Always Prevent Your Coco or Coco-Peat Soil From Drying Out, Here's Why

Always Prevent Your Coco or Coco-Peat Soil From Drying Out, Here's Why

We wanted to show and explain the necessity of coco growers in keeping your medium watered and fed routinely to prevent over-drying. High-aeration mixtures of coco are great for heavy-feeding, but can easily dry-out if neglected. If your coco blend is allowed to over dry, growers can struggle to re-establish and maintain peak performance in their plants. When the coco-based soil becomes too dry, the delicate fine root-hairs and feeder roots quickly die off. The recovery time for this stress is slow and can reduce yields come harvest time.

In the goal of a perfectly grown plant, a huge benefit to growers is that the coco fiber is hydrophilic. Hydrophilic means that the coco fibers easily absorb and hold water. However, if you are using aerated mixtures with perlite, this ability to hold moisture within the container is lessened. Some coco blends also contain peat-moss, which is hydrophobic, now hydrophobic means that the peat repels water, kind of like oil repels water. This addition of peat to coco, increases the necessity for consistent watering. Forest humus is also often used in coco blends, which will dry out easily and contribute to fine root damage.

High quality coco fiber has an excellent cation exchange capacity. This means the coco benefits a plants ability to eat and produce large yields. If you allow your containers or beds to dry out too much, you greatly compromise the coco’s capillary ability. Dry soil retracts and compresses, reducing capillary action. Much like a dry sponge sheers water away, a moist sponge will absorb water rapidly. Think of your coco fiber as a sponge.

Well buffered coco shouldn’t necessarily require a calcium charge, but after transplanting we recommend a good foliar application of Plant Amp to help fortify the plant with calcium and minimize transplant shock.

Coco fiber loves to hold calcium, and doesn’t want to share it with your plants. If we foliar apply Plant Amp during daylight, we deliver that necessary calcium directly into the plants stomata to the middle lamella of the leaf where it is stored.

28 Comments

  1. SMERKUZHEO G on July 21, 2022 at 3:12 am

    @CuttingEdgeSolutions…

    I did 2 thinqs wronq.. Over watered at seedlinq staqe & stunted them plus they yellowed due to lack of nutes from lockout…. THEN later when biqqer & healthy… i waited a bit n they dried n wilted a few times but now are watered correctly for months now n lookin healthy n qreen n stronq..

    Same question worded a bit different. Sorry to bother. Im new to this. Please help…

    Hi. Hope ur doin well. Keep up the qreat work.

    Have a question & ur my qo to quy. I assumed i was an advanced qrower smh but fell victim to amateur problems (head hunq in shame)

    I over watered some of my plants like a sucker & caused them to wilt, yellow & slow in qrowth rate. Some stopped qrowth for upto 4-5 days. My question is…

    …. since i stunted my plants by overwaterinq them… does that mean that i lowered the quality of the buds they will ever produce? Like i mean… if they had never stunted to beqin with & thrived from start to finish, then they wud produce the hiqhest possible quality buds when it comes to Aromas, Flavors, Terpenes, Yield, Vigor, etc…. BUT.. since i stunted them, does that mean that they will NOW NEVER be able to produce the FULL 100% quality buds that they INTENDED to & rather NOW ONLY prod

    produce like 70-80% MAX QUALITY compared to the FULL 100% MAX QUALITY that they would have achieved if they were never Over-watered/stunted to beqin with? Like did my STUNTING of them cause me to Lower the Bar of their Hiqhest Quality Bud Potential?
    What im tryinq to say is… i know stuntinq can sometimes be TEMPORARY & once u brinq them back to Thrivinq Health.. they will Veqetate very well still but even tho they qet back to Thrivinq Veqetative qrowth, will their POST STUNT LIFE now produce

    produce LOWER Quality bud vs if they NEVER stunted to beqin with? Or once they reqain Thrivinq Veqetative qrowth & health, will they STILL be able to achieve the SAME EXACT HIGH QUALITY BUDS that they would have achieved if they were never stunted to beqin with? Like picture 2 EXACT SAME clones… 1 qet stunted by over water… the other NEVER stunts… once the stunted one qets back to thrivinq & qets put to flower AFTER ITS THRIVING & VEGGING just like its Twin Clone… will the previously

    Stunted clone STILL be able to produce the SAME EXACT HIGH QUALITY BUD as its TWIN CLONE SISTER?.. or due to the fact of it Stuntinq…. NOW IT WILL (FOREVER) produce LOWER QUALITY BUDS COMPARED TO ITS TWIN CLONE SISTER FROM THE SAME MOTHER?… very sorry to bother u but i only trust YOUR expertise Knowledqe because i KNOW that u are a VERY ADVANCED & KNOWLEDGEABLE GROWER. THANK U VERY MUCH FOR UR HARD WORK.

    Please reply soon.



  2. Gillenz Fluff on July 21, 2022 at 3:13 am

    I just use a spray bottle to water really dried coco no need for wetting agent’s.



  3. Jason Carter on July 21, 2022 at 3:15 am

    Do you have to water everyday



  4. nsanahtee on July 21, 2022 at 3:20 am

    Can you water coco from the bottom?



  5. Red Dead Dylan on July 21, 2022 at 3:20 am

    How do you know how much to give them per watering. What would a 2 gallon pot minimum feeding be. A cup per feeding? How many times we talking per day.



  6. Layne Rossi on July 21, 2022 at 3:26 am

    Can I use Calcium Nitrate for my Calcium Boost?



  7. El INFIERNO on July 21, 2022 at 3:27 am

    First of all you need more water to saturate the pot lol . You cant expect to saturate coco which has very high CC – water capacity and its extremely easy to re-wet . Moreover Coco is used as wetting agent in different potting mixes . And how u lose the CEC do u know what CEC it is ? And what porosity , porosity and air porosity ( drainage ) is not same , all peat moss based potting mixes have wetting agent in them , so …. a lot confusing informations



  8. BLAZINGINGPHOENIX on July 21, 2022 at 3:30 am

    If it gets and stays too wet you get rot and mold



  9. Ye et on July 21, 2022 at 3:31 am

    what if i buffed coco and didnt need all of it and let it dry can u still use it after 3 months of just being in pot and drying?



  10. Big Dee on July 21, 2022 at 3:31 am

    Nice presentation Big Brother ….well thought through ,, and clear



  11. abcdefg hijklmnop on July 21, 2022 at 3:32 am

    Just wondering, how often should I be feeding in a drain to waste system?



  12. Brian McHale on July 21, 2022 at 3:34 am

    What are your thoughts on subfertigation vs over the top drain to waist! ?



  13. SMERKUZHEO G on July 21, 2022 at 3:36 am

    @CuttingEdgeSolutions.. THANX FOR UR HARD WORK..

    If my soil and mother plants have accidentally dried to the point where my plants wilt but come back to life after watering, will my AROMAS & FLAVORS of my cannabis flowers not be able to be TOP SHELF ANYMORE EVEN AFTER A FEW WEEKS HAVE PASSED AFTER THE INCIDENT & MOMS LOOKING GREAT?

    OR WILL HIGH GRADE PLANTS STILL PRODUCE VERY HIGH GRADE FLOWERS (EVEN IF THEYVE DRIED & WILTED IN THE PAST BUT (NOW) ARE WATERED PROPERLY?

    I KNOW (YIELD) WILL DECREASE IF PLANTS DRY BUT ONCE THAT PROBLEMS (FIXED) & THEN (CLONES) OF THAT MOM ARE FLOWERED & THOSE CLONES (NEVER DRY OUT), WILL THOSE CLONES PRODUCE THE SAME HIGH GRADE FIRE TOP SHELF CANNABIS THAT THEY WERE GOING TO PRODUCE IN (THE FIRST PLACE BEFORE MOMS DRYING OUT?)

    IM TRYING TO FIND OUT IF, BY MY (MOMS) DRYING & WILTING A FEW TIMES BUT (NOW) WELL WATERED FOR MONTHS & LOOKING GREAT, WILL I STILL GET THE HIGH QUALITY AROMAS & FLAVORS & POTENCY THAT I WAS (INITIALLY) GOING TO GET FROM THOSE SEEDS BECAUSE MOMS ARE FINE (NOW) & HEALTH IS (RESTORED) (OR)

    BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE MOTHERS DRIED N WILTED A FEW TIMES BUT NOW OK FOR MONTHS, NOW IVE COMPROMISED THE QUALITY OF THE MOTHER PLANTS THAT WILL FOREVER PRODUCE LOWER QUALITY CLONES WITH LOWER QUALITY AROMAS & FLAVORS & POTENCY THAT THEY WERE (MEANT TO PRODUCE) HAD THEY NOT SUFFERED TEMPORARY DRYING & WILTING?

    Also are there any BENEFITS to my temporary accudental dry spells on my Mothers such as A BUILT UP TOLERANCE FIR DROUGHT OR INCREASED POTENCY OR FLAVORS OR (SOMETHING) DUE TO SURVIVING DROUGHTS? SUCH AS HUMANS "What dont kill us makes us stronqer" or GRAPES that produce BETTER WINE WHEN THE GRAPES ARE GROWN IN (POOR SOIL TO STRESS A BIT)?

    Im tryinq to determine if i ruined my mother plants by lettinq them STUNT AT AN EARLY AGE BUT ARE NOW RESTORED N WATERED CORRECTLY & shud start NEW SEEDS or if my STRESS ENDURING MOMS ARE (STILL) GOING TO BE FIRE & I SHUD JUST KEEP THEM?

    THANK U.

    ANYBODY KNOWLEDGABLE PLEASE REPLY SOON



  14. Pontianak on July 21, 2022 at 3:37 am

    Sigh. If only I saw this earlier. No wonder my plants keep drying out.



  15. Martha Newsome on July 21, 2022 at 3:41 am

    Hahaha, Sonoma County, that is where I was born. I’m trying to dry out my coir peat to use in a paludarium. I need it dry to adhere to the silicon.



  16. BigD on July 21, 2022 at 3:44 am

    Feed water daily? In coco coir



  17. vandana D on July 21, 2022 at 3:44 am

    Gr8 information.



  18. Mtnberner on July 21, 2022 at 3:48 am

    I bet there are going to be a lot of new growers overwatering after watching this! Never had any problems from letting stuff dry out, but tons of problems from keeping too wet, (gnats, root disease, etc.). Just make sure you are using a wetting agent when you water, and you shouldn’t have problems, and don’t try for bone dry.



  19. Topsrite on July 21, 2022 at 3:48 am

    Excellent video, thanks



  20. Pat Rey on July 21, 2022 at 3:50 am

    Coco can’t be overwatered. (Sure if you had a hose continually running it may).I think it’s best for beginners.

    Proper size container for plant size is very important.
    Proper size container for plant size is very important.

    You can’t treat Soil like Coco. A pot with soil is preloaded with nutrient and the roots reach out for new area with supply. Coco is like an empty sponge and needs food every day. Also don’t need to do drybacks to build root systems in Coco.

    Feed every watering at the PH recommended by your Nutrient manufacturer.

    I recommend Canna Coco Nutrients. They discovered how to make Coco work.

    Don’t mess with the bricks, buy a bag of high quality Coco (Just Coco nothing added).

    Build an auto watering system(less than $100). Use Nearpow timer and FloraFlex plates and circulators.
    Also use a condensate pump (Harbor Freight $45) for runoff (or gravity feed if you have the ability).
    Have that pump into a clear 1 Gal. container.
    Then you can Master timer shot for proper runoff.



  21. Sean B on July 21, 2022 at 3:59 am

    this stuff feels like a scam – ive had some soaking for over a day with nearly zero water absorption



  22. Jony Boy on July 21, 2022 at 3:59 am

    How is a foliar aplication of anything goes into the stomata?



  23. John From akron on July 21, 2022 at 4:02 am

    I’m new and this explanation was good



  24. Sofie Redfern on July 21, 2022 at 4:03 am

    If you mix coco with compost, can you let it dry out? I have succulents that need to dry out and everywhere seems to advise a coco mix. They seem to be growing nicely, it’s been 3 months of letting them get bone dry for a few days then watering again in the coco coir mix, all seems fine?



  25. MostlyWeed on July 21, 2022 at 4:04 am

    You want to go from moist after watering to damp when dry.



  26. smtel on July 21, 2022 at 4:05 am

    I’m a bit confused with this. So you said that coco peat is hydrophilic but why did it turn out to be dry? Also, coco peat is biodegradable, right? So even if coco peat will "eat" or absorb the other nutrients that the plant needs, after a few months they will decay and they will become a fertilizer to the plant too. Is this correct? I hope you respond lol… cause I am interested with this too.. lol



  27. J 4 on July 21, 2022 at 4:05 am

    Cat ion?



  28. R Balliro on July 21, 2022 at 4:11 am

    Great video!