Tips on re-using coco?

Just chopped them down this morning. Haven't removed the coco from the containers yet.

Any advice on how to get the least amount of roots to fall off when I remove from container? I read soaking this coco with enzymes after you kinda clean it up to help get rid of the dead stuff?

Or just toss it in my yard and start with new coco?

I'd trust Dr MJ Coco with what he's doing. Figured it may help.

This guy here has some hip tune playing to jam to while he does his. He grows cannabis & posted what he does.

HydroKid239 said:

I'd trust Dr MJ Coco with what he's doing. Figured it may help.

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thanks for the vid. i've used that coco for cannabis site before, it's pretty good.

rkymtnman said:

thanks for the vid. i've used that coco for cannabis site before, it's pretty good.

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That's where I went to learn manifolding/mainlining. I tried taking it in another direction a few grows back. Results were awesome.

I put the root ball in a bag then hit off the floor a few times to loosen it a bit then throw it against my sieve the roots catch and coco go's through it.
I prefer a grill/guard from my 12" desk fan as a sieve but a regular sieve works.

The root balls feel pretty sturdy to begin with but a few swift whacks on the floor loosens them up.

Star Dog said:

I put the root ball in a bag then hit off the floor a few times to loosen it a bit then throw it against my sieve the roots catch and coco go's through it.
I prefer a grill/guard from my 12" desk fan as a sieve but a regular sieve works.
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The root balls feel pretty sturdy to begin with but a few swift whacks on the floor loosens them up.

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you don't worry about hitting it with enzymes to kill any remaining root matter after you do the shakey-shake?

rkymtnman said:

you don't worry about hitting it with enzymes to kill any remaining root matter after you do the shakey-shake?

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No I've never tried any enzymes I've only sieved it then left any remaining root to the springtails lol.
I would try enzymes if there was enough root left to justify trying them but sieving removes most of the roots, to my surprise I was left with what looks like a new bag of coco.

I just let the pot with the roots dry out completely so it's bone dry. Then I just beat the root ball around until all the coco is off. The coco dries faster than the roots so they pretty much stay intact. The small amount of root material that does come off I don't worry about. After that I just rinse it real good and then give it a soak in a mild nutrient solution and it's ready to use.

One thing to think about is that after awhile it breaks down into finer and finer pieces so I usually just mix it 50/50 with new coco. I don't use perlite just 100% coco and I haven't had any issues doing it this way for years.

thanks both of you. i'm glad i posted cause i was about to dump it all out wet into a tote with some other coco.
sounds like letting it really dry out is the 1st step.

I usually do what @xtsho does, but I add one additional step before soaking it in a mild nute solution.. I soak it in a H2O2 solution after rinsing well, then rinse real well again.

For you guys looking for enzymes, check out Hygrozyme. It's kinda expensive, but it's good stuff. You can use it with soil too, but if you've got lively organic soil you don't need it.

instead of an expensive enzyme product, why not just sterilize with bleach solution?

austin98 said:

instead of an expensive enzyme product, why not just sterilize with bleach solution?

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the enzymes (from what iv'e read) are used to get rid of any remaining dead root material.

I've never done anything but just rinsed the coco. A few bits and pieces of roots has never hurt anything in the years I've been reusing coco. You can buy some expensive product if you want but there isn't any need. But like everything cannabis some will feel the need to part with their money unnecessarily. I see absolutely no benefit from using an enzyme product with used coco.

I chop, leave about 6 inches of stem to act as a handle, then let it sit in the sun until dry. I smack it around inside a tote for a few minutes and most of the coco falls off. Any large root chunks I just pull out, I run a little hand rake thing through it to grab what I can.

Afterthought... I don't mind having springtails for this very reason, any roots missed with the sieve I expect the springtails to eat before I can use it on my next again crop 4 months later on average.

The amount of coco which needs to be used for proper DTW treatment is so ridiculously small, as well as the price for coco (even less for brix) that all of that sifting, sterilizing, washing, rinsing and buffering is not worth IMo. I like to start with the blank page, everthing clean and fresh. Only case for reusing coco is limited supply. I also can not imagine how could I bash the rootball with roots staying intact, since it usually ends up 2gals of roots completely bounded together so strong I can not make a two peaces out of it other than using a saw. But people treat coco many different ways so I see those points when used ridiculously big pot where half top is root free and rest you have few of them.

Sifting screens for the roots/rockwool cubes. Usually let it bake in the sun and dry out. I do this for my coco that I then use in my garden so it gets a second life if ya will. Worked on an indoor farm that would occasionally not have enough new coco to use and would have to dip into their old coco pile at times and this is how they did it so I kinda coped it for my own purposes. Hope this helps !

thanks for all the advice. i ended up just trying to salvage the hydroton and growstones that i used in the coco. the coco and root mix went into the greenhouse soil mix. there were tons of very fine roots that i didn't feel like messing with.

rkymtnman said:

thanks for all the advice. i ended up just trying to salvage the hydroton and growstones that i used in the coco. the coco and root mix went into the greenhouse soil mix. there were tons of very fine roots that i didn't feel like messing with.

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I do this same thing just let it dry out real good then I break it up and the left over coco/perlite goes into the veggies garden soil mix and has been working great. I buy the bales of the sunshine advanced mix#4 and 2 bales last me a long time and seems to work really well for DTW multi feeding setups.