... is managing salt buildup.
Agree or disagree?
In fact, even knowing it, it has still bit me in the butt more times than I care to say. it's frankly embarrassing. I'm even thinking of just switching to hempys (perlite/vermiculite). Does anyone know if salt buildup is an issue in other mediums such as perlite, vermiculite, or even rockwool?
Not for me, because my tendency is the opposite of the vast majority of other growers. Most growers want to push the plant as hard as they can, so they feed it til it begins to show problems. I do the opposite. I use as
little as I can possibly get away with, until the plant shows problems. I sometimes wonder if my habit of always using just a
wee bit of molasses or other sugar has anything to do with the responses. I cannot say that *my* methods result in the best yields, but I'm not after quantity, I'm after quality.
Salt buildup is a problem in ANY media if you're not careful about how you manage it, IMO/IME, which includes perlite hempy tubs. And lemme tell you, those were EASY, yet also easy to fuck up if you go a little too hard on the feeding, I found I had to go through a lot of water to get things cleared out, however, perhaps
that was because I used 30gal tubs that were just far too big for me to move (some of them are still out on the back deck, they're too big for me to move when they're filled up with wet perlite and the reservoir at the bottom is full). I've got so much fucking perlite. Did you know that it sparks up and flashes really cool if you throw it into a fire? Try throwing some dried up rootballs into a(n outside) fire sometime, it's pretty cool.
So, biggest problem for me in coir was managing Ca. Future biggest problem, if I can figure out how to fire up the indoor space without it costing us extra (we're on full solar), will be doing purely organic coir in a method that mimics how I handle soil. I am undecided as to whether or not, and if so how much, guano I might use to supplement the dry mix. Same with the rock dusts that I typically use in soil (outdoors, soil food web methods).
Oh! I just read something interesting on another forum about
Sea Green, lemme see if I can pull it back up.
Yay! I've gotta bookmark that.
I was really interested in finding out more info since I opened my mouth so much on this topic based on level of micro etc someone listed on page one. Which incidentally is actually the listed ingredients for a root inoculate they produce. I couldn't actually find anything saying sea green has those bacterias in it.? or just missed it. Also, sea green is registered in Oregon as a 1.5-0.5-4.0. with 3.7% humic acid, WA and NY 0.2-0.1-0.1. is all I could find. Beneficial biological registrant address is the same as a hydro store in NorCal.
At any rate, I couldn't think of anything else it could be, Ive been down the trail of many, many products and the composition and dosage of sea green is very small in comparison. So hormones or microbiological is all I could think of. If it were a hormone, the dosage would be higher and they would probably have a recommendation for not using it at certain growth stages.... But their feed chart shows use throughout the plants life. So now back to bacteria..... I found,
Several years ago first in 03 then in 06 a guy/research company called primordial solutions in CO applied for a grant with the USDA to develop a bio-fertilizer. (That was called Geodex but was withdrawn)
Quote:
"Photosynthetic, nitrogen-fixing biofertilizer derived from native cyanobacteria"
http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crispr...rtilizers.html
Quote:
Deployed cyanobacterial inoculants stabilize the soil, contribute fixed nitrogen and carbon, and increase soil moisture. Since the biofertilizers is alive, these attributes improve with time and enhances the productivity and nutritional value of the native vascular vegetation. Taken together, this new industry will benefit environmental restoration, mining, energy extraction, and livestock industry. Finally, the productivity and economic health, managed by the USDA and USDI, will benefit.
http://www.ieca.org/membersonly/cms/...AbstractID=171
Quote:
In contrast, Primordial Solutions, Inc., has developed a technology that is designed to restore soil fertility, water retention, and reduce erosion without relying on the presence of vascular plants. Instead, we exploit photosynthetic microorganisms, called cyanobacteria or “blue-green algae,” which convert solar energy to stored chemical energy, and fix atmospheric nitrogen (N 2) into usable ammonia (NH3). The fixed nitrogen is ultimately incorporated into proteins and nucleic acids, biopolymers essential to life. Throughout the world, cyanobacteria, lichens, bacteria, and fungi, establish selfsufficient microbial communities called “Biological Soil Crusts” (BSC). In the American southwest, BSC are responsible for 99% of the nitrogen input, represent up to 70% of the living ground cover, improve the nutritional value of forage plants, improve water retention, and control erosion.
That is.... if its the same company/related company. Primordial Solutions is registered as a brand name of the product registered by Beni Bio and a business name of a company in CO.