media method to buffer coco?

C

cneal

I'm using coco for the first time this year. 
 
I've hydrated a 5 kg brick, subsequently realized it needs to be buffered and or washed. The 5 kg brick hydrated to just about 18 gallons of media. Using litmus paper I tested the coco in distilled water that looked between 5 and 6 ph.  I have garden lime to add the calcium buffer and raise the ph . I've put in 1 tbsp per gallon of pelletized lawn lime or 1-1/8 cups for the 18 gallons. Trying to move things along between rains here in Ohio. I've added the rest of my mix which is aged pine bark and rice hulls. I'll test the mix but i'm assuming the pelletized lime will need some watering to break down and raise the ph.
 
My question is how much lime to add? If I raise the ph of my mix to above 6 is that what I should aim for? What is the standard method for calcium buffering Coco? I've read on another forum 2 tbsp per gallon, I started with 1 to see where that would take it.
 
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I'm growing a Big Black Mama this year in coco/perlite. It's posted here in the forum. All I did was soak it in a double-strength CalMag solution for a few hours and rinse. I am using coco nutrients to feed it, and adding a standard amount of additional CalMag per gallon to the mix. I was in Columbus several years back, and went to Indoor Gardens on Indianola Avenue. Really nice hydroponcs store.
 
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Fwiw I've used coco + worm castings for seedlings very successfully for a couple years and never did anything to the coco other than hydrate it. But never done full sized plants in it yet. Recently I decided to try adding calmag first and all the seedlings in it got stunted with burned leaves and twisted growth. I'm guessing i just overdosed the calmag...

But seems so me the buffering isnt that important and apparently dosage is more important than I expected so I'll be either leaving it out or dropping to 1/2 strength in the future...
 
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Tybo said:
This site is for growing cannabis in coco but has all the info needed to buffer it and why.
www.cocoforcannabis.com

Coco Coir Bricks - How to Prepare and Buffer Coco Coir - Coco For Cannabis

This tutorial covers the process of selecting, preparing & buffering coco coir. Includes perlite ratios & tips to make coco the best media for cannabis
www.cocoforcannabis.com www.cocoforcannabis.com
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This was inspiring.

Years ago I successfully grew a few chinense in unbuffered coco using some General Hydroponic then switched over late to an organic tea before plantout. Everything came out just as well as my homemade potting soil. @Blister inspired me; check out some some of his old glogs.
j
 
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pyromania said:
But seems so me the buffering isnt that important and apparently dosage is more important than I expected so I'll be either leaving it out or dropping to 1/2 strength in the future...
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You couldn't be more wrong.

Buffering is important. That's why bagged coco comes pre-buffered. Otherwise, you're playing a guessing game with dosing on the fly, and never really knowing what your media is locking up, vs what your plant is getting. You don't buffer coco once it's planted out. That's pretty much a recipe for disaster. And even if it does work out, it is most likely the difference between a super grow, and a mediocre one.

Buffering serves 2 purposes: 1) it satisfies the high cation exchange of coco, with its propensity to hold onto calcium, magnesium, and iron, in particular, 2) the buffering with calcium displaces excess sodium.
 
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cneal said:
I'm using coco for the first time this year.

I've hydrated a 5 kg brick, subsequently realized it needs to be buffered and or washed. The 5 kg brick hydrated to just about 18 gallons of media. Using litmus paper I tested the coco in distilled water that looked between 5 and 6 ph. I have garden lime to add the calcium buffer and raise the ph . I've put in 1 tbsp per gallon of pelletized lawn lime or 1-1/8 cups for the 18 gallons. Trying to move things along between rains here in Ohio. I've added the rest of my mix which is aged pine bark and rice hulls. I'll test the mix but i'm assuming the pelletized lime will need some watering to break down and raise the ph.

My question is how much lime to add? If I raise the ph of my mix to above 6 is that what I should aim for? What is the standard method for calcium buffering Coco? I've read on another forum 2 tbsp per gallon, I started with 1 to see where that would take it.
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I honestly wouldn't mess with pH adjusting that - especially if it's going into a mix. And even more so, if you're going to keep it an organic grow (but still, if it were me, I'd not mess with it, anyway) However, for buffering coco, just use anything with more than 4% calcium, let it soak for an hour, then ***rinse it***. Done. (EDIT: you were supposed to do that before mixing the other stuff in, btw)

I think you'll find that whatever you think is a problem with pH, will go away after you buffer. But remember that you're not buffering coco for pH. You're trying to negate the negative charge of the media, such that it doesn't lock up essential nutrients, or retain salts.
 
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I know this is an old thread but I'm still confused about the linked method of buffering coco since they use a different chemical.

Is there a simple answer on how much Calmag+ to add to the 2- 10lb blocks of coco I have?

Also.. do I buffer it once for 8hrs...drain it...then repeat?
 
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LHornR said:
I know this is an old thread but I'm still confused about the linked method of buffering coco since they use a different chemical.

Is there a simple answer on how much Calmag+ to add to the 2- 10lb blocks of coco I have?

Also.. do I buffer it once for 8hrs...drain it...then repeat?
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I have a bottle of calmag and only use it to buffer coco. I use 5ml/gal water and cover the coco with it. Let it soak at least an hour but most times I just let it soak overnight. Rinse it well with ph'd water and it's ready for use. No need to repeat. I use Jacks 5-12-26 base nutes and add Calcium Nitrate. I also add epsom salts for the magnesium boost since my well water tested super super low for magnesium. The Jacks has magnesium in it but I've had deficiency before and now that I add the epsom salts I've not had any more issues.
If I'm mixing a small amount I use two 5 gallon buckets. I drilled a bunch of small holes in one and set it inside the non-drilled bucket. Pour the coco in the drilled bucket and add the water/calmag. When its done soaking just lift the inner bucket and it will drain. Then I can take the water hose and rinse it. I then set the inner bucket with the holes and coco back in the good bucket and cover the coco with ph'd water at 6.0. My well water is very acidic (~5.0ph) I'll let that soak a little while to insure my coco is not too acidic. After that I just mix my nutes, ph them to 5.8-6.2 and I'm good to go.
This is just how I do coco and I've not had any issues. I'm sure others will have their routine that works also.
I really like growing in coco since it's super easy to correct any ph/ec issues.
Hope this long winded post helps out. Those blocks of coco you have will expand a lot when you get them wet so you may have to get a bigger container than my 5 gallon bucket idea.
Good luck.
 
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Hey, L.HornR. Do you have meters for testing Ph and EC? If not, you'll be at a disadvantage, but you can still probably work it out.

Yes, the link recommends to treat twice with the buffering solution and then drain, rinse. I've done this before and also done it just once, using a solution EC at the high end of the range, keeping the CC in the solution longer, and stirring it well periodically - which I'd recommend either way.

The amount of CalMag doesn't directly relate to the amount of CC. The way I've done it is to fill a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket and add CalMag until I hit my numbers, then I simply pour enough in with the CC for it to absorb it all and still be a soupy mix. If I don't get enough in on the first pour, I simply add more from the prepared bucket or prepare another one.

How much CalMag requires an EC/TDS meter to get the EC of the solution to the recommended level of 1,200 - 2,000 EC. If you don't have one, I could mix up a smaller amount of CalMag+ into a gallon of tap water and extrapolate from there. My local water is very soft, but I don't think this should be an issue.

pH is another issue. If you don't have a pH meter your options are: get strips - assuming you don't want to buy a pH meter ($50+/- for a good one); determine the pH of your tap water (this is usually available online or from your water department); or perhaps buy bottled water with a known pH for buffering. Without a meter or strips you're only going to be aiming for a ballpark, but if you hit the ballpark your're probably fine. You'll also need something to raise or lower the pH as appropriate, if once you ballpark you think adjustment is needed.

A final step I would do is to rinse a second time and check the EC of the runoff to make sure it's not too hot. Without an EC meter, simply rinsing twice will help to avoid this. I like to squeeze out the extra water a bit between the rinses top make them more effective, especially with young pepper plants that particularly won't appreciate it if the media is too hot.

Another consideration is removing some of the smallest particles from the larger CC fibers if the CC you get has a lot of dust-like particles. I think this is more important for very small plants that haven't yet established strong root systems and foliage, but it's something to consider. If your doing bigger pot-ups of transplants it may not be worth the effort it takes. A kitchen colander works well for this. You don't need go after every last small particle (if you do, you'll be watering much more often), but a quick colander rinse to remove some of the CC dust can help. The way I do this is to pour the CC from the buffering bucket into the colander, agitate a little with my hands under running tap water, then squeeze it down to remove the excess water before transfer to a final container. Each CC block takes several such transfers due to colander size.

Caveat - I don't grow in CC often, though I've done this multiple times with satisfactory results. Perhaps someone who does this regularly can chime in, but unless you have meters, advice won't be apples-to-apples for you on pH particularly if they're not using water with the same starting parameters as yours.

EDIT: I see @Tybo already chimed in right before I posted. I'll defer to Tybo as he grows in CC much more often than I do.
 
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@Tybo and @CaneDog ...Hey thanks for getting back to me and the detailed info. I really appreciate it as I need to get my plants transplanted outside like last week.

I have fresh pH test strips but no EC meter...all I have is several multimeters. My water test out between 6 to 6.5 pH. Hardness is 145ppm...town water from several springs...minimal chlorine and fluoride.

The CC will be about 15% of my mix so I hope it wont be that critical even if I screw up. But with the detail you both provided I think I got the basics of it down. Now that I'm reading this I see I didnt make it clear I was using the CC in a mix..not for a media on its own. Sorry if that changes anything. Will the fine particles matter in this case?

Thanks again guys. :cheers:

Now...do I go visit mom tomorrow or get this done... :think:
:scared:
 
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Got it hydrated then into 6 felt pots and rinsed well. I'll let it sit in the Calmag until I get home tomorrow afternoon then rinse again.

@Tybo ...do you charge the CC after all of this or was you just telling me your nute regimen? If you do would I need to considering its going into a mix?
 
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LHornR said:
@Tybo and @CaneDog ...Hey thanks for getting back to me and the detailed info. I really appreciate it as I need to get my plants transplanted outside like last week.

I have fresh pH test strips but no EC meter...all I have is several multimeters. My water test out between 6 to 6.5 pH. Hardness is 145ppm...town water from several springs...minimal chlorine and fluoride.

The CC will be about 15% of my mix so I hope it wont be that critical even if I screw up. But with the detail you both provided I think I got the basics of it down. Now that I'm reading this I see I didnt make it clear I was using the CC in a mix..not for a media on its own. Sorry if that changes anything. Will the fine particles matter in this case?

Thanks again guys. :cheers:

Now...do I go visit mom tomorrow or get this done... :think:
:scared:
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I would think as an addition to mix I'd want to bring in the courser CC especially, but not necessarily the finer particles, but I also kinda doubt it would make much difference either way and especially with older, more established plants.

Hope you can get them transplanted and outside and growing pronto. Just don't get into trouble for skipping out on mom to do it!
 
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CaneDog said:
I would think as an addition to mix I'd want to bring in the courser CC especially, but not necessarily the finer particles, but I also kinda doubt it would make much difference either way and especially with older, more established plants.

Hope you can get them transplanted and outside and growing pronto. Just don't get into trouble for skipping out on mom to do it!
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You're right...that is one of the main reasons for putting it in the mix. I'll see what it looks like after the final rinse because a lot of the fine is washing out anyway.

Ha...cant do that to mom..she's 87 and not doing so good so you never know when it may be the last MD. Plants will make it another day.

Thanks CaneDog.
 
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LHornR said:
@Tybo and @CaneDog ...Hey thanks for getting back to me and the detailed info. I really appreciate it as I need to get my plants transplanted outside like last week.

I have fresh pH test strips but no EC meter...all I have is several multimeters. My water test out between 6 to 6.5 pH. Hardness is 145ppm...town water from several springs...minimal chlorine and fluoride.

The CC will be about 15% of my mix so I hope it wont be that critical even if I screw up. But with the detail you both provided I think I got the basics of it down. Now that I'm reading this I see I didnt make it clear I was using the CC in a mix..not for a media on its own. Sorry if that changes anything. Will the fine particles matter in this case?

Thanks again guys. :cheers:

Now...do I go visit mom tomorrow or get this done... :think:
:scared:
Click to expand...
Visit Mom!
 
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@Tybo ...I did...but she yelled at me for standing around talking to her when I had work to do..." didn't I teach you to get your work done first before goofing off". :shame: :lol:

Everything seemed to go OK. Just for grins I took my multimeter and switched it to ohms and fixed the probes 1/2" apart...then dipped it in the water during the initial rinse of the coco. It read about 17kΩ...then I checked it on the final rinse after the Calmag treatment and it read about 65kΩ. So if anything the solution was not as conductive after the buffering.
1684535597609.jpeg

Thanks again for the help guys. :cheers:
 
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