Coconut Chips from Ray

[MT-Phal]

Does anyone else have experience with chc they've purchased from Ray?

Unfortunately I don't have epsom salts around, but I had thought that since the description was "pre-washed," it would require less washing then CHC I've used in the past. Two weeks of soaking, water changes, and boils, later I have to say I'm puzzled about what else I can do. Aside from buying epsom salts. But CHC I've used in the past never took this long.

Anyone?


For the record, I've soak overnight followed by a morning water dump replaced with fresh water, and I've boiled them twice. I'm preparing maybe three handfuls of it.

[gnathaniel]

Why do you think the CHC isn't ready to use? I soak for a max of two days and I've never had any salt problems (though mine isn't from Ray).

--Nat

[MT-Phal]

B/c the water should be clear, right? I keep keep filling it with water and it turns dark yellow. CHC I've used in the past was like this.

[Cym Ladye]

In my experience, the color of the water does not reflect the salt content. I soak my chips for a max of 4 hours, flush well, drain, partially dry and use. Some chips will continue to "bleed" when I water the pots, but this does not affect the plants. Since you bought these from Ray, I suggest you contact him privately and I am certain he will put your mind at ease.

I have discovered that the longer chips are soaked, the more will become water logged and sink to the bottom of the can. I prefer not to use these in my orchid mix as I feel they will have that same ability to retain too much water too soon. I use them for mulch in my garden. Some say that this is not necessary and just use them too. I suspect my feelings on this go back to when I used bark, and the bark that sank to the bottom of the can after being soaked overnight, was the bark that broke down first in a mix. Since I wanted the bark mix to last as long as possible, I did not use the saturated bark from the soaking for my orchids.

Bottom line of this, in my opinion, is that CHC, once soaked (expanded) and rinsed several times in a porous container, is good to go, regardless of the bleeding you may or may not have.

CL

[keithrs]

I only boil mine once for 15 min. The water is a light brown color(looks like sun tea). I have had zero problems.

[MT-Phal]

Cym Ladye,

Thank you for your input. I guess I'm okay to repot. I'll do so this weekend and hope for the best.

[gnathaniel]

Looks like I'm late getting back to this thread, but ditto what everyone else said. I think the brown stuff is just tannins leaching out, which will not harm orchids in my experience. Your process sounds more than thorough enough to remove any harmful salt residues.

--Nat

[Ray]

Even though I could view this as a criticism of me and my products, I think it's funny, as the "issue" is based upon an erroneous assumption that color coming from CHC is due to salt content.

In the first place, salt in water is totally clear, so you'd never know if it's present by a visual inspection anyway.

As has been stated, the color comes from tannins, which are present in all CHC and bark, are totally harmless, and in some opinions, actually help stabilize the medium pH in the correct, slightly acidic range.

For the record, the stuff I sell is the same Crystal Company CHC carried by many sellers. It states on the label that it is prewashed, but my personal experience with it and other brands is to be conservative and treat it as if it was not, as salt content can be toxic to plants if it's too high. Hence, I recommend a presoak with calcium nitrate and/or Epsom salts to be safe.

MT-Phal, go to a drug store or grocery store and pick up some Epsom Salts. it's a great fertilizer supplement, and used when pretreating any medium, will give you great peace-of-mind.

And please, in the future, if you have an issue with one of my products, how about approaching me first?

[MT-Phal]

Originally Posted by Ray

Even though I could view this as a criticism of me and my products, I think it's funny, as the "issue" is based upon an erroneous assumption that color coming from CHC is due to salt content.

In the first place, salt in water is totally clear, so you'd never know if it's present by a visual inspection anyway.

As has been stated, the color comes from tannins, which are present in all CHC and bark, are totally harmless, and in some opinions, actually help stabilize the medium pH in the correct, slightly acidic range.

For the record, the stuff I sell is the same Crystal Company CHC carried by many sellers. It states on the label that it is prewashed, but my personal experience with it and other brands is to be conservative and treat it as if it was not, as salt content can be toxic to plants if it's too high. Hence, I recommend a presoak with calcium nitrate and/or Epsom salts to be safe.

MT-Phal, go to a drug store or grocery store and pick up some Epsom Salts. it's a great fertilizer supplement, and used when pretreating any medium, will give you great peace-of-mind.

And please, in the future, if you have an issue with one of my products, how about approaching me first?

Ray, this was no criticism of you or your products so you shouldn't take offense. I asked this in the forum because I was just curious about other's experience with the same product, in the same way that I tend to read amazon customer reviews of things I've already bought. There's often things to learn about the experience of others. I can't remember where I read of how to prepare CHC, but it stated that the water should be clear. CHS I've used in the past didn't produce "tannis," and this is the first time I've ever seen the term. If this was misinformation it wasn't my fault.

That being said, I must say that I'm very appreciative of this board and everything that I've learned from it in the years I've been a part of the community. It's been an invaluable help. However I have to say that I'm leaving this board as it seems there four types of posters - beginners seeking fundamental information, those who some experience and offer help where they can, those who ask to see pictures then have nothing to offer, and older, experienced growers who can be quite arrogant in their replies and / or don't often bother to read an entire post before sending a reply. It's quite maddening to have to repeat questions or statements b/c someone just couldn't be bothered to read, or feel belittled. Only on the rare occasion have I seen members come and go for the latter reason, and seems it's my time.

I think I've learned enough to feel that this board really doesn't have much more education to offer me, and I no longer feel comfortable within this forum.

So peace out, Orchid Board.

[FrankP999]

Ray,
I have some of your chc being delivered today. I see your recommendation for presoak with epsom and calcium nitrate.

How long a soak do you recommend? I looked on your fantastic web site with all the free info, but could not find the soaking directions.

Thanks.

Frank