New to coco.. i bought a 5kg compressed block of botanicare cocogro.. I cut it in half and expanded half of the block, I didnt need this much but i figured it would save me time in the future from messing with it. So ive presoaked what i expanded and began to ring it out by hand and repackage it in gallon sized ziplock bags for the future. But then i started thinking the coco may mold in these bags ? ? ? i sealed up the first bag and although the coco feels basicly dry after squeezing out the water, its still slightly moist and left foggy condensation on the inside of the bag. I grow perpetually and Id like to seal these up in smaller bags so i can get what i need when i need it without having a garbarge bag of coco sitting somewhere.. also i dont want to mess with presoaking and expanding every week. Any advice on what i should do? will it be ok in the bags?
have a rubbermaid container around? i keep my expanded block in a 20gal and have never had a problem. sorry i cant speak for the bag thing
if your not growing anything in it, just let it dry completely out before storing. youll have to rehydrate it before your next use, but not to the extent of letting it expand as you wont really be compressing it. the expansion process isnt that bad, maybe get more small blocks next time so you can store them as is and hydrate exactly what you need.... i do have a 5 gallon bucket full of it with a lid on, and it hasnt seemed to be affected though.
Yea im sort of doing a combination of what both of you suggested. I put it in a large rubbermaid with a fan blowing on it. Im gonna mix it up a few times a day untill its dry and then bag it up. I think it will be fine if i do that.. Rehydrating shouldnt be anything more then placing it in whatever pot im using and watering a few days in advance. I dont think im gonna need to buy any more for a long time lol. After i mix in perlite at a ratio of 1 to 2 parts perlite / coco i should have enough for about 10 runs.
If youve got enough for 10 runs, then you really have enough for 20-30....if you feel like rinsing and reusing the coco, its supposed to grow better the second time around if properly flushed/prepared.
perfect opportunity to start building your soil with compost and ingredients- the more ingrediants you add to it over time- assuming you keep it moist- the more total ingredients you may add= richer soil. Make sure you choose a compost with a good reputation- shouldnt cost more than 10$ a C.F. eg coast of maine products. Also you can take samples of your compost at any given time, put it in a planter outside, and plant some sunflowers or other cheap seeds to test out it's effectiveness. OR forage for useful plants and bring them home. some plants I recently took root cuttings of are comfrey, lavendar, and 2 types of sage. you know its good when sprouts start shooting up everywhere
