Switching from clay pebbles to coco

[doominik]

I want to switch from clay pebbles to coco for practical reasons. I just can’t be asked to clean them pebbles from roots and flush them many times before using them again. 
my idea is to buy loads of coco bulk and then jus don’t worry about it and just get rid of it on the end. 
I use Wilma systems and still have some nutes. From what I read I just need to use more cal mag with every feed and it should work fine. 
pls correct me if I’m wrong

 

 

edit: I have just found a similar topic so pls delete this one

sorry for the trouble 

Edited December 29, 2020 by doominik

[mrevolve]

I see this being a good conversation topic. I mean, you aren't asking any questions so duplication of opinions is maybe not a worry.

 

I swapped from pebbles to coco for the reason I can dump the coco and start again much easily also. As with limited space, sorting root balls is just an absolute nightmare. I imagine allowing the roots to break down then washing the balls would be a much easier long term solution given the space available.

 

How do you plan to water them now you're using coco?

[Arthur Mix]

A jacuzzi is a good way to clean clay balls  just make sure you use a strainer on the plug  

[ygdop]

If I were gonna switch out from clay to coco I would go ahead and make the Drain to Waste jump, and avoid complicating a recirculating format.  

[zen-ken]

25 minutes ago, ygdop said:

If I were gonna switch out from clay to coco I would go ahead and make the Drain to Waste jump, and avoid complicating a recirculating format.  

I agree...  but in most peoples situation DTW is just not practical...and bloody expensive on nutez 

Edited December 29, 2020 by zen-ken

[catweazle1]

6 hours ago, zen-ken said:

I agree...  but in most peoples situation DTW is just not practical...and bloody expensive on nutez 

You can't have it all. The predictability and correctibility of dtw is a win for me.

[Bigbob88]

Clean the balls? They're only £15 for 50 odd litre.

 

Get yourself a smaller net pot mate.

[Farmer Fett]

24 minutes ago, Bigbob88 said:

Clean the balls? They're only £15 for 50 odd litre.

 

Get yourself a smaller net pot mate.

then you end up with a garden full of clay balls, , I used to use them mixed in with my coco, now I just dont bother at all with the same results as far as I can see. And I don't have to dump a fuck load of shit in my garden and dig it in.

[Bigbob88]

I generally put rubbish in the bin

[badbillybob]

same here, digging hydroton into your garden is a pretty big giveaway, no?

id bag it and bin it, get a new sack and wash it/ rinse it properly before starting again

[doominik]

I haven’t expected any response on that one but thanks for putting in

i will try to use a different setups and see how that works. I have bought pure cod and coco/clay 60/40 mix. If I want be happy I just go back to 100% clay pebbles 

[Moonshine123]

I have done both and prefer pebbles personally. I never reuse pebbles for the fact they are cheap and I don’t have a lot of spare time to spend trying to pick roots out for the sake of £20. I have a 10 pot Wilma and a 4 pot xl Wilma, the 4 pot I am currently using 12ltr fabric pots. 

 

I buy 3 bags off pebbles/balls at a time and they do me about 5 months. Sometimes I get them at £15 a bag and sometimes they are £20 a bag. 60 quid every 5 months can’t be bad  
 

To be honest I have never noticed much difference in final product using either coco or pebbles. But I do believe growth in veg is slightly faster in clay pebbles. 

[doominik]

@Moonshine123 I like both to be honest but I'll stick with coco for now as my mate is growing in coco i autopots and we just by nutes and coco bulk together-to be precise we use clay/coco 60/40 mix fro magic plants 

[mrevolve]

Cleaning balls is fine if you have tiny root balls and don't veg for long.

More roots more fruits. I end up with a 25 litre pot of root ball and never going to clean the roots off without decomposing them off. No space for that sadly.