Worms have burrowed in. What is the next step? All the amendments are mixed thoroughly and I have a choice of rye and vetch cover crop or alfalfa? Can anyone suggest anything please? Thanks
I'm not doing it outside, it will freeze over night. Iv got some rye and vetch trimmings as a mulch and also sowed a few rye and vetch seeds, just before i transplanted the liberty haze seedling which I chose to go in the no till smart pot. We will see how it goes... Don't even know the sex yet!
Did you ditch the coir for peat moss? Giant mistake if you haven't. We have seen many growers do this in the past...its never pretty. Consider yourself warned. The U.K. is the only country on the planet that has harvested peat in an unsustainable manner. 1% of all the land mass in the world is peat bogs. RD
i have not ditched it i have simply found out that the compost im using with it contains peat moss so i basically am using peat/coco/compost, just 1%! won't be for long... Canada has a lot of natural peat bogs but American companies are ransacking them. can you prove that it is only the U.K that harvests it in unsustainable manner?
1% of all the land mass in the world is an astounding number if you ask me. Canada has incredibly tight regulations regarding peat moss. Much of it is off limits for harvesting. American companies have no control over this.The U.K. is incredibly small regarding land mass and they burned peat for electricity. Canada and Russia have most of the peat bogs. There is no threat to either of these resources. All of this is easy to research for yourself. On the other hand, Coco coir will usually have to be shipped a much longer distance (especially in the U.S.) it also is often produced with child/slave labor, and wastes fresh water that is needed on the small islands where it is produced. Nothing green or sustainable about it. The worst part is, it simply cannot be used as a replacement for peat moss in regards to the soil mixes we create. These boards are littered with growers who have made this mistake. Ignore all of this and your next thread will be titled "What's wrong with my plants". RD Edit: If the compost you are using is full of peat moss, it is likely to be poor in quality.
i like a good debate. so why is it that coco can not be used as a substitute for peat moss? is it some beneficiary in peat that is not in coco? what might it be that stops somebody from simply changing one ingredient? and what is it that will indefinitely ruin ones crop?
There is no debate man. Scooby has already eluded to some of the reasons in a previous post. I don't have the time right now. Search these forums...you are not the first guy to try this. I tried it myself around 10 years ago. It sucks. RD
Coir harbors no microbial life? how is this true? Coco Coir is the perfect home for microbes and other beneficial fungus and bacteria
because of some bias Authors opinion, who is probably only saying this stuff because it contradicts everything hes ever wrote about. its not the truth about peat moss its "Jesse Trails OPINION about Peat Moss"
Ok fine. Experience is the best teacher and you're about to experience just how coir in a LOS works out. It will all be fine till the microbes really get to work, then it gets "interesting". Good luck! Wet
funny thing is NOT 1 person can tell me why though...? this is why I'm here, not looking for captain obvious, just a simple explanation as to what will happen when the microbes "really get to work"
Coir seems to have a nasty habit of leaching large amounts of sodium and potassium when the microbes get to work. Does fine with bottled/chemical nutes with little microbial activity, just not so well with a LOS. That's just a thumbnail synopsis, someone way smarter than I can really fill you in. Wet
think its time i left this forum... there are a few people but the rest just give false advice and What if the coco is of top quality and has been through multiple checks and procedures to assure excess salt has been balanced, calcium and magnesium problems amended. See over time respected coco coir sources have dedicated time and money into properly "composting" coir and making it a better growing medium... Coir was new to the scene so it was bound to run into problems its up to growers far and wide to come up with fixes or solving issues with coco coir. As I'm sure there are a lot of people out there with not a bad thing to say about coco in a LOS...
Well then, use it and let us know your experience. You may be the one with not a bad thing to say about coco in a LOS. Wet
My take is that the CEC of coir (cation exchange capacity) is too low for living soils. Peat can hold onto and exchange ions with the exudates given off in the plants rhizosphere. Its all about ionic exchange with soil. (Jeff Lowenfels explains it great in 'Teaming with Nutrients'). Coir is better set up for using salt based nutrients that possibly can also be flushed away, when the sites are plugged with unwanted elements. In living soil growing style, we tend not to water to runoff, compounding this problem. I believe this is also why coir isn't really recycled in grows. Can you get leaf mold where you are at? I'm guessing you are 'Down under'. cheers os