Straight coir monobuckets

[threesixty]

I had some BRF half-pints finish up this week (4 mazatapec & 4 chitwan) and didn't really have a plan for them. I'd been following boots420's "100% coir..." thread, realized I had a brick of coir sitting around, and decided to give that a shot in my monobuckets.

In that thread I learned that a hydrated brick of coir is roughly 8-9 quarts. I wanted around 2 quarts per bucket so I got out the hacksaw and cut the brick into quarters and dropped one into each of the buckets. I boiled up a little over 2 quarts of water and poured half into each bucket, broke the coir up to allow even hydration, and covered them with a shower cap. I let them cool for 3-4 hours and they were ready to go.

I cleaned the verm off each cake and put them in gallon ziplock bags (1 bag for maz, 1 for chitwan), broke them up, and dumped them into the buckets. I mixed each bucket up as evenly as I could and replaced the shower caps. The one thing I would do different next time is hydrate a little extra coir in a separate container to use as a top layer to cover any exposed spawn.

The digicam was out of commission while I was prepping these so apologies for lack of pics. Here they are a day later, the myc is already recovering nicely. Looking forward to seeing how these turn out. The prep process with straight coir is SO FREAKING SIMPLE, if these flush decent then I've definitely got a new tek of choice.

[Sidestreet Getaway]

Nice and simple. I like it. Hope it goes well.

[threesixty]

Originally Posted by Sidestreet Getaway

Nice and simple. I like it. Hope it goes well.

Simple indeed man, besides waiting for the coir to cool this was wham-bam-thank you mam compared to my normal process.

[masterplain88]

cant wait to see the first flush looks like it going to work.
masterplain88

[Moose]

I've never done a coir only grow, the simplicity definitely makes me want to try it. Those tubs look great, keep us posted!

Moose

[threesixty]

Originally Posted by Moose

I've never done a coir only grow, the simplicity definitely makes me want to try it. Those tubs look great, keep us posted!

Moose

Thanks Moose, I'll keep this thing updated for sure. This is my first coir only grow, I've got my fingers & toes crossed for good results.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Nice start, good process write up.

A little extra coir to cover grain spawn would be a good idea but crumbled/shredded BRF cakes are pretty strong against contams.

G'luck!!!

[boots420]

nice. glad to see. lemme pull up a seat.

just as buck states; i wouldnt add coir by itself as a top layer. the extra spawn on the top makes the sub colonize faster and protects it against contams.

matter of fact i used to add a top layer of spawn on my subs, back in the day. although not anymore.

[threesixty]

Originally Posted by boots420

just as buck states; i wouldnt add coir by itself as a top layer. the extra spawn on the top makes the sub colonize faster and protects it against contams.

I was thinking more along the lines of just patching the exposed spawn (as opposed to a full layer of coir over the top) to promote more even colonization. I've had buckets in the past that colonized super quick up top and fruited ok, but when I pulled the bulk out to clean up the side pins they had only colonized about halfway through. Not a huge problem but dunking would not be pretty unless I shaved off the bottom of the bulks.

[MLBjammer]

I dig your buckets, man. Coir suprisingly works pretty well as a bulk. As an experiment I mixed one pint popcorn with a pint of coir, and the thing is on its fourth flush now, refuses to contaminate. It is in a mixing bowl covered with foil with holes poked in the top. I fan it once a day. I figured I would be lucky to get two flushes out of it. Here is a shot of the second or third flush.

[threesixty]

Nice MLB! Man, you can't argue with those results. Even if these buckets flush less than my castings/coir/verm buckets I'll still be happy. The prep is so simple I can definitely deal with a little less output per bucket.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Cubies do love coir.

Nice pic, Jammer!

[boots420]

Originally Posted by threesixty

I was thinking more along the lines of just patching the exposed spawn (as opposed to a full layer of coir over the top) to promote more even colonization. I've had buckets in the past that colonized super quick up top and fruited ok, but when I pulled the bulk out to clean up the side pins they had only colonized about halfway through. Not a huge problem but dunking would not be pretty unless I shaved off the bottom of the bulks.

interesting. i have never had this happen, tho i do keep my subs pretty thin @ 3". maybe let em colonize a bit more before fruiting them.

also maybe add a bit more spawn. i add 3 qt. jars per brick of coir. if all is mixed well, and the spawn to sub ratio is high; the sub should colonize evenly.

[BuckarooBanzai]

During the summer months especially, I will put a very thin layer of substrate on top, covering every piece of grain visible. It takes a tad longer to finish, but better safe than sorry.

After Halloween, though, I don't worry so much about exposed grain on the top of a spawned bulk sub.

[MLBjammer]

Originally Posted by threesixty

Nice MLB! Man, you can't argue with those results. Even if these buckets flush less than my castings/coir/verm buckets I'll still be happy. The prep is so simple I can definitely deal with a little less output per bucket.

Thanks. That cake finally got a spot of green, but managed to put out four flushes, or about an ounce and a half dry weight, which ain't too shabby for a pint of popcorn.

Your buckets will likely do better than that little cake, I am sure. Peace.

[threesixty]

Here we are at day 4 and DAMN the myc is ripping through that coir quick. Bucket on the left is Chitwan, right is Mazatapec (same order as the above shots). Pics are a little blurry b/c I'm shooting through the shower cap to be safe.

[MLBjammer]

I think cubies just have a taste for coir and rip right through it. Those buckets are amazing for day 4!

[threesixty]

Originally Posted by MLBjammer

I think cubies just have a taste for coir and rip right through it. Those buckets are amazing for day 4!

Right?! When I was flipping back and forth between the first pics and these I had a little bit of a jaw-drop moment.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Cubies most assuredly like coir. You can use it pure as a substrate or to better effect, use it to fluff any poo substrate.

Coir is kick ass good stuff for cubie growing.

Coir also seems to be highly resistant to contamination.

But I'm a total coir whore and proud to admit it.

[Leftover Salmon]

Tuning in to this one... That myc do look nice and fluffy.

[Discobiscuit]

I love coir and will be trying these buckets as well I get contams sometimes so i figure instead of going from bucket to bed I'd cut out a step and just leave it in the buckets gl

[threesixty]

Originally Posted by Leftover Salmon

Tuning in to this one... That myc do look nice and fluffy.

Thanks for stoppin by man!

Originally Posted by Discobiscuit

I love coir and will be trying these buckets as well I get contams sometimes so i figure instead of going from bucket to bed I'd cut out a step and just leave it in the buckets gl

Cool, good luck man! Hope the ole buckets work out for you. I freakin love em, I was sad when I hit the search for "monobucket" and it came back with only 4 or 5 results. That's what made me want to post up more about my process.

[Leftover Salmon]

MLBJammer; is that pitcher full of Mushrooms the redboys that you have been posting about?