ajcapetown Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Hey all Was just curious on how others prepare their grow mediums? I do a 50/50 mix of coco and perlite Coco I expand in ph5.8 water and I then rinse off the perlite with tap water before mixing them together. Then I put the mix in potting containers to let all the excess water out and once that's done i store it in big addis containers with lids and I leave them outside. I don't add anything else. If you prepare yours differently or add anything else and have had good results could you share your knowledge:) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maxwell Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 My method is: Expand coco in de-chlorinated water at ph of 6, with strong dose of Hydrogen Peroxide. Flush all hell out of the coco - I use about 100l of water for one brick Add 50g of Calmag to 20L of Ph'd water and stir until dissolved. Add to the expanded coco and let it soak for an hour or three (depending on what you're blazing at the time) with occasional stirs Drain the mix Add Perlite (Not too worried about rinsing prior) Mix well Then flush double/triple the amount of water through at Ph of 6. Ie - 5L of medium needs 15L of water. Let it dry completely then one more flush. I usually use more Perlite than Coco. Two 160L "big jims" make life easier. One with holes for drainage one without. Then expand/soak in one, flush in the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420SA Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Where do you guys source your coco bricks? Besides hydro stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajcapetown Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Thanks Maxwell. How do you de-chlorinate your water? By letting it stand for 24 hours? Where do you get hydrogen peroxide from and when you say a strong dose, roughly how much do you add? The calmag is to stabilise the ph? If you weren't to add that would it make too much of a difference? I don't add calmag but I alway worry it may be a problem. 420 I get mine from Super Plants, the Culterra one is R60 for a 5kg brick... the hydro shop is R66 but isn't branded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maxwell Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Yup, I just let it sit. I try use as strong as possible, 50% is available if you look for it. I use 2ml p/L of water. Calmag is for the possible deficiencies sometimes found in early flower in Coco grows, as well as for peace of mind. It "charges" the coco with Calcium and Magnesium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Garethleauk Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 This is what I do and by no means is it the RIGHT way, just my way haha. I soak my coco for about an hour then I flush it for 15 minutes. I just hold the hose pipe on it and sit down and wait :-rastapuff Once I have flushed it I leave it for a day to get dry outside with the lid on but not completely shut. I then have a sheet I throw on the floor and then my coco onto and mix my perlite then I throw it back into the container where I then flush with Reverse Osmosis water. I have never added Calmag or Calcium to the soaking like some grow shops say, I believe that if you add this to your nutrients you will be just fine. Adding the Reverse osmosis water at the end actually stabalizes the ph and you get to start your grows off in perfect ph medium. and you just carry on using reverse osmosis water throughout the cycle and you will never have a ph problem, ummmmm you shouldn't have......... haha I have never had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 How good is mountain soil? Im off to houtbay mountain to possibly score what the Rastas there believes is top quality soil.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallis55 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Hydroponic SA sells 50/50 pre mixed coco/perlite Im a beginner, about to start my 1st grow and this seems perfect for me. Can anybody tell me if there are any disadvantages with buying a pre-mix instead of mixing it myself? Another cuppla questions I have: How would I know the pH level of the water? What is reverse osmosis water? When mixing nutes in water, do I mix the whole lot at once in a big container and use of it for the duration of the grow, or do I just mix small amounts everytime I feed the plants? Any help will be much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420SA Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Hydroponic SA sells 50/50 pre mixed coco/perlite Im a beginner, about to start my 1st grow and this seems perfect for me. Can anybody tell me if there are any disadvantages with buying a pre-mix instead of mixing it myself? Another cuppla questions I have: How would I know the pH level of the water? What is reverse osmosis water? When mixing nutes in water, do I mix the whole lot at once in a big container and use of it for the duration of the grow, or do I just mix small amounts everytime I feed the plants? Any help will be much appreciated Wallis I'm speaking purely from my experience here and I'm not saying this may be the case with others but I find that Hortishop's promix(which hydroponic.co.za sells) comes preloaded with something, perhaps it's a lot of cal mag (I welcome corrections) Anyways so it burnt the hell out of my seedlings from a previous grow. I'd recommend a thorough flush before using their promix just to make sure. Where do you stay? If in cpt, shoot down to hortishop in Kenilworth and get their PH testing kit and follow the instructions. Other option is to buy a PH pen if you're willing to spend 700 bucks and upwards. RO water basically contains no nutrients in it at all. Where tap water contains a bit of calcium and other substances, RO water has all of those removed. I started using RO water and one thing you have to watch out for is a magnesium or calcium deficiency so you need to supplement the water with epsom salts or horti's cal mag. I believe peat moss also helps. In the end you may as well just stick to tap water if a RO water dispenser isn't around the corner from you. If there's an OASIS waters factory shop near you they sell RO water at a rand a litre! As for nutes. What nutes are you gonna use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Just on RO water. Oasis price went up to R1.20 a litre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420SA Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Just on RO water. Oasis price went up to R1.20 a litre. Since when? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I was there in December and they informed me. They say their website still needs to be updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallis55 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Thanks a million 420! I am in CPT...I actually used to work in Kenilworth and I know exactly where the Hortishop is, will pay them a visit on Monday. The R/O water at OASIS for R1.20 a litre just about solves my water query. Nice! Im still doing research regarding nutes. Do you have any recommendations? Or does it depend on which strain Im gonna grow? One more thing... I am looking to buy square plant pots. Do you perhaps know where I can find some? Iv been to a few places but they only have the round ones. Much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallis55 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Thanks for the feedback MO Im a bit confused now lol... I thought growing in coco/perlite was regarded Hydro and growing in soil was Organic I will be growing strictly for my own personal use. What I want to achieve is healthy plants that are gonna produce a decent, not massive, amount of buds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallis55 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Thank you for your input bro. Much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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