Thank you for the quick insightful response!
I got some absorbic acid (vitamin c power) that I have read can neutralize the chloramine, but it was dropping PH pretty drastically, and I got confused of what order to add that, then possibly silica, calmag, etc.
The only thing I don't like about FF is having to wait that 3-4 weeks before I can work in those amendments. Candidly, I jumped onto that bandwagon of Gaia Green before I knew what I was doing, and I have a good amount of it now that I want to use.
Oddly, I top-dressed some FF happy frog that had burned through the nutrients and its doing quite well. And maybe that mix of coco with the FF would give me better drainage as well.
What are those coco issues? I have read be alert for the calmag issues (that's what started this thread), and need to possibly water more frequently.
Part of the reason I wanted to try this is that I feel like I am playing too much the role of scientist. Just want to amend/top dress, Ph and water, and spend time gardening rather than mixing shit all the time.
Thanks again for your help!
CalMag issues with Coco are typically because of people using RO water, which is devoid of any minerals (including Calcium and Magnesium). Most municipal (and even private well) water supplies will typically have Calcium and/or Magnesium in it.
Typically, for those of us that use tap water, the only reason CalMag supplements should be used is if we can confirm that both our water and organic inputs are devoid of Calcium and/or Magnesium. Seeing as most soil recipes call for (or already include) Gypsum, Lime, or Oyster Shell Flour, and most municipal water sources provide Ca or Mg, any problems are more likely than not due to a pH lockout and NOT a deficiency. That pH lockout is either caused by overwatering, or excessive feeding.
Most common scenario is people overwatering their plants and seeing CaMg "deficiencies", then trying to remedy the situation by dumping CalMag to their roots; when in reality the plants were likely just overwatered and the pH got out of whack as a result.
Pet stores sell a chloramine removal product in the fish section of their stores that are designed for aquariums. It works great for smaller scale grows, anything past that will need an RO system to remove the Chloramine, or a well that doesn't have it in the first place.
While it is possible to have a living soil with Chloramine treated water, it will be handicapped for sure. Sad reality is that Chloramine is designed to kill microbes, and it doesn't discriminate against good or bad ones. You shouldn't worry too much about stripping your water of CalMag because your soil is likely already limed so it should have sufficient CalMag already.
If for some reason the Lime isn't enough CalMag for you (very rare, usually lockout and not deficiency in my experience) you can use Gypsum or Crab Meal for Calcium, and Langbeinite for Magnesium (potent stuff, little goes a LONG way, be careful with it). However, CalMag issues are almost always the result of a lockout.
Your mix sounds just fine, Gaia Green makes a great product that is nice and light. Won't burn your plants, but also provides them with everything they need. Appears to be a very well balanced product. As someone else pointed out, the white mold was in fact a good thing. Your vermicompost must have been of very high quality if it resulted in such quick mycelium development.
I agree on the "playing the role of the scientist" expression, this is why Coots/Cornell U's recipe is so great. The sad reality of growing with a living soil is that your first crop will typically be mediocre. The flavor you get from your harvest will motivate you to keep on trucking, but your yields will likely be mediocre.
This has nothing to do with how "good" or "bad" anyone is, everyone has not only a different growing environment, but also different access to materials, different water supply, etc.
Point is, its very rare to come across two identical grows because of all the variables involved, many of which are outside of our control. So, with that in mind, the whole purpose is to start with a basic template (the Coots/Cornell recipe) and simply observe how it reacts in our respective environments/situations. Afterward, we make the necessary adjustments until, ideally, we're able to take the laissez-faire approach and
simply let it be.
Rather than try to "fight" against things, we use them to our advantage. My particular example would be the removal of Dolomite Lime, Oyster Shell Flour, Gypsum, and Crab Meals due to the Calcium content in my well water supply. Rather than attempt to neutralize the Calcium in my water,
I used what is natural to my advantage. I simply removed the Calcium/buffer inputs from the template soil recipe, and problem solved. No need to spend tons of money on a RO setup I don't need, instead I can save money by not having to purchase the 3-4 aforementioned ingredients.
There is no "one size fits all" here, unfortunately. However, many of us have more at our disposal than we realize. Some of us don't need as much perlite/aeration due to having sand/clay in our backyards (such as myself). Others might not need as much compost because their top soil is already thriving with life.
Suppose the point I'm trying to make here is don't go for 100% perfection on your first try.
A bit more about Coco. Coco is a great introductory medium, however it doesn't facilitate the same CEC as Peat does. The reason Coco is great is because its forgiving. You can forget to water Coco and you won't really see any consequences. If you aren't on top of watering with peat moss though, you'll have all sorts of dry spots. Peat is amazing, but a mediocre coco based mix will beat a mediocre peat based mix every time due to the lack of dry spots/better water retention.
tl;dr: just use what you have, see what happens, and make the necessary adjustments. This will be different for everyone. Hope the info was useful.
