I’m going to use fresh coco for this grow. I got canna this time. I’d normally hydrate it then soak it in 1.5x strength CalMag a couple times for 8+ hours. Then I’d saturate it with nutrient water. First time using Jack’s 321. It has all the calcium and magnesium needed. Could I just soak the coco in Jack’s a couple times to buffer it? Basically pre load it while buffering? Has anyone tried this?
Either way I go, any water that touches this coco will be pHed. I hydrated and buffered with tap water last time and ended up chasing pH the whole grow. Idk how much of that was because of preparation and how much was due to a starting with a cheap pH meter, but I’m not dealing with it again. Lol.
I just started my 4th run with coco and jacks. When I expand it I use just under full strength jacks and also add an additional 5ml/gallon cal mag. Ro water and ph’ed to 5.8 I know you can adjust the jacks for cal-mag but sometimes it’s just easier for me to add it separate rather than guess with adjusting the jacks. Also, I add a bunch of perlite almost 50%. Mine will be going into autopots
I’ve been upping the perlite each time, I started out about 25%. I only ever buffered it once, I wonder if I’m missing out…the plants seem to do well tho. Another thing I do is rinse the perlite out to get rid of all the chalky white dust…
I’m gonna have to do that this time. I got 30 quarts of perlite in a big bag. A lot more powder in there than the 8 qt bag. Before I used coco the first time I watched Dr. Coco’s video on buffering. He said to do it twice so I did. I don’t remember, but there’s probably an explanation of why in the video. All I know is cation exchange sites ain’t nothing to eff with.
When I rinse it I just poke a bunch of holes in the bottom 1/3 of the bag, then make a hole and stick the garden hose on low in the top. Way better than picking all the little bits out of Mrs.pinboys colander
