you need to track down a hydroponic store somewhere in your area. Get comfortable visiting them, they aren't like head shops. You can track down bricks of coco there or online if you choose. It's pretty cheap stuff so I wouldnt worry too much about the price. 10 bucks for 10 pound brick or something like that.

Coco hold water about 5 maybe 10x what soil can hold. It's like a sponge in that way. At the same time, it doesn't hold more then it knows how to handle. Soil has a tendency to create pockets of mud where roots cant grow thus you have to be careful to not over water soil or water too often. Coco will leech out all excess water automatically. It does not create pockets of mud. As such you can water every hour or every day depending on how aggressive you are. Coco is ph neutral which means nothing will leech out from the coco fiber and into the water or plant. With coco you are still in the hydro arena and retain those benefits but you have a more forgiving media in terms of moisture control as well.

As far as I know...there are no cons. My water is cleaner then it was with hydroton, I water less often and the plants are much more stable which is very important especially for a first time grower. You will quickly discover your own ebb and flow of efforts that you put into this project. You also discover that you make a ton of mistakes as you learn all the aspects. Coco will give you a little more wiggle room to make mistakes with. If you forget to water one time or break your water pump in a system with quick cycles you will lose your plants in one day. Soil and coco will survive that.


I would recommend you go with a high quality, most expensive, coco you can buy. Ok so maybe its 12 bucks instead of 10, but the difference will be worth it. Good coco is steam cleaned first to remove sea salts and insect larvae commonly in all soils. The end result is a bug free and salt free media. Soil cant say that.