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wrath420 posted an update
Will these bricks work for growing after I rinse and charge it with cal-mag?
cultivator-savant, unclee and 2 others15 Comments-
I guess I will find out because I’m charging it with the second dose of Cal-Mag now! Then I’m adding some perlite and I know it’s not necessary but I have it so I’m adding some!
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Charge a media with only cal-mag? Calcium and magnesium are 2 of 11 cations. What about the other 9? Not to mention the anions. What makes you think calcium and magnesium are the only elements that bond to particles?
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@jmystro I’m doing what I saw on a video from Dr MJCoco on YouTube so are you saying I should buffer it with nutrients also? This is my first attempt at growing in coco coir so I appreciate any advice!
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@wrath420 Low quality coco is grown near salt water and needs to be flushed of sodium chloride with calcium nitrate. The nitrate bonds with sodium during this process so it can be removed. Quality coco is grown around fresh water and is rinsed and pH buffered. This is why we promote Canna Coco because we know their coco is pH buffer to 6.2 and has a slight calcium charge from the calcium nitrate rinse. Quality coco requires you to do nothing before planting. Organic matter has mainly a negative charge. Cations have a positive charge so they can bond to negatively charged soil/clay/coco particles. This is nutrient storage. You do not want your nutrient storage space to only have have room for calcium and magnesium. Ammonium (nitrogen) and potassium are also cations that could use a little space along with the other essential trace elements iron, manganese, copper, zinc and nickel. Ammonium and potassium only have a charge of +1 while the other cations have a charge of +2 (iron can have +2 and +3 forms). This means ammonium and potassium can be bullied by +2 calcium and magnesium right off the particle. Now I mentioned particles are storage like microbes. They are not plant available when bonded to something. Ions (plant food) are only available to the plant when soluble in water. The particles hold elements until they’re dislodged into solution. If the particle is not full of cations, it can grab them from solution. This is what people refer to as coco robbing nutrients. Soil/Clay/Coco particles will grab what they can and everything else is left in solution for the plant. A lot of the ion receptor sites on the roots hold hydrogen that has a charge of +1. Ion exchange is when an element like calcium with a +2 charge is exchanged at that receptor site for the +1 hydrogen. the hydrogen is now in solution, lowering pH. This is one way ion exchange regulates pH in the rhizosphere.
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@jmystro that doesn’t answer my question do I need to buffer it with nutrients or not I rinsed it and buffered it twice with cal-mag at 150% strength for 8 hours each time and I would love to use some canna coco but unfortunately I’m on a budget at this moment because of Cancer treatment and medication so if you want to send me a block of canna coco please don’t hesitate but I had this coco on hand from my son’s pets so I’m trying to make it usable for a grow That’s all I could care less about the other stuff like +2 +1 +3 or whatever I learned in middle and high school science class! shaking my head you’re a piece of work sometimes!
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@wrath420 If you charged the coco with only calcium and magnesium there will be less room for other elements. The coco will also be fairly alkaline. I can’t say how well the coco will perform but yes I would run all the essential elements through the coco before planting in it. Good luck.
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@undefined Thank you I will do that and then I’ll mix in the perlite and try it out it’s just a little experiment to take my mind off of everything else I hope it works out well but if not then I’ll save up for some Canna CoCo coir
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@wrath420 I think he was just trying to explain how things work so you know going forward. Coco usually needs calcium, magnesium, and nitrogen to be buffered. Cal mag is kinda a waste of money in my opinion. You can buy calcium nitrate in bulk form for cheap. You can also buy magnesium in the form of epson salt for very cheap. I personally use master blend as a base then add my own mag and calcium nitrate. It’s way cheaper than bottles that way.
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In my case I mix 1.5 grams of epson salt then 2.4 of cal nitrate to one gallon of water in that exact order then ph to 5.8 for a buffering solution. Once you rinse that coco a couple times it should be good to proceed from there with whatever nutes you had in mind. If you wanna use master blend or jacks or any other cheaper input feel free to dm me with questions.
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@m1ghtym0u3e I’m just dealing with a lot right now my sons mom has cancer and is in ICU on life support right now because she stopped breathing last night in the hospital but I think it’s from the fentanyl they gave her who knows I know she is a light weight with pain medication but anyway do I have to rinse out the coco coir after buffering and then I can mix in my perlite and use it? Sorry for venting to you but thank you 🙏
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@wrath420 no you wouldn’t rinse it basically you never ever feed plain water to coco. You would rinse with the buffer solution a couple times then go right in with your nutrient after your done planting. Think of it like youre feeding the coco first so you can feed your plant later. That’s what jmystro was trying to explain.
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Tried this with very bad results. I mean I guess each batch can vary. Mine smelled like chemicals after rinsing for like an hour. Buffered 2 time both for 12 hours and still had cal mad issues.
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@durbsgreen you tried this brand of coco coir and had bad results? Is that what you’re saying?
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@undefined Okay thanks for the heads up I’ll still try it since I’m in this far already and the one I have smells good and doesn’t have any chemical smell to it so maybe I’ll get lucky!
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