Coco substrate

even the shitty compressed brick i bought claimed it was "Triple washed" .. so it really depends on each prodcut. a premixed bag of 7030 coco from same exact brand of the brick trash i bought was fine. so even within a brand it can be hit or miss. coco needs proper washing and buffering or it will definitely make your plants sick., this is the risk. there are plenty of benefits. so, if oyu find a good quality brand, add it to the list. when you try somethign new, do a 1-pot experiment with it first so you don't ruin an entire grow cycle if unlucky. some compressed bricks are okay, i just learned through another growmie who had no problem with such a product, but in genearl, bricks need a lot of extra work. run a ton of water through it to leech of the sodium, then soak in a calnitrate solution somewhere near the does of a well-balanced fertilzier for N and Ca.. this should be done multiple times. And then, it won't leach Ca from your fertilizer releasing a ton of exctra K, lol... this is how it can be dangerous if not properly buffered. there are cation exchange sites filled with Na, K and whatever else.. Ca has a strong affinity for these bonding sites, so it will replace the K and Na that is bonded there, releasing it into the water in your substrate. the good - less pests come with coco even if stored outside by the seller. it' inert. it's convenient. not telling you to avoid it. i use 7030 coco now. i was a big fan of sphagnum peat, but it too often came with gnats.