Coco Recipes?

[lc00p4]

hey ic, koopa here. after much consideration, i am making the switch back to coco. there was a thread i posted about best soilless mix and i got mixed responses. i didn't use a ph meter and figured dolomite lime would solve the trick.

D. Lime is not recommended for Coco.

this is where the confusion sets in...

I recommend LavenderCowboys soiless#1

5 parts Coir
3 parts perlite
2 parts wormcastings or mushroom compost or home made compost
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.

so which is it? can you use dolomite lime or not in coco? i decided against using peat moss again because of how it isn't as renewable as coco. some people suggest not using perlite with coco because it already provides good aeration. i will definitely use amendments like blood, bone, and kelp meals and try to be as organic as humanly possible.

please post your favorite coco recipes !!!

 

[Guest]

This thread would be better suited for the organic section imo... just about everyone here uses coco on its own

 

[pumpkin2006]

Originally Posted by meduser180056

D. Lime is not recommended for Coco.

Well, first off, whats Dolomitic lime (CaMg(CO3)2) used for? Lowering ph and adding Ca+ and Mg+. I honestly don't know the CEC but I do know that coir fiber ranges between 5.7 and 6.3 ph. But I don't know if thats the ph of washed coco, because a lot of coir has a lot of salts in it that lower ph... so kinda confused as well

I know that its good to use dolomitic in peat because its ph range is somewhere in the mid 6.'s

 

[Gangsta Lean]

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=49319&page=1&pp=40

 

[Guest]

The problem I see with lime with coco...just using common sense is....coco is treated like a passive hydro....which means the ph should be between 5.4 and 6.2, or there abouts. Lime will continually try and buffer your coco to 7...which is a good ph for soil...but not coco.

Cheers,
SH

 

[lc00p4]

if dolomite lime is not recommended, do i need cal-mag then? i have pretty hard water where i'm from that is highly chlorinated. it might have plenty of calcium already because of all the hard water deposits.

 

[Guest]

You should bubble your tap water for about 24hrs before using it...or at least let it sit out for a day before using it to allow the chlorine to escape. You don't have to have cal-mag, but it's nice to have a bottle laying around if you need it. I use tap water....and I add molasses to almost every feeding to give more cal-mag. I don't have any problems in that regard.

Cheers,
SH

 

[meduser180056]

The problem I see with lime with coco...just using common sense is....coco is treated like a passive hydro....which means the ph should be between 5.4 and 6.2, or there abouts. Lime will continually try and buffer your coco to 7...which is a good ph for soil...but not coco.

Cheers,
SH

^^^
That's why I wouldn't add lime.

What kind of watering schedule are you planning on? If your gonna treat it like a soil grow and let it dry out then maybe the lime is all good. I don't know?

I'm thinking if your running a drip and feeding to runoff once or more a day then the lime will rinse out pretty quick.

 

[meduser180056]

so which is it? can you use dolomite lime or not in coco? i decided against using peat moss again because of how it isn't as renewable as coco. some people suggest not using perlite with coco because it already provides good aeration. i will definitely use amendments like blood, bone, and kelp meals and try to be as organic as humanly possible.

please post your favorite coco recipes !!!

Originally Posted by SilverSurfer_OG
I recommend LavenderCowboys soiless#1

5 parts Coir
3 parts perlite
2 parts wormcastings or mushroom compost or home made compost
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.

^^^
That mix is really only a 1/2 coco mix. I still think 2tbls a gallon of lime is too much though. I wouldn't add more then 1. I always had trouble with pro-mix when I added more than 1 per gallon. I don't have direct experience with that mix though and LavenderCowboy is really respected around here so it must be a decent mix right?

Sounds more like an organic soil grow?

Here's the mix I'm using Botanicare Readygro. I really like it so far.

READYGRO™ is a specialized blend of perlite, coir fiber, PURE BLEND™ compost accelerator, earthworm castings, Agrimineral 72 silica clay, polymere hydro-crystals and Rootshield bio-fungicide. READYGRO™ insures accelerated plant growth and crop nutrition, faster growth rates and higher yields with optimum air to water ratio to the plant’s roots. The AERATION FORMULA is specifically designed for 4-6 waterings daily and is ideal for container gardens, self-watering pots and planters, and hydrogardens. They are perfect for growing fruits, vegetables, houseplants, orchids, cacti and succulents."

 

[meduser180056]

Well, first off, whats Dolomitic lime (CaMg(CO3)2) used for? Lowering ph and adding Ca+ and Mg+. I honestly don't know the CEC but I do know that coir fiber ranges between 5.7 and 6.3 ph. But I don't know if thats the ph of washed coco, because a lot of coir has a lot of salts in it that lower ph... so kinda confused as well

I know that its good to use dolomitic in peat because its ph range is somewhere in the mid 6.'s

D. Lime is not used to lower PH. It's used to keep the medium from getting to acidic. It keeps buffering the PH to around 7.

It is used to add ca and mg though.

 

[pumpkin2006]

D. Lime is not used to lower PH. It's used to keep the medium from getting to acidic. It keeps buffering the PH to around 7.

It is used to add ca and mg though.

Sorry, your right, I'm used to hearing lime and it lowering ph, again sorry. I hate misinformation, so feel bad when I'm guilty.