Hi there growers. After a good browse on the forum a lot related to compost but I guess every grow has it's unique conditions and would love for my issue to help other growers. I am trying to move away from bottled nuts so I made my own compost over the summer. Does anyone have any experience in growing with coco and compost? Any issue of burned seedling? ( no sign of nutrient burn on my ladies just stunned ) here is my medium: 10L fabric pots · 3 parts coco · 3 parts compost · 2 parts perlite, pre-wet · 1 part vermiculite, pre-wet Attached is a photo of the seedling at day 9 from popping out of the medium. 5days it has looked like the photo, no more growth or changes in hight. I have learnt very quickly that watering coco is very different to soil! the hard way... Clear signs of under watering, slightly droopy, pale new leaves and some deformity on the other plants + stunned growth. I have fixed the issue of under watering but still no move. grow conditions : Light : king plus 1200w set up at 76cm from plants temps : 25c Humidity : 65% Can they stay stunned for that long ? Could the compost be the issue here ? What do you all think? Thank you very much in advance. J.
Hey Jonobo Welcome to GC! The reason you dont see growth is that typically at this stage the seedling is growing its roots so its normal not to see much going on on top. Give it a few days and you will see it start growing again. You have the right idea about ditching the bottles, definitly a good decision but what are your plans down the road in terms of fertilizer? You cant grow on compost alone.
Thanks Sc00by, I am comparing my grows to other grow journals, the girls seem to be at least a week behind on a 2week grow. My plan is to top amend the medium after a month or so... with more compost? I was also going to research about “Blood and bone” meals as it contains all the necessary amendments ( nitro, phosphorus, seaweed, ect ), only not sure about the ratio, I haven't figured it all out yet but planing on making a nice aerated compost tea as a foliage spray to help with the nut intake. Not much info out there on growing without using bottled nut unless No-till. Any tips are welcomed ahah! I am happy to make all of the mistakes on this grow to figure them all out and start a new fresh kick-ass project.
Personally I don’t like blood meal but to each their own, why not no till? You can also check the beginners soil thread that stickied in the organic section for info on amendments you can use.
no till is the dream! I wouldn't even know where to start! I m really liking Mr Canucks Grow's style ( youtube ) with amending and top feeding the medium only. This is what I am trying to find out about here in Australia. Finally getting some movement with the girls. I ll send updates soon. Still not sure about the compost situation.
The one thing that a person should consider when using coir mix is, do you plan to re use your soil and re-amend it, or do you start completely over. Coir is a little different animal than peat or leaf mold, I often hear folks have trouble with successive grows in the same soil that are coir based. Just something to ponder cheers os
That is a very good point that I just had a read on this morning. I never knew people reused their medium unless no-till. For my indoor grows.. not planning on it. Growing only with compost as a source of nutrients I am trying to find what to top amend it with when time comes for the veg phase as I thought the compost mix would be enough. @Scooby, I had a good read of it all just before you mentioned it lots of amazing resources, very overwhelming as well!
Just think about it like you’re making a cake, buy the recipe ingredients and just mix them up at the listed amounts, then plant some plants in it and watch the grow. No till is probably the easiest organic method after mixing the soil, not much to do except for maybe a weekly top dress with some leftover amendments you will have from the mix you made. If you later install an automated watering system you will even have less work, I can leave my grow for weeks at a time as long as my water reservoir is full. The hardest part is gathering the ingredients, after that it’s all downhill.