Quick Soil question Organics and Coco

Did a little looking and threw a post out never got a reply. I am going to organics and getting ready to start getting all the stuff/runing it down

My mix is

Alfalfa meal
glacial rock dust
lime
kelp meal
tomato and veg fertalizer
compost/ewc
crushed lava rock
and was going to do canadian peatmoss.

starting with that, will proly add to that over time.

Here is the thing, I dont really want to use peat moss. Would much rather use coco. But from my reading I'll be able to reuse my soil over and over again. Will that hold true if i use coco rather then peat moss?

Coco is good for 2 or 3 rounds by itself. It will break down and turn into potassium over time. If you plan on reusing soil. I would not skip on peat moss. It's full of some beneficial microbes too. You can use both. Coco chunks are good for aeration too. Everything else sounds good.

Ahhh didnt think about that for the aeration. Currently im doing a three way split between the compost/ewc crushed lava rock and Canadian peat moss. Should i take away half the peat for coco or just add as much coco as i do peat then double my humus? or cut half my lava rock and half peat for coco

if you're gonna use all those other things, i'd stick to soil. soil hangs onto nutes/supps, coco doesn't.

what about digging up the dirt from the back yard. that's organic. just add pearlite. all set. fuck it that's what I did a few times when I did not have extra money. with same results as every other soil I bought .

my soil in my back yard is bunk...

outside dirt could (prob. does) have critters in it you don't want.

I know this, figured he was being sarcastic.

Silky Shagsalot said:

if you're gonna use all those other things, i'd stick to soil. soil hangs onto nutes/supps, coco doesn't.

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Yes, it does. Coco coir and sphagnum peat both do have a cation exchange capacity. Soil gets its CEC primarily from the organic matter/humus content (compost & EWC are forms of humus) of the soil, as well as clay content. Humus and clay particles are small enough to be effected by electrostatic charges, with humus particles predominately possessing a negative charge (and so attract cations, repel anions) . Humus and clay are much denser materials than coco coir or sphagnum, and so they have a higher CEC.

So if I am understanding this correctly, Yes i can use Coco however due to it breaking down I may need to add coco to my recycled soil pin to maintain the amount of coco in it? And if thats the case any idea what the rate of decomposition is with coco? or how often i will need to replace the broken down material?

Nullis said:

Yes, it does. Coco coir and sphagnum peat both do have a cation exchange capacity. Soil gets its CEC primarily from the organic matter/humus content (compost & EWC are forms of humus) of the soil, as well as clay content. Humus and clay particles are small enough to be effected by electrostatic charges, with humus particles predominately possessing a negative charge (and so attract cations, repel anions) . Humus and clay are much denser materials than coco coir or sphagnum, and so they have a higher CEC.

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ya, you're right, i shouldn't have said it like that. if you add all of that stuff into coco, and feed with a good 15-20% run-off, it'll soon be washed out. coco does store unused minerals, but not on the same level as soil, especially since dirt growers (for the most part,) don't allow for as much run-off (if any) as coco growers do. although, i read that some folks water/feed coco like it's dirt. i've always fed every day in coco, with a good amount of run-off.

This will be a water only mix. Will be watering it like soil. not much run off.

You really don't want runoff if your growing in good organic soil. I water until a little bit shows up in the tray, then stop. The pots slurp/wick up any runoff within minutes.

So it sounds like that i can use coco rather then peat. I will just have to add more coco and my additives with some ewc when I recycle it.

SpicySativa said:

You really don't want runoff if your growing in good organic soil. I water until a little bit shows up in the tray, then stop. The pots slurp/wick up any runoff within minutes.

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If you get run off . The plant and soil usually soaks it back up within 20 min anyway. even with plastic pots.

^^^you "always" want to be sure the plants don't wick back up, run-off...

m4s73r said:

tomato and veg fertalizer

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Do you know what makes up this fert? It is organic right..?

Silky Shagsalot said:

^^^you "always" want to be sure the plants don't wick back up, run-off...

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why. I do pure organics and water with seed sprout teas and compost teas. There isn't any inorganic salt run off. That just applies to chems and synthetics

My plants like it wet and moist...alwayz...

Chronikool said:

My plants like it wet and moist...alwayz...

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just like your mom oweee