COCO COIR Coco coir growers, do you buy a pre-made mix?

[wannabeagrower]

So I'm pretty sold on the idea of growing in coco coir. But I'm trying to decide whether to use a pre-made coco 70:30 potting mix like Mother Earth or Cultivation Nation coco. Or whether I should buy coco bricks and perlite and make the coco myself at home in a bucket with boiling water.

Any growers here use coco coir to grow weed? What has worked best for you?

 

[golfnrl]

I have not used a brick of coco. My grow medium is 5050 coco/perlite. I have only found one brand that has that mix ratio in my area. It comes from a country I don't want to support so I usually buy Mother Earth Coco and Perlite #3 and mix my own. I always soak the coco even if I don't have to. And I supplement with cal/mag the entire grow once the plants start taking nutrients.

If you are going to mix it yourself be aware that it is messy. The perlite can get away from you. It needs to be rinsed as well IMHO before it is combined with the coco. Depending on how much you are preparing you may need a larger container to mix. I use a couple of totes. The buckets weren't big enough to move the coco around while mixing it up with the perlite to my liking. Don't forget to PH the water. Boiling water isn't necessary unless you just want to use it.

 

[bboyfromwayback]

You can do either, just make sure to use add plenty of perlite to the mix if you use a brick.

Either way you go, the beauty of cocoa is it’s reusable. Just get the plant material out and rinse really well after a grow

 

[Smallgrow]

The folks above are more knowledgeable than me on this topic but I have tried both. I think if you’re a beginner just get a high quality known brand of ready to use coco. It will save the mess and take some of the guess work out of it.

 

[Ckbrew]

I use mother earth coco/p 70/30. Imo the bricks are a waste of my time. rehydration, wash, wash, wash, buffer, mix in perlite. My time is more valuable than the bit of $ you will save on the bricks. Even with ME I use a buffer solution high in calmag for the first watering.

 

[Allenpro]

I use the Mother Earth mix with no complaints I dont use a buffer and I am happy with the results. If you decide to use a brick use the smaller bricks, the larger blocks wll bend the hell out of a 5 gallon bucket

 

[Allotrope1000]

Hi, wannabe. Been there. Done that.
I grow in 50/50 coco/perlite in an outdoor greenhouse. I also have a good, solid Jackson wheelbarrow. I make my mix from coco brick and raw perlite. So easy.
Put the brick in wheelbarrow (out in garden) and hydrate with tap water from hose. (Where did the boiling water idea come from? Really not needed. I question the source of that information.)
I mix coco and perlite 1:1 with a one gallon nursery pot into a big tub then fill fabric grow pots from there. USE an N95 face mask if, when mixing dry perlite. It has a respiratory DANGER from it's very fine silica dust. I don't buffer it - just add CaliMagic to the nutes and pH to 6.0. Plants love the coco mix. Never had Mg/Ca deficiency.
Bottom line is:
- Growers way over think and complicate growing cannabis.
- Buy it if you do not have the room/outdoors space to mix it.
IMO, best and smartest for smaller or indoor, tent grows.
- Mix it if needing larger quantities. Much less expensive. I ended up needing almost 100 gallons for my greenhouse grow.

Best wishes for your grow.

 

[wannabeagrower]

Thanks for the tip. That sounds wild.

 

[wannabeagrower]

I guess it's because I used to grow mushrooms, and you'd make a substrate for fruiting that was part coco, vermiculite, and gypsum. And the way you did it is you put it all in a bucket then add boiling water.

I thought you needed hot water to dissolve the coco, but I'm realizing I think it was boiling to kill the germs, cuz mushrooms hate contamination.

Thanks for the tips. Growing weed is completely different from growing mushrooms. I'm glad I found a community of experienced growers. They don't have anything like growweedeasy for mushrooms.