:
 
- Peat
- Pine bark mulch, but you would sift out the medium and larger pieces and not use them. Other mulches would work but you want a bag of the finer stuff with no color treatment.
- Compost, but preferably not dense black dirt. A lighter, more airy compost with more solids in it like twigs etc. That bagged stuff you posted might be ok in smaller quantities, say 10-15% of the mix?
- I'm forgetting other ideas, i'll post  again if i can remember them.
Click to expand...
Why would you want to break the coco down?  My understanding is that coco provides the ideal structure for soil, retains water but also holds a lot of air, what benefit does breaking the coco down provide?
 
Monkey Hunter said:
Why would you want to break the coco down?  My understanding is that coco provides the ideal structure for soil, retains water but also holds a lot of air, what benefit does breaking the coco down provide?
Click to expand...
In my experience, mixes heavy in coco always lead to yellow chlorotic plants. I never figured out if it was the high water retention, poor air penetration, or even both (both cause similar problems). I do the usual double rinse and drain, in case of salt. But i've used it straight and don't think my supply has a high salt content (zoo-med).
 
I'm seeing it happen this year again with an orange manzano plant and a sunflower plant. Lots of perlite + balanced nutrition, but the plants are stubbornly yellow, and getting worse. I still use it, and agree that it has ideal structure, but my plants always want it mixed with something else. I consider it a moisture control ingredient, been using it for around 3-4 years i think.
 
There were others that had so called mystery issues that turned out to have the same problem. It's a problem that creeps up from time to time on gardening forums.
 
I started 5 habanero plants this year, all in peat pellets - two went in coco coir bags (they were a brick in a plastic bag that was used as a pot, with 4 SMALL holes in the bottom) and 3 in canna terra pro filled superoot air pots. The ones in coco are much much bigger and they were all fed the same: nothing at first, then some generig leaves nutrient (as in for green plants) and after that "growth technology chilli focus" (it's cheap). Also, the plastic bags with coco bricks inside were much cheaper than the airpots and the canna soil.
 
There are no ripe peppers on the plants, but if the taste is about the same, for the next year grow I will go all coco. The biggest plant in soil has about 5 peppers and the one in coco more than 30. Also, the plants in coco look healthier and wilt less often than the ones in airpots.
 
I used coco indoors for years with no problems, either used straight or mixed 50/50 with perlite to cut down the cost.  The only time I had chlorotic leaves was with either poor quality coco or not watering often enough.  Low quality coco usually has high salts and more consistent particle size, but as long as I used a good quality coco I never had problems with over watering or poor root zone aeration.  I always used complete, water soluble fertilizers as well, so generally I could use the coco for 3 crops (9-12 months) with proper sterilization between and still not have issues with compaction.  If you start amending the coco with manures and such I imagine it'd be necessary to use fresh coco each time to avoid issues.
 
Jetchuka said:
In my experience, mixes heavy in coco always lead to yellow chlorotic plants. I never figured out if it was the high water retention, poor air penetration, or even both (both cause similar problems). I do the usual double rinse and drain, in case of salt. But i've used it straight and don't think my supply has a high salt content (zoo-med).
 
I'm seeing it happen this year again with an orange manzano plant and a sunflower plant. Lots of perlite + balanced nutrition, but the plants are stubbornly yellow, and getting worse. I still use it, and agree that it has ideal structure, but my plants always want it mixed with something else. I consider it a moisture control ingredient, been using it for around 3-4 years i think.
 rom stuck
There were others that had so called mystery issues that turned out to have the same problem. It's a problem that creeps up from time to time on gardening forums.
Click to expand...
Calcium deficiency. I know, everyone on this forum uses the cal/mag answer for everything from stuck seed heads to mites. hah Coco is infamous for calcium deficiencies though. I am not sure what brand you are using,but I use the roots organic and love it. Roots plow through it. The results I am seeing are opposite your findings. It is super airy,and dries up 2-3 times faster than the peat mixes I use. I should add that the Roots Organic has quite a bit of "birds nest" coco in the brick,that may be adding to the fast drainage.
 
Heres an update on the seedlings in coco.
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If you ask me they are doing great! I sowed these seeds July 4, 17 days ago. Im very happy with the results so far. 
 
So, was wondering what my alternaives are since I will have to trnsplant these very soon.
 
should I keep using the coco, with some perlite and frets? ( I would be using Neptune's fish & seaweed.
 
Or should I use either earth gro potting mix or MG potting  mix?
 
Here is the coco. the package says its a ready to use potting mix for plants with ferts for 3 months.
 
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