Nice! Yeah I'm behind on everything. The Pre-Xmas Honey-Do list is strong this year.
By finished product, I meant the harvest. How's the bud? Solid and nuggy? Not like the bunk
@Keffka and
@Gee64 grow?
Sounds like maybe you should try a 50/50 compost/coco run, or something close to that to split the difference.
Maybe 60/40 compost/coco, or add the coco to the compost. You can also get coco in thru the worm bins.
I know you know all of what I'm about to say, but sometimes reading it again tweaks a good thought....
It's the carbon and the K in the coco that is adding to your yields, but other than C,K, and water retention, coco hasn't got much else in it, and compost has lots of nutes but, here is what the microbes/myco want, and coco ensures it because it has a really good carbon value on the carbon scale.
10-1 carbon/nitrogen to just stay alive.
15-1 to get microbes producing
20-1 just keeps myco alive
30-1 is the perfect ratio
And the tip of the day.
add calcium to reduce excess nitrogen which raises carbon in the ratio of C to N.
So if you have enough carbon and you are still looking deficient on it, chances are you have too much nitrogen locked in your soil, because calcium is low, so magnesium holds onto the nitrogen, locking it in the soil. It's useless locked up nitrogen, but it's still there lowering your carbon ratio.
This is why you want dolomite in your global mix.
After your compost is finished, you still want some raw carbon laying around for the microbes to eat, just make sure all the greens are done composting.
Only if you cross over into high brix can you get away with less soil carbon. Until then the microbes/fungii require carbon in the correct amounts/ratios.
Carbon is your browns, nitrogen is a green.
Don't ever forget... just because nitrogen is locked up doesn't mean it isn't there.
The more nitro you lock up, the less carbon on the ratio.
Excess magnesium on the calcium to magnesium ratio locks nitrogen on a 1 to 1 basis for every extra molecule of magnesium on the ratio.
Add calcium, which fixes the calcium to magnesium ratio and the excess nitrogen vents off fixing your carbon to nitrogen ratio.
Because of this, coco/compost quite often requires a bit extra calcium to balance it.
Vent off the excess nitrogen.
So as you balance out your carbon inputs, keep these numbers in mind.
1/3 coco (or another good carbon source)
1/3 soil (used soil brings all the innoculants)
1/3 ewc or other finished organic compost
then amendments.
Thats not the only way to build a soil, just a great way, so as you work in your inputs, try to replace these thirds with anything you like, just remember that balanced soil has 3 thirds to it, so build your thirds any way you like, then combine them.
Your potions will do the rest but this is your engine, the potions are fuel sources and conditioners for the engine.
Then keep in mind that every carbon has a value, and the higher the value the more water retention and the slower release it is.
Wood is an excellent carbon source, but it breaks down so slow that you will end up with a carbon deficiency. Molasses is the other end of the scale. Its a fantastic carbon source but it's so readily available it only lasts a couple days.
Coco is the middle ground. Good finished leaf based compost isn't as good a carbon source as coco, but it has a ton of food in it too.
Higher carbon values require more perlite and more microlife.
Too much water retention displaces oxygen. Oxygen is 78% nitrogen, so too wet means your nitrogen side of the ratio is compromised.
Thats why over watering looks like a nitro deficiency, because it is.
Gotta find the balance between carbon, nitrogen, and calcium.
After you mix your thirds, and the blending is done, then add perlite until it's fluffed to your likings.
Always add the perlite last. It's not part of the math, it's just an aereator.
So here is my point, carbon is your biggest amendment by a country mile, yet it gets looked at the least. If calcium and carbon aren't correct, then air and water aren't correct. Air isn't really air if all it's nitro gets locked up, and if carbon holds too much or too little water, you have too little or too much air.
It's a base balance that needs to be correct for everything else to work correctly.
After all, organics does translate to "of carbon base" and aerobic microbes do like air.
