Posted in Grow Set-Up Guide, Media & Containers

How to Prepare and Buffer Coco Coir

 Dr Coco

Properly preparing and buffering your coco coir ensures that you are growing in the best possible medium for your plants. This tutorial walks you through the process of selecting, preparing and buffering coco coir. We review the options you have for selecting pre-buffered coco coir products or purchasing a dehydrated coco coir brick. Brick coco is far cheaper and easier to ship but it requires that you learn how to buffer coco coir for yourself. We provide step-by-step instructions for how to buffer coco coir and provide guidelines for the best coco/perlite ratios in different container sizes. We also provide a video of the complete rinsing and buffering process.

In this Tutorial:

Recommended Coco Coir Products

When purchasing new coco coir, you have many options. You can get a cheap brick of dehydrated coco, or a relatively expensive, already prepared product. Pre-buffered products are available that allow you to skip the steps for rinsing and buffering. You simply rehydrate the coco and add your perlite. However, these products are expensive to purchase and ship. Brick coco is very economical, but it does require some work to buffer it as we describe below. In either case, the quality of the final product will be the same. Purchasing a prepared product is the equivalent of hiring someone to do the rinsing and buffering for you.

Pre-Buffered Coco Products

There are two options for pre-buffered coco products which we have experience with and can endorse.

Canna Organic Substrate

Roots Organics Cocopalms

Both the Canna and Roots Organics products are pre-rinsed and pre-buffered. They come in bags with fibers that are dehydrated, but not compressed. The Canna Organic Substrate contains 50 liters which enough coco for four 5-gallon pots. The Roots Organics Cocopalms contains 42 liters which is more than enough for three 5-gallon pots.

To prepare these products for use, you need to simply rehydrate them and mix with perlite. You may use tap or bottled/filtered water to rehydrate. Once rehydrated you need to mix with perlite and verify EC as described below, but you can skip the rinsing and buffering process.

Dehydrated Brick Coco Products

Plantonix Organic Coco Bliss

There are numerous products available online for dehydrated coco bricks. All compressed bricks of coco should be rinsed and buffered before use regardless of the brand or claims on the packaging. If you follow the instructions below you can transform any brick of coco into a superior growing medium for cannabis. However, some bricks provide a better product to begin with and you end up with more quality coco fibers in the end. I recommend the Plantonix Organic Coco Bliss. It is an excellent deal and after rinsing and buffering it becomes a very high quality coco product. Each brick is ten pounds, which produces more than enough coco for six 5-gallon containers.

Perlite to Mix with Coco

Hoffman Horticultural Perlite

Regardless of the type of coco that you start with, perlite is critical to help with drainage. Almost any perlite will do, but this 18 quart bag from Hoffman Horticultural is lightweight and natural. It has a good mix of particle sizes, which help to improve drainage and aeration.

Preparing Coco Coir for Cannabis

There are many reasons that coco is a superior growing medium for cannabis: it has excellent water retention and drainage properties, offers abundant root space, and, if buffered, it will not interfere with plant nutrition. These features of coco enable the style of high frequency fertigation that we recommend (See “How to Grow Cannabis in Coco Coir: Principles of Fertigation”).

However, if you purchase a brick of coco and you do not rinse and buffer it, you are not growing in a superior medium. Un-rinsed coco is laden with “coco peat”, which are small dust sized particles. The coco peat does not retain air like the larger coco fibers do and as a result, you can run into problems with drowning your roots if you grow in coco with a lot of coco peat.

Buffering is an even larger issue! Coco must be buffered with calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) before it becomes a superior growing media.

Why You Need to Buffer Coco Coir

There are cation exchange sites in coco that will interfere with nutrition until they are buffered. The cation exchange sites in coco naturally come loaded with sodium (Na) and potassium (K) cations. However, the Na and the K are only weakly held to the exchange sites. In the presence of calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg), the sites will release their Na or K cations and lock onto the Ca or Mg. These processes are known as “cation exchanges”.

Buffering coco is accomplished by soaking it in Ca and Mg. This allows the cation exchanges to take place prior to adding plants. Simply soak your coco in a solution of Cal/Mag water and the exchange sites will release their K and Na cations and lock onto the Ca and Mg. When the cation exchange sites bond with Ca and Mg rather than Na and K, it is “buffered”. The bonds that hold the Ca and Mg to the sites are very strong and cation exchange will largely stop. This means that all of the nutrients that you add to the water will be available to the plant at the ratios that you provide them.

Growing in Un-Buffered Coco

Many growers are unaware of the need to buffer the coco and they try to grow plants in unbuffered coco. In unbuffered coco, the cation exchange sites will strip the nutrient solution of the Ca and Mg and replace those cations with Na and K. This creates a sub-optimal Nutrient Element Ratio (NER) and renders Ca and Mg unavailable to the plant.

Failing to buffer the coco is why so many growers suffer calcium deficiencies in coco grows. Manufacturers of prepared coco products try to exploit these problems and convince growers that only their proprietary products are suitable for growing. However, it is actually very simple to properly buffer your coco yourself. This tutorial walks you through the process and provides all the information you need to turn even the cheapest brick of dehydrated coco into a superior growing medium.

How to Prepare and Buffer Brick Coco Coir

Rehydrate and Rinse

When starting with a dehydrated brick of coco, it should first be rehydrated in tap water. Rehydration is fast as coco loves to absorb water. The slurry that is produced should then be rinsed over a screen to remove the finest coco particles, known as “coco peat”, which retain too much water. Your goal at this stage is ending up with larger coco fibers. Use a 1/8” mesh screen or a perforated strainer. I use a perforated strainer which you can see me doing in the video above. This is my new strainer, which is perfect for rinsing coco. It is not the strainer I used in the video.

Buffer Coco to Satisfy the Cation Exchange Sites

After rinsing the coco, you need to buffer it prior to use. I recommend double buffering, which ensures that the cation exchange sites are fully satisfied with Ca and Mg. After buffering, cation exchange will no longer interfere with your grow and the plants will take nutrition (including Ca and Mg) directly from the nutrient solution.

To Double-Buffer Coco:
  1. Prepare buffering solution:
    • Tap water may be used for buffering solution
    • Add at least 7.5 ml/Gal of General Hydroponics CaliMagic
    • Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the buffering solution should be 1200-2000
    • pH of the buffering solution should be greater than 6.2
  2. Place coco in a fabric pot - and then place that into a 5-gallon bucket
  3. Soak coco completely submerged in buffering solution for 8+ hours
  4. Raise fabric pot and allow to drain - dump bucket
  5. Soak again completely submerged in fresh buffering solution for 8+ hours
  6. Drain and it is ready to be mixed with perlite

Mixing Coco with Perlite

Perlite dramatically improves water drainage and aeration in coco. Mixing perlite at the ratios given in the chart below makes it very difficult (but not impossible) to overwater. Also, since it improves water flow through the medium it improves the flushing of unwanted salts. Coco without perlite does not drain as well. However, in small containers, drainage is better, and you can reduce the perlite percentage to increase root space. When following a transplant strategy, perlite percentage should be mixed at ratios needed for final containers.

Coco Perlite Recipes:

Container Size Quantity of Media Perlite % Perlite Volume Coco Dry Weight
2-gallon 2 gallons 0-20% 0-1 quart 450g
3-gallon 3 gallons 30% 2 quarts 550g
5-gallon 4 gallons 40% 4 quarts 650g
7-gallon 5.5 gallons 50% 6 quarts 800g
10-gallon 8 gallons 50% 9 quarts 1250g
Quantity of Media Perlite % Perlite Volume Coco Dry Weight
2-gallon container
2 gallons 0-20% 0-1 quart 450g
3-gallon container
3 gallons 30% 2 quarts 550g
5-gallon container
4 gallons 40% 4 quarts 650g
7-gallon container
5.5 gallons 50% 6 quarts 800g
10-gallon container
8 gallons 50% 9 quarts 1250g

Once buffered and mixed with perlite, coco is an unbeatable grow medium for cannabis!

Verify Electrical Conductivity (EC) Prior to Adding Plants

Before adding seedlings or plants to your coco/perlite mix, you should always verify that the EC is in the appropriate range for their stage of growth. Since the buffering solution is high EC, you may need to rinse the coco with plain water prior to adding plants. Seedlings in particular are vulnerable to being burned by the residual EC in the coco remaining after the buffering process.

Fill the container you will be using with coco/perlite and add water slowly until you can collect run-off. Measure the EC of the first run-off water to leave the pot and confirm that it is in the appropriate range for seedlings (less than 400 or 0.4 EC) or vegetating plants (less than 1000 or 1.0 EC). If the EC is high, continue pouring plain water through the pot until run-off readings are in the appropriate range. After rinsing the EC down like this, it is a good practice to then fertigate (add water with fertilizers) at the appropriate EC prior to adding plants.

If you are unfamiliar with EC or unsure why or how to measure it. Be sure to read our article, “Understanding Osmosis and EC”. Managing EC is easy and meters to measure EC are cheap. Measuring EC allows you to manage your coco grow like a pro!

Growing in Coco Coir

Once you have prepared and buffered your coco, you are set to begin. To take full advantage of the miraculous growing properties of coco coir be sure to read our articles and tutorials on Growing in Coco!

Get Support from Our Community!!

Do you still have questions or want to talk about your grow? We have a wonderful community of growers, and you are invited to join! If you are looking for advice and support throughout your grow, we encourage you to start a Grow Journal in our Grower’s Forum. It is a great way to share your experience and ask questions along the way!

We also have a Live Chat Room, which is a great place to ask questions, get quick answers, and chat with fellow growers. We welcome all growers who want to learn, share and grow together!

Grower's Forum
Start a Grow Journal
Cannabis Chat Room

Current CFC Giveaways & Community Events

The Grower Love GIVEAWAY!

Help us spread the grower love for your chance to win a great new grow light in our Grower Love Giveaway! Entering this giveaway is as simple and easy as entering your email address. Make sure to register for the Grower Love Giveaway today!

Grower Love Giveaway Coco for Cannabis
Grower Love Giveaway
Let's Grow Together!

At Coco for Cannabis, we host grow challenges where growers can grow together and learn from each other in the spirit of collaboration. We invite you to join our next challenge! Our Spring Auto Flower Challenge (SAFC) begins on April 20th. We want you to sign up for it! All growers are welcome, and it is free to join!

SAFC banner 2023
Sign-Up for the SAFC!

Cannabis Grow Guides

The Science and Practice of Growing Cannabis

The Grow Light Guide

Want to know more about grow lights? Our grow light guide is one of our most extensive and innovative tools for growers yet! The Coco for Cannabis Grow Light Guide is an independent and unsponsored resource for growers. Our goals are to demystify grow light metrics, share reliable grow light data and empower home growers with the best information about grow lights. We conduct independent grow light testing and have developed articles and resources to help growers understand the science of horticultural lighting.

Grow Light Guide
Grow Light Calculator
Grow Light Guide
Grow Light Calculator

Featured Video

LEDs are the Present and Future of Horticultural Lighting! However, there is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about horticultural LEDS. In this video, I do a deep dive into the science of horticultural LEDs. I explain the Physics of Light Emitting Diodes and the latest horticultural science about photosynthesis, spectrum, and plant development, including cannabinoids. I also appear in person, on camera for the first time ever in this video!

Dr Coco's YouTube Channel

Growing Equipment

Need equipment for your grow? At Coco for Cannabis, we curated a list for all of your growing needs! We put the grower's interests first and only recommend products that we use, trust, and consider to be a good value. From finding the right grow light and equipment for setting-up your grow space, to curing, harvesting, and storing your final buds, our product and equipment guide has everything you need to set up or upgrade your grow!

Product & Equipment Guide

Cannabis Seeds

Read All Our Articles

Want to read more great cannabis growing articles? Check out our Table of Contents for a complete list of articles and tutorials for all of your cannabis cultivation needs!

Coco for Cannabis Table of Contents

Disclaimer:

The information on cocoforcannabis.com should not be considered as financial, legal, or medical advice. You are responsible for knowing and following the local laws that pertain to cannabis cultivation, possession, and use. Decisions to grow cannabis should be made in consultation with a lawyer or qualified legal advisor. Decisions to use cannabis should be made in consultation with your doctor or medical professional.

We may receive a referral when you purchase products recommended on our website. You support our work by following our links and using our discount codes when you make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Tweet
Share53
WhatsApp
Reddit
53 Shares

Author: Dr Coco

I am a university professor and have taught courses in horticulture. I am coco for cannabis and I hope you are coco for cannabis too :) Grower Love!

About Our Product Recommendations

At Coco for Cannabis, our mission is to help growers maximize the success of their cannabis crops by providing scientifically accurate information and sharing proven growing practices. The products that we recommend are the actual products that we chose to purchase and use ourselves. We do not accept sponsorship or advertising and will not recommend any product that we would not buy for ourselves. Please see our Product and Equipment Guide.

We may receive a referral when you purchase products through our links. This is the main revenue stream that keeps Coco for Cannabis up and running! When you click through our links and make purchases you are supporting our work! As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Disclaimer:

The information on cocoforcannabis.com should not be considered as financial, legal, or medical advice.
You are responsible for knowing and following the local laws that pertain to cannabis cultivation, possession, and use. Decisions to grow cannabis should be made in consultation with a lawyer or qualified legal advisor. Decisions to use cannabis should be made in consultation with your doctor or medical professional.