Want to try container growing in Florida - coco coir?

10 years ago

I have 5 strains of peppers that I want to try growing on my screened patio. I have had relative success with hydroponics outdoors, but I want to try something different. So I've been considering an alternative. Since I'm so used to hydroponic growing, I thought about using a "drain to waste" system with fiber pots and coco coir as a media, with coir specific nutrients. However, my ultimate goal is just a container method with spectacular results.

I'm not really sure if it's better to do a synthetic nutrient, or an organic top dressing. Everything is on the table. I have lots of things in my arsenal, that I don't have to buy. This includes bat guano, worm castings, synthetic nutrients, cloth pots, mixing reservoirs, etc.

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Comments (5)

abnorm
10 years ago
Well welcome to the forum.....I had to Google..... "drain to waste" system with fiber pots and coco coir as a media

Where are you 9b ?.......got a first name to share ?

Many of us here use a version of the infamous 511 from GW's ContainerGardenForum .....discussion linked below

dougandpam

Here is a link that might be useful: AlTapla's Latest Thread #18 on 511

This post was edited by abnorm on Sun, Jan 26, 14 at 19:39
solid7
Original Author
10 years ago
I am located in the Melbourne area. (beachside/Indialantic)

Wow... that's quite a read. I'm probably not too inclined to do a lot of soil mixing, especially where composting is concerned. (I just don't have the space to mix OR store) This would be one of the main reasons that I lean more towards a hydro/organic approach, using soilless media. Watering is no problem. I have time to water, or I am quite adept at automating. The local hydro store can get me coco cubes and all the coco specific nutrients. I have (low/no cost)access to cloth pots from a local nursery.

The climate here is my big limitation. I am not opposed to trying anything, so long as it's within my means, objectives, and criteria. I have a very large screened in area that has a west facing shaded overhang that the screen cage attaches to. It can be utilized to provide a good mix of sun/shade by simply sliding the containers forward or backward into/out of the sunny zone. Or I can expose the containers to full sun, minus the 15-20% loss from the screen.

Anyway, I've been looking at all sorts of pots, from cloth to "airpots". (which I certainly can't find locally) I like the idea of containers that encourage "air pruning" of roots, rather than containers which become root bound and run roots in a circle around the pot. But if something works better, I'm all ears.

I'm going to be raising indeterminate tomatoes, as I have hydroponically. I assume that i can use the same pruning and staking methods? Specifically, I trim back to one main stem, and pull of all suckers. Basically, I just have one long vine, with just 3-4 sets of leaves (side shoots) on the end.

Anyway, thanks for your reply. Can't wait to jump deep into this topic.
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Nice to see another zone 8 coco grower. What part of zone 8 you in? I'm in Waco, TX From what I've read, the number 1 reason people have problems growing in coco coir is they treat it like soil. Coir is a hydroponic medium, and should be treated as such. I have 5 pepper plants and 1 cherry tomato plant on the patio growing in coco coir / perlite mixed about 7:3. I'm currently hand watering every day or every other day, using Hesi coco nutrients (a 1 part fertilizer designed specifically for growing hydroponically in coco). I feed 12 ml of nutrient mixed with 4 L of water, pH'd to about 5.8 The trick is to feed until you have run-off (approx 10-20% of what you watered should run out the bottom). Never let it dry out. Watering til that much runs out does two thing: 1)flushes the medium with every watering, preventing build up in the medium. 2)ensures you maintain a fairly consistent level of nutrient in the medium. Fluctuations in ec/ppm & pH = no good. I was a little leery at first to water that much. I was always told too much water is the most common mistake people make. Well, with coco, forget all that. The more often you water, the better off you'll be. Since the coir is so coarse, it will always have plenty of oxygen trapped inside, unlike most mediums that become water-logged and drown roots.
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TheMasterGardener1 Coco coir is pH neutral when used by itself, and wont affect pH in hydroponics. Peat on the other hand is another story. Peat can and will change your pH, and how much depends on the type and how much the peat is used. However I think sorghum peat moss is the most pH neutral, and really the only thing that should be used in hydroponics (but not cost effective). Most peat will absorb to much water, and compact, suffocating the roots. Bottom line, I would never recommend using a coco coir/peat mixture to grow hydroponically. But coco coir/chips is the growing media I prefer to use myself. Though it's typically recommended to test pH before adding nutrients to the water, it's rarely needed to be adjusted before if your using a good water source to begin with. Unless it's above 7, or below 5, I don't bother to pre-adjust pH (I know my water supply and don't even bother pre-testing it anymore). Any good nutrient manufacture will add pH buffers to the nutrients. The buffers will help inisionally adjust the pH, but their mainly their to help keep the pH stable (typically for about two weeks depending on your particular variables). You should never add lime or any additive to the growing media or nutrients indiscriminately. Doing so can lead to toxicity. Any good manufactured nutrient solution will already be a balanced nutrient. Adding extra mineral elements just because you have them lying around will change that well balanced nutrient. If your going to add an additive, be sure it's necessary before you do. Or at least make sure you can undo it if you don't get the desired results. Also by adding lime to the growing media in a hydroponic system, that will continually change the pH with every water cycle. Not a desired effect in recirculating hydroponic systems. The idea is to keep pH as stable as possible, not have it keep changing all the time.
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I didn't know Target has it, cool! How much was it? Yeah, this stuff is pretty much nutrition-less like straight up peat, only better draining, fluffier and higher pH. You can mix in some compost/humus/manure or sprinkle Osmocote over it or keep up a regular liquid fertilizer schedule. I don't see the point of mixing soil in with it.
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Something else I wanted to mention for those growers that are newer. I make huge batches of media at a time. I find that as I work my way through a container, it gets ground up into powdery bits. This means that I have to sift it again! You see, sifting is the key to keeping particle size uniform. I ALWAYS sift my perlite, it is the worst about grinding into a powder. I always sift my oil dry/DE component and pumice too. I sift the growstone when it gets toward the bottom of the bag. Keeping the particle size uniform will provide the best root zone possible for your plants. Tracy
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judo_and_peppers
10 years ago
I lived in indialantic my whole life, before moving to tampa in july. I began my pepper growing there. I've found that partial sun is ideal. the fellas up north want as much sun as they can get, down here full sun is too much sun. screened sun sounds wonderful. my plants did great under a big oak tree where they got full sun up until 11am, then tree-filtered light the rest of the day.

so which 5 strains of peppers are you growing?
solid7
Original Author
10 years ago
I am growing black jalapenos, early jalapenos, purple jalapenos, orange cherry bonnets, MoA scotch bonnets.

Suffice it to say, tomatoes grow incredibly well here in the winter time, but I have never had good luck uner full sun in the dead of summer. I guess there is a good reason why commercial tomatoes here are normally grown in shadehouses.
BettaPonic SuperRoots
7 years ago
I grow a large amount of Tomatoes and a few houseplants. I use a large amount of General Hydroponic fertilzers and root inoculants. I would recommend looking into air pruning.

Want to try container growing in Florida - coco coir?

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abnorm

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Want to try container growing in Florida - coco coir?

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abnorm

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