What do YOU use to amend coco??

[Seamaiden]

That is what I meant too, but I did not know you could kill the natural beneficial microbes in coco coir if you cooked/processed coco like soil.

What I got out of it was to mix all your amendments with EWC and let that 'cook', then when its time to plant, mix in the appropriate amount of coco, transplant clones or plant seedlings, then water.

Thanks for the info on the chow mix thread, I'll search for it.

That's just it, unless by 'cooking' you mean putting it through heat, like in an oven, you're culturing microbes. That, by default, means you're not killing 'beneficials,' you're growing more. I think it may be more difficult in coir because it is not mineralized as soil is. The microbes are the providers of the plant foods, and vice versa, and so require a complete buffet of nutrients with which to work, and hopefully a well-balanced buffet.

 

[LexLuthor]

That's just it, unless by 'cooking' you mean putting it through heat, like in an oven, you're culturing microbes. That, by default, means you're not killing 'beneficials,' you're growing more. I think it may be more difficult in coir because it is not mineralized as soil is. The microbes are the providers of the plant foods, and vice versa, and so require a complete buffet of nutrients with which to work, and hopefully a well-balanced buffet.

Yeah, caveman said it could have something to do with being too hot. I guess there is no true way to check the amount of microbial activity like you can check pH and EC using meters, but the growth rate, amount and quality of flowers produced would give me an idea of how healthy my rhizosphere is.

 

[caveman4.20]

That's why soil growing is more faith based then science because it is indeed a very complex biology... Just wait till you get to cationic exchange or ionic whatever I'm not there yet but I been paying more attention to plant response because it is very difficult to replicate exact organic medium conditions that's why we or I take a shotgun approach and use so many different things and hope some or all of it works ... A few things give me peace of mind but nothing is absolute or concrete other then how the plant responds to the environment it's expected to live on.

 

[caveman4.20]

YO Seamaiden is it feasible to make that biochar out of last years roots and stalks or trunks...

 

[LexLuthor]

That's why soil growing is more faith based then science because it is indeed a very complex biology... Just wait till you get to cationic exchange or ionic whatever I'm not there yet but I been paying more attention to plant response because it is very difficult to replicate exact organic medium conditions that's why we or I take a shotgun approach and use so many different things and hope some or all of it works ... A few things give me peace of mind but nothing is absolute or concrete other then how the plant responds to the environment it's expected to live on.

Yea, I know a little about nutrients and how they antagonize and stimulate others as well as what a plant needs and when it needs it. When it comes to microbial life I haven't done much research on it so my knowledge is very little. I'll use Caps bennies, feed with relatively low EC levels and hope I keep the microbes alive and happy lol.

 

[caveman4.20]

First thing I did was learn what not to do to piss off bennies ;)

 

[Seamaiden]

Yeah, caveman said it could have something to do with being too hot. I guess there is no true way to check the amount of microbial activity like you can check pH and EC using meters, but the growth rate, amount and quality of flowers produced would give me an idea of how healthy my rhizosphere is.

I don't see why you can't make a slurry and scope the soil. I'll have to ask some other organic peeps I know if they've ever done that. Outside of that, there are some soil-testing facilities that also test for microbial life, but i haven't gotten a handle on that yet.

Caveman, I have no idea if it's feasible or not to make biochar out of roots and stalks. I would think that if you had the pyrolizer you could use pretty much anything woody in nature.

 

[LexLuthor]

I don't see why you can't make a slurry and scope the soil. I'll have to ask some other organic peeps I know if they've ever done that. Outside of that, there are some soil-testing facilities that also test for microbial life, but i haven't gotten a handle on that yet.

I'm sure there are labs that will test for microbial life, but I wouldn't even know how to use the #'s I got back. If you could report back what you find from your friends, that would be cool.

 

[caveman4.20]

For the coco I imagine two samples before and after cooking the after should be bigger sample to make up for amendments taking up space and not replacing the bacteria they may only be native to where coco was harvested from.... Just thinking out loud.

 

[LexLuthor]

For the coco I imagine two samples before and after cooking the after should be bigger sample to make up for amendments taking up space and not replacing the bacteria they may only be native to where coco was harvested from.... Just thinking out loud.

Definitely before and after, also, I would like samples of the amendments after they cooked seperate from the coco to see the different microbes. Also, multiple samples during different phases of growth to see how they multiply and/or die-off.

Alright, now I'm getting carried away with all these samples I want done and I don't even know where to get soil samples done lol

 

[caveman4.20]

Definitely before and after, also, I would like samples of the amendments after they cooked seperate from the coco to see the different microbes. Also, multiple samples during different phases of growth to see how they multiply and/or die-off.

Alright, now I'm getting carried away with all these samples I want done and I don't even know where to get soil samples done lol

Well even if we don't get the work done its mental exercise peace of mind if the plants are happy with our application. Peace and chicken grease.

 

[Seamaiden]

K, some labs.

http://www.perrylaboratory.com/index.shtml

loganlabs.com
Earthfort.com
Aglabs.com (weak acid - Carey Reams)
Kinseyag.com (Albrecht)
spectrumanalytic.com
woodsend.org (Solvita Co2)

List garnered elsewhere, but using as my starting list of labs.

 

[LexLuthor]

Thanks Seamaiden, if I called about a price quote or something else, they usually don't ask questions like 'what company I work for' or 'what am I growing' do they??

I've never talked to people at a lab before so I just don't wanna get caught off guard without being prepared. Thanks again.

 

[Seamaiden]

They may want to know what you're growing. I give vague answers, because my crops change. I am a market gardener, if I understand how my level is defined, etc. (Just had to participate in the USDA Agricultural Census, I'm sure people like chickenman know what that means.) If cultivation is the issue, then peppers and solaneceous veggies would be my own response, but then I would launch into a little schpiel about my failure with cole crops and successes with carrots and some root veggies, and would ask that the test allow me the flexibility to figure out what crops I'll be growing, since I experiment with so many.

Gotta learn the gift of babble.

 

[LexLuthor]

They may want to know what you're growing. I give vague answers, because my crops change. I am a market gardener, if I understand how my level is defined, etc. (Just had to participate in the USDA Agricultural Census, I'm sure people like chickenman know what that means.) If cultivation is the issue, then peppers and solaneceous veggies would be my own response, but then I would launch into a little schpiel about my failure with cole crops and successes with carrots and some root veggies, and would ask that the test allow me the flexibility to figure out what crops I'll be growing, since I experiment with so many.

Gotta learn the gift of babble.

I'll definitely be able to babble lol I just wanted to be prepared so I didn't have an awkward moment of silence (as I gather my thoughts) with the other person on the phone.

I actually grow veggies during the summer so I should be fine, thanks.

 

[midwestdensies]

The mix I amended seems well. Making a super coco mix for smaller testers becuase man we need answers lol. Thanks sea and lex for making this real interesting.
MW

 

[caveman4.20]

Hops is a cousin of pot close cousins.

 

[LexLuthor]

Hops is a cousin of pot close cousins.

Capulator started a thread about hops called 'hops' (forgot which section it was in). The nutrient profile hops farmers use is very close to 3-1-2.

 

[caveman4.20]

Yup!

 

[WAkuntry]

The information is already widely available. Check out bioresource technology you can find it on science direct. Read it and you'll have all your Anwsers. Research sneh goyal, ak dhull, and Kk kapoor.or research microbiology and chemical and biological changes during composting.