@Underthestairs @dirtydave @BigCat420
Yea I am not to big a fan of marshydro except I really like there tsl 2000 3ft long grow light full spec 300 wats I have it in my 4+2+5 tent n you are so right on the sides not getting enough light jus the middle gets good light … I really like spider farmer but I wanna try hlg I think it’s Lspec or Rspec witchever is for flowering it’s 270 watts got some outstanding reviews an I found this light it’s vs2000 it 2.9 umol , lm301 diodes n I believe it’s either 200 watts seems very good for 260 with a 50$ off thing so real/y it’s 210$ Amazon
@Underthestairs what kind of light is that that you using an hey brother I jus got me 2 coco bricks by burpee natural an organic
3 Likes
I run 2 HLG 350Rs in my 5x3. Bspec is for veg, Rspec is for flower… I don’t have anything in Bspec 
Sounds like you’re getting close
1 Like
Hey @Underthestairs alright so I got 2 coco bricks an my seeds r germinating as we speak but I want to get the coco going so I jus take say 5 gall bucket fill with water an If I want to use jacks321 or jus plain water.
I would mix a gallon of Jack’s and use it rehydrate. Some brands of Coco need to be washed first, so you’ll want to check that about yours first.
Idk what wash brick means
Some Coco needs to be rinsed thoroughly to remove salts from processing.
2 Likes
So flush it pretty much ight ight an then how do I know when I’m done ??? @Underthestairs @JaneQP @BigCat420 @Aussie_autos @CLICKYBONES
I usually just rehydrate mine in a full strength jacks 321 with and cal mag. But the canna coco coir is triple buffered and ive never had any issues with it. Heres a good read
Why You Need to Buffer Coco Coir
There are cation exchange sites in coco that will interfere with nutrition until they are buffered. The cation exchange sites in coco naturally come loaded with sodium (Na) and potassium (K) cations. However, the Na and the K are only weakly held to the exchange sites. In the presence of calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg), the sites will release their Na or K cations and lock onto the Ca or Mg. These processes are known as “cation exchanges”.
Buffering coco is accomplished by soaking it in Ca and Mg. This allows the cation exchanges to take place prior to adding plants. Simply soak your coco in a solution of Cal/Mag water and the exchange sites will release their K and Na cations and lock onto the Ca and Mg. When the cation exchange sites bond with Ca and Mg rather than Na and K, it is “buffered”. The bonds that hold the Ca and Mg to the sites are very strong and cation exchange will largely stop. This means that all of the nutrients that you add to the water will be available to the plant at the ratios that you provide them.
How to Prepare and Buffer Brick Coco Coir
Rehydrate and Rinse
When starting with a dehydrated brick of coco, it should first be rehydrated in tap water. Rehydration is fast as coco loves to absorb water. The slurry that is produced should then be rinsed over a screen to remove the finest coco particles, known as “coco peat”, which retain too much water. Your goal at this stage is ending up with larger coco fibers. Use a 1/8” mesh screen or a perforated strainer. This is my new strainer, which is perfect for rinsing coco. It is not the strainer I used in the video.
Buffer Coco to Satisfy the Cation Exchange Sites
After rinsing the coco, you need to buffer it prior to use. I recommend double buffering, which ensures that the cation exchange sites are fully satisfied with Ca and Mg. After buffering, cation exchange will no longer interfere with your grow and the plants will take nutrition (including Ca and Mg) directly from the nutrient solution.
To Double-Buffer Coco:
- Prepare buffering solution:
- Tap water may be used for buffering solution
- Add at least 7.5 ml/Gal of cal mag
- Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the buffering solution should be 1200-2000
- pH of the buffering solution should be greater than 6.2
- Place coco in a fabric pot and then place that into a 5-gallon bucket
- Soak coco completely submerged in buffering solution for 8+ hours
- Raise fabric pot and allow to drain - dump bucket
- Soak again completely submerged in fresh buffering solution for 8+ hours
- Drain and it is ready
2 Likes
Nice @BigCat420
Since I use Canna which doesn’t give me those issues, I just rehydrate and go straight into it. Might not be the best course of action, but I haven’t gotten bitten by it yet.
2 Likes
Beautiful things can happen when you brew a healthy tea. Don’t overthink it! Make sure to brew something that is accurate to your geographical location.
You want to add microbes and life to the soil that is adapted for your area and can survive the elements. Your plants will pick up on these traits and allowing them to thrive.
Try brewing a tea with some local humus from the forest. This already contains everything you will need. Added with alittle extra sugars, foods ect. When thinking organics one must think basic. Find the source. If you want a good all around living soil go examine a healthy humus layer of on old growth forest. Utilize the bacteria and fungi it has created over the 1000s of years.
5 Likes
I want to brew tea tried last night but no bubbles like yours … I did mikrobs 2 tbsp, half cup worm castings, 1-2 tbsp grandmas unsulfured molasses ,1/4 tsp tribus , 2tbsp dr.jims chicken soup for the soil… but if I may ask can you maybe help me with a recipe for veg n flower or maybe a guide line to follow I’m sorry if I’m a bother but I jus started learning more bout teas an feeding soil to feed plant …btw @HippieRunner1 your girls are looking amazing 
dude!.!!!
1 Like
@Buck29048 What temperature was your water? I started with warm RO water, CalMag’d to 200PPM, and it seemed to work OK. I made 4 gals for a single plant, which takes a while to consume. I top up the tea with a tbsp of molasses when I see the foam dipping, to give the microbes something to eat. Next time I’ll make less, like 2 gals.
Does it matter ??? An I believe lil cooler than room temp…
AFAIK the foamy bubbles are caused by the microbes munching glucose in the molasses, much like yeast in dough. If the temp is too low that may affect their metabolism (or whatever). Either that or your water had something in it that killed them. My 2c.
Hey brother long time thank you for the info I finally got me some jacks nutrients an I started using on my crystal in coco loco n added perlite worm castings but I had fed her once in bout w3ek n half n she still showing she don’t need nothing… an yea when I water I got by the weight of pot n then eventually I’m watering almost every other day sometimes daily with my black widow right now…but again thank u for all your advice @Hellraiser an @BigCat420 an @BigCat420 I need to add calmag to water ??? I do this before I add jacks right??? Like while the brick is rehydrating
I use RO water which drops my PPM from ~250 to ~20, removing nasty things like chlorine, but also the ‘salts’ that makes water hard. Using CalMag replaces the benefitual trace elements. I shoot for 200PPM. I use this for watering and as a base for nutrients.
You shouldn’t need to do this with unfiltered utility water.
If your rehydrating coco i would add cal mag to it. Other than that i only add cal mag as a supplement. I just do 25-30ml cal mag per 5 gal batch when rehydrating cal mag with the regular jacks 321 recipe
1 Like
@BigCat420 @foxmatt23 yea I added rehydrated then strain water added lil less than 5 gallons 3-4 mayb more towards 4 with bout half shot glass of calmag so yea 2 tbsp but when I went to strain her out the next day the tapes holding strainer on right snapped n I lost half my coco so now I got bout 2-1\2 of coco mayb 2 didn’t measure yet was really pissed after happen.but I wanna ask mayb y’all know I’m making Detroit nutrients compost tea for bloom 1 cup warm castings 5 tbsp molasses unsulphurd black strap…1/2 cup alfalfa meal
2/3 cup sea bird guano 2/3 cup bat guano now I bin brewing for 5 hours jus about n no foam an I didn’t realize but water was pretty chilled so I have a space heater blowing on bucket hoping to warm up water some n see if it helps
2 Likes
@Buck29048 I can’t see anything obviously wrong with that. Unless perhaps your solution is too concentrated and you’re killing the microfauna. What is the EC?
You could also try a free sample, here’s one from Xtreme-Gardening (mine’s in the mail):
It may provide a good reference point
1 Like
I did it!!! So Detroit nutrient compost tea for bloom
1 cup n 2 handfuls ewc, 10tbsp unsulfured grandma molasses, 1/2 cup alfalfa meal 2/3 cup seabird guano 2/3 cup bat guano an let brew for almost 36 hrs I only added 2 handfuls ewc n 5-8 more tbsp of molasses plus lil splash dr.jimz chicken soup for the soil n bout quarter tsp of tribus… so when i used it like a super soil after seeing how dark it was filling up a 20oz bottle I then only put bout 1 tbsp of tea in 20oz bottle with dechlorinate water an I gave each plant in flower bout 12oz of diluted bloom compost tea an bout 8 hrs later seems tea so very well really buffed up trichomes on early miss I notice that right away … an can anyone tell me bout how long can you or should u hang on to the tea??? I’m so excited an proud of myself I really liked making tea n can’t wait till see the results after a day or two has gone by
3 Likes