Buffering coco

I have some mother earth coco plus perlite i will be transplanting my solo cup seedlings into. I will be putting them into 5 gallon grow bags. Whats the best way to buffer? Fill each grow bag and pour cal mag water through them until saturated? Thanks.

Soak 'em in 7.5ml/gallon for at least 8 hours then drain. I do it twice.

Offmymeds said:

Soak 'em in 7.5ml/gallon for at least 8 hours then drain. I do it twice.

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So soak the soil in 7.5ml of cal mag per gallon of water 2 times?

Offmymeds said:

Soak 'em in 7.5ml/gallon for at least 8 hours then drain. I do it twice.

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Am i good to transplant right after the coco drains?

I just run some low ec maxibloom through it then plant. I dont have much exp with coco tho.

westpoint said:

I have some mother earth coco plus perlite i will be transplanting my solo cup seedlings into. I will be putting them into 5 gallon grow bags. Whats the best way to buffer? Fill each grow bag and pour cal mag water through them until saturated? Thanks.

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I use Canna Coco Professional but I run a bunch of low EC nutrient solution through it. 0.4 EC primes it to start.

I've used Mother Earth before and it's already buffered.........you can use it right out of the bag.
Lot's of people like to be safe with a calmag or light nute soak.
I do rinse it with a light nute solution to eliminate any dust.

westpoint said:

Am i good to transplant right after the coco drains?

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Yes. I should have mentioned to rinse first to get out the fine sludgy stuff if you used a brick. I just scooped it out of the cal/mag though to rid it of that.

Next time I'll probably just buy the pre-buffered stuff instead of the bricks when I need some more. You use it over and over.

If it's already buffered, you have to do nothing.

If not, it's good enough to soak it in the nutrient solution that you will be using later on.

I suggest you just use it straight away, as it has already been pointed out that your brand of coco is pre-buffered (pretty much all quality brands are pre-buffered).

Offmymeds said:

Next time I'll probably just buy the pre-buffered stuff instead of the bricks when I need some more.

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That it comes in bricks does not mean it is not pre-buffered. I have some premium coco bricks here that are washed and pre-buffered, and at the same high quality as the bagged variants. There is only so much you can do to coco to make it hydroponics grade, and pressing it into bricks does not degrade it in any way.

MickFoster said:

I've used Mother Earth before and it's already buffered.........you can use it right out of the bag.
Lot's of people like to be safe with a calmag or light nute soak.
I do rinse it with a light nute solution to eliminate any dust.

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Thank you.

Whats the best way to get it wet the first time? Even the solo cups filled with it, i had to water several times to get it saturated ir it had dry pockets. Maybe fill plugged sink and mix with hands, squeexe and then place in grow bags? Fluff it up a little, then transplant and lightly water?

westpoint said:

Whats the best way to get it wet the first time? Even the solo cups filled with it, i had to water several times to get it saturated ir it had dry pockets. Maybe fill plugged sink and mix with hands, squeexe and then place in grow bags? Fluff it up a little, then transplant and lightly water?

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Personally I slowly fertigate with a low EC nutrient solution. Go slow and "flush" a lot through it. If you are doing multiple pots / solo cups it'll be easier. Little here little there. This sets the coco at the exact EC you want it and as @MickFoster mentioned it also removes the fines.

If transplanting into it I don't fluff it at all. The next time you feed it's just going to settle again anyways.

ComputerSaysNo said:

That it comes in bricks does not mean it is not pre-buffered. I have some premium coco bricks here that are washed and pre-buffered, and at the same high quality as the bagged variants. There is only so much you can do to coco to make it hydroponics grade, and pressing it into bricks does not degrade it in any way.

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I bought my brick at a pet store a while ago. I'm a cheap-ass. Today, I'd rather not waste time.

Offmymeds said:

I bought my brick at a pet store a while ago. I'm a cheap-ass. Today, I'd rather not waste time.

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Who wants a brick as a pet? I wouldn't waste my time either!

All the major brands of bagged loose coco are buffered with calcium nitrate, some of them can have a high EC from it, so I like to flush with .8 EC Jacks 321 to plenty of runoff, just to rinse out some of the salts and get things started with some balanced nutrition.