Caps' Quick Coir

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Caps McGee
Grandaddy Smurfshack

Registered: 10/28/17
Posts: 14,366
Loc: ally known as ...

Caps' Quick Coir

2
#26201911 - 09/21/19 09:09 PM (6 years, 10 months ago)

This Tek is part of
Caps' Comprehensive Cultivation Tek List

Caps' Quick Coir
(bucket tek variant)

Again, Just another step in my process, not exactly innovation here, but this is how I do it!I have been prepping 1-4 bricks at a time in a 52qt insulated cooler...

I only use 2qts water for each brick, placed into a pot large enough to hold it, and turn the heat on high... Using a wide chef's knife, I pry the brick(s) into 3 layers horizontally, making it much easier to break up by hand... Breaking up the bricks isn't completely necessary, but helps prevent chunks of dry coir making their ways into your subs, and gives you something to do whilst you wait for water to boil...

Usually the water is at a rapid boil by the time I get the brick(s) busted into pieces no larger than 1/2" ... Turn the heat off, and pour the boiling water over the loosened coir slowly, covering as much of the footprint as possible: this will make for a more even hydration without the need to mix initially... I do like to fluff it once it expands because (with 2-4 bricks especially) the bottom of the mass can become compacted by expansion under the weight of the rest of the pile and either not hydrate evenly, or actually trap moisture underneath, preventing the top from hydrating at all ... Just digging to the bottom down both sides and through the center once should suffice, and allows you to close the cooler quicker; Losing less heat and "cooking" it a little more effectively... I prep coir 24, 36, and 48 hours in advance, giving it plenty of time to cool before use (12 hours for each brick to be hydrated, upto 48 hrs (good for 3 or 4)) My cooler is just Large enough to prep 4 bricks at once... I like using my gallon pitcher to measure EVERYTHING, so usually prep either 2, or 4 bricks... Lately, I've been mixing coir 1:1 to black kow compost straight from the bag for my [url= ]SOS's[/url](tek coming), so each brick is good for roughly 2 subs, with a little extra (usually)

I check feild capacity before using, but it's typically on the drier side... I've got a fairly decent grip strength, and when I can squeeze a handful, and see water without losing any, I know it's spot on... Grip strength (like most things) varies from one individual to the next, so take note of yours and it's effect on the coir at this level of hydration... Keep notes as to whether or not you had early shrinkage, needed to mist, pour off pooling, bottom water midflush etc... This will make it much easier to adjust to your climate and such, much faster, for a more "set and forget" experience...

The Idea Behind IT All

I postulate, that excess moisture present initially takes up too much volume within the substrate, and leaves it much more prone to early shrinking. Shrinking prior to pinset development is a major contributor to side and bottom pins, as the slight gap creates the perfect microclimate for pinning. By mixing the coir on the drier side, you reserve this lost volume for additional solid mass, and lose a great deal of potential to shrink. Once shrinking starts to occur, it seems to take a runaway, snowball effect, becoming more and more difficult to rectify, or maintain surface conditions/hydration levels... I find it much easier to hydrate a substrate that's remained a bit too dry, than have been hydrated and dried out; almost as if the coir loses absorbency after wicking dry, but will absorb additional water if spawned drier, and hydrated later (after full colonization) (ONLY) if needed... I've had much more luck avoiding contamination for subsequent flushes going this route as well... Granted, correlation is not necessarily causation, but an interesting observation none the less... I've opted to spawn drier, and administer a bottom water after full colonization/before the final push (last 24-48 hours prior to harvest) ONLY if/when necessary... I've only had 2 tubs of dozens that required additional hydration to carry the pinsets through maturation... Monitoring the color of the coir just below the surface (visually) will help you decipher (with experience) when to hydrate, and when to hold off until after harvest, which I try to do... My goal is to have boxes which require no maintainenance through first flush harvest, and very little to get decent subsequent flushes...

I also suspect that the presence of excess moisture inhibits growth in a number of ways:
- Waterlogged substrates will have difficulty using oxygen efficiently
-Evaporation, though it occurs, has no/limited effect on the microclimate, and effectively creates nearly anaerobic conditions, which many species of bacteria thrive in... this seeming lack of evaporation often delays pinning, or stalls the culture all together
-Once bacteria is growing, I postulate the culture's immune system response allows easier access for more sinister contaminants, such as our green friend, trichoderma, to gain a foot hold, eventually taking over
-Though a "dry" sub isn't Ideal for cubensis, it IS much more hospitable to cubensis than to bacteria, often times (IME) giving bacterial spawn the edge it needs to triumph through at least one flush... I'd almost bet it's been the only reason some of my jars have made it to fruition, and would recommend it as a starting point, then dialing field capicity up from there... The goal is to maximize hydration without raising risk, or creating less than Ideal conditions for the intended organism's healthy growth

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Ask Caps! (My Q&A Thread)
Caps' Comprehensive Cultivation Tek List

Edited by Caps McGee (09/21/19 09:42 PM)

Extras:

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