• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

Dan's Coco Log

I decided to give coco coir a shot back in January based on all the success that Blister has had and posted on this forum.  
 
This is what I am planning for coco this year:
1x Carolina Reaper (seeds from pepperlover.com)
1x Fatali (seeds from pepperlover.com)
1x Brain Strain (seeds from pepperlover.com)
1x CARDI Scotch Bonnet (seeds from Juanitos)
1x Scotch Bonnet Brown (seeds from pepperlover.com)
 
Current Nutrient Mix:
General Hydroponics Flora 1:1:1 tsp Micro, Grow, Bloom
1 tsp Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus
RO water, ~600ppm total concentration
 
Lessons learned so far:
- Don't let it dry out like soil, feed when it starts to feel light.  Currently 4 day intervals.
- Check runoff concentration for nutrient/salt buildup.  Recently burned plants when I had 1700ppm runoff.
 
Progress so far:
 
January:
 

 

 
 
February:
 

 
Reaper

 
 
April:
 
Reaper

 

 

 
Fatali

 
Brain Strain

 
SB Brown and CARDI SB
 
Click to expand...
Wow looks like you're having some great results so far!

I'm guessing that you started the Reaper and a Fatali in coco earlier than the others? The growth on them is impressive to say the least. Glad to see you posing your results.

Neil
 
Blister said:
Wow looks like you're having some great results so far!

I'm guessing that you started the Reaper and a Fatali in coco earlier than the others? The growth on them is impressive to say the least. Glad to see you posing your results.

Neil
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Neil!  I started the Reaper in coco first and the Fatali and Brainstrain a few weeks later at the same time.  Its incredible how much faster chili's grow in coco compared to soil.  I am going to try a coco/perlite mix with the Scotch Bonnets.
 
I know. The growth is mind boggling. I've tried mixing perlite and coco, but hadn't really noticed any improvement over pure coco. Especially after using strained coir.

Edit: are those over wintered plants next to the plants in coco?

Neil
 
Blister said:
I know. The growth is mind boggling. I've tried mixing perlite and coco, but hadn't really noticed any improvement over pure coco. Especially after using strained coir.

Edit: are those over wintered plants next to the plants in coco?

Neil
Click to expand...
 
Good to know about the perlite.  I haven't tried straining the coco yet either.  
 
Some of them are overwintered, a few kratky tomatoes, and a mini ebb and flow system with tomato and CARDI Scotch Bonnet.  I overwintered my Thai, Trinidad Perfume, Bishops Hat, Bhut Jolokia, and a few Habaneros that are no longer in the tent.
 

 
 
 
This is what I've been using to strain the coco:

94e6d6f69e9cd72b7807086c0eb9f59a.jpg


After the coir has been strained. Fine pith on top, coarse coir on the bottom

7569f993baf51d643fba6f94b12451ba.jpg


It really drains fast after its been strained. I've found that you can water a bit more often and the root growth is amazing.

Neil
 
Blister said:
It really drains fast after its been strained. I've found that you can water a bit more often and the root growth is amazing.

Neil
Click to expand...
 
Nice, I'll have to give that a try!
 
dan5505 said:
 
Nice, I'll have to give that a try!
Click to expand...
Seems to work good. I gave it a shot after I noticed how much fine pith was in both Royal Gold and Canna Coco lose bags. I didn't want to throw it out do I strained it to see if i could make it work. I've been doing it ever since.

I have cooler temperatures during winter and the pots with unstrained coir would stay wet for far too long. I'd have seedlings in 2" pots that would eventually get green slime on them because they'd take so long to dry out and never really get to a point where they could be watered again. For example

d575ef28bde99be976b9b62a6176ed11.jpg


Not only did it get a green algae slime on the top, you can also see mold. My plants definitely do better after being put into strained coir. I throw the fine pith on my lawn as a turf builder rather than just throw it in the garbage.

Neil
 
Looking good Dan! Plants are nice and healthy and showing some good growth.

Neil

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
 
Nice results you guys got with just Coco Coir... I hadn't heard of straining it before, but see the logic. I'll have to keep an eye peeled here to see how it goes for you. In an effort to lighten up my Pro-Mix, I made a 50-50 blend with Coco Coir and have three inch peat pots filled with the blend and sitting in 1/4 inch of water with dissolved nutes. It'll be interesting to compare results with you at plant-out. Cheers!
 
Everything looks incredible! It's amazing what you've done using coco. I'm really impressed! If you haven't tried the Scotch Bonnet Brown yet, it's a great pepper. I grew it last year...seeds from PepperLover, too. Nice big, flavorful pods and plenty of them. Respectable heat as well. Keep up the great work and good luck annihilating those springtails.

-Adam
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top