Using Dutch Masters, Problem Help!

[forgetiwashere]

i read an interesting article in a hydroponics magazine the other month. it was all about coco. the interesting thing is coco is still only really just taking off in the hydroponics scene. MJ growers love it but the big kids, AKA commercial farmers have been slow to take it on.

 

also Coco is originally a waste product, for this reason there is mountains of the stuff just piled up in the countries where it is produced, these mountains have been sitting outside in the weather for decades soaking up all the salt and shit that mother nature has thrown at them over the years and its these piles that are being used for the cheaper brands of coco. that is why they need to be washed and rinsed so thoroughly before use.

 

better brands of coco like canna and H&G are using newer coco that has been protected from the elements and also goes through a cleaning and prepping process before it gets to you thats why it is safe to use these products straight from the bag.

 

as coco use grows in the future and the seemingly endless stockpiles of old aged dirty coco deplete we will see the quality of the cheaper coco improve

[Frank Reynolds]

Im confused, from what I've read the 'better' coco is the old stuff that has been exposed to decades of 'monsoon' seasons leeching all the salts away.

 

As I said before the particle size is still always the same, only difference is the salts which you can flush yourself and how they soak it and buffer it.

[ConvexConepiece]

I'm confused too....

 

Last time I tried that brick coco (granted it was a long time ago) from bunnings it was absolute garbage... Literally as I threw it in the bin and got some loose stuff from the hydro store and never looked back.

 

Be careful soaking the coco with nutrients for seedlings.... personally i'd pH buffer it and that's it until 2nd/3rd set of leaves.

[Frank Reynolds]

Fair enough each to their own, I wouldnt be worried soaking in the buffer chemicals even for seedlings, but I wouldnt be feeding the seedlings many nutes.

[forgetiwashere]

here is the actual article i read. i reread it myself, it seems that the old stock piles are actually depleted now so maybe the cheaper stuff is already getting better

 

http://www.hydroponics.com.au/coir-sustainable-growing-media/

[Sir PsychoHashy]

There's an tutorial somewhere on the site about prepping the cheap coco bricks, I think Lou did it from memory and it's very helpful.  I've tried it and it works out fine, but ended up finding the extra cost of the good quality stuff was not enough to outweigh all the hassle and effort involved with the crap from bunnings.  Also found a lot of foreign matter in the cheap stuff when I used it.

 

Probably worth getting some Cal/Mag additive to have on hand if you use the cheap stuff.  More importantly though, are the nutes you are using coco specific.  Aside from that, all good advice you've received so far.