why bother to compost?

[Guest]

hey guys and gals. from what i see in this forum or any where else where people are amending the medium w/ organics is you must first let it compost so that the microbial life can break down the organic matter to make it more readily available to the plants.
i called fox farm and asked them if i had to compost first using the peace of mind ferts and they said no because the nutes are instantly available to the plants but that seems contrary to what everyone in the mj community does (and of course i didnt tell the gal on the phone thats what im growing). maybe we let things compost to allow the dolomite lime time to break down but if we used powdered dolomite lime wouldnt that eliminate the need to compost? i know that composting is also a period to let the microherd develope and get strong but if you inoculate the medium with the first watering using products such as subculture or bio_magic or ej catalyst or AN pirahna/ voodoo juice wouldnt that eliminate such a lengthy composting considering your microherd is instantly available? yes i know its still a good idea to compost for at least two weeks to let the beneficials colonize even further. also the ff peace of mind ferts have humus and beneficials added as well as promix (minus the humus) so right there is even more microbial life. so is it absolutely neccesary to compost?

 

[vonforne]

Most peeps are not using FF. They are using their own compost or another. Mushroom..ect. So, I believe that is the reason. I wuse FF and cook my mix because I add admendments. And I never trust what I here from a telephone person. They are no organic growers. They just work there and answer the phone for $ per hour. Most likely just read the product line to you. And I want the most from my soil for the plants. Every little bit helps.

 

[Guest]

it shouldnt matter if the amendments come pre-packaged like fox farm or rainbow mix or something similar b/c they are still organic amendments wether you mix them individually yourself or buy them premixed its still organic fertilizer.

 

[vonforne]

Every little bit helps I think. Each "little thing" you do adds up. Most people here use homade compost and I think everyone wants to ensure that the micro-organisms are intact upon planting. The admendments that you add, need to start their decomposition phase which will allow the plants to use them. Each admendment you add has a different decomposition rate. Like Rock phosphate compared to Powdered phos. guano. Each is a Phosphate but vary in time they are available to the plants.

 

[Guest]

treegrower It depends on how strong/concentrated organic amendments you use are. Some compost is higly concentrated and if simply mixed with other light or neutral mediums is potentialy harmfull to MJ because of high ppm spots - simply burns your plants. When you let your final mix to sit for a while you delute your concentrated compost with the rest of the mix it all blends bio/chemicaly and creates more stable and uniform environment. That's the reason why farmers prepare their soil ahead.