Coco coir mix

I am a newbie mixing coco coir. I have perlite, npk fertilizer, cal-mag supplements and sensi coco bloom a and b. Do you recommend any mix to start with?

Samd5 said:

I am a newbie mixing coco coir. I have perlite, npk fertilizer, cal-mag supplements and sensi coco bloom a and b. Do you recommend any mix to start with?

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did you planning only coco and perlite mix? ı personally mix tham% 40-30perlite % 60-70 coco

Ditch the fertilizer........70/30 coco/perlite and liquid nutes fed daily.
You may not need calmag if you're using tap water.......I never have to use it.

I would recommend rinsing the coco really good and buffering it if its not already.

Rakin said:

I would recommend rinsing the coco really good and buffering it if its not already.

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Buffer in?

with high quality coco they say you don't have to rinse. I do it anyways. I also try to strain out the fine fibers while doing so.
after this I fill up a bucket with water and coco, add 1 tsp/gal of cal-mag and do a very light dosage of nutrients (1/4 strength or so)


next, I pH the coco to 6.0 then wait. It drops back down while the cal-mag is being exchanged and I repeat this until the pH remains stable. Then I strain it out and use it!

It is also good to strain out the fine particles of perlite too

Samd5 said:

Buffer in?

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I use coco in hemp buckets. I always prepare my coco by rinsing it really really well until the runoff is low ppm. Some coco takes more rinsing then others. Then I buffer it for a day or 2 with cal+mag by letting it soak in water that has cal+mag in it. Pretty much the only thing I use cal+mag for

If you buy a quality coco, rinsing and buffering isn't necessary.......you can use it right out of the bag without issue. Years ago the coco was not processed properly and it required rinsing and pre-charging.
I have used Canna, Mother Earth, Botanicare, and Complete right out of the bag without rinsing or buffering.

MickFoster said:

If you buy a quality coco, rinsing and buffering isn't necessary.......you can use it right out of the bag without issue. Years ago the coco was not processed properly and it required rinsing and pre-charging.
I have used Canna, Mother Earth, Botanicare, and Complete right out of the bag without rinsing or buffering.

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I remember back when the coco was all full of sand and you would find candy wrappers and other trash in it. I was getting these 20 kg bricks at the time and they were nasty. That was when they just put it in piles after processing the coconuts. It could have been sitting on the beach for months getting full of salt, sand, and other junk. Now that they realize that it's a valuable commodity they are taking better care of it and there are processing facilities that rinse and brick at the source. Most coco coir comes from Sri Lanka and it's become a booming industry there.

I use the 5kg bricks. Since good coco is already rinsed and buffered I just put a bale in a tote and rehydrate it with 1/4 strength nutrient solution and use it. I also don't use perlite any longer. I have found that straight coco works just fine by not using perlite it's just one less thing to buy. And I despise perlite. I hate that stuff with a passion. Unless it comes already mixed in bagged potting soil it's banned from my property.