Do you have a secret ingredient?

[Rivendell]

For many years now I have been incorporating coir fiber into my soil mixes. The stuff I am talking about is the long fibers from the husk that are used in hanging basket liners and mulch rings. It can be found super cheap in hobby stores that carry a lot of fake flower stuff, sometimes labeled as coco moss. I take a rugged pair of kitchen shears and cut the fiber up into 2-3 inch lengths and mix it into my soil. In my experience this material does a number of things. It helps prevent soil compaction, it provides aeration and it wicks moisture through out the entire pot. I have seen nothing but positives from including the fiber in my mix.

Do you have something that you add that isn't a common material?

 

[crimsonecho]

coco fibers are a nice touch i thought about adding that too but never got around to it.

as for uncommon materials i add, zeolite is one of them. i read a couple of studies about zeolite which shows incorporating it in soil increases yield and i figured it should also be a good microbial breeding ground due to its porous nature. for the same reason i add spent activated carbon from my filters after soaking them in teas.

 

[big bud man 413]

For many years now I have been incorporating coir fiber into my soil mixes. The stuff I am talking about is the long fibers from the husk that are used in hanging basket liners and mulch rings. It can be found super cheap in hobby stores that carry a lot of fake flower stuff, sometimes labeled as coco moss. I take a rugged pair of kitchen shears and cut the fiber up into 2-3 inch lengths and mix it into my soil. In my experience this material does a number of things. It helps prevent soil compaction, it provides aeration and it wicks moisture through out the entire pot. I have seen nothing but positives from including the fiber in my mix.

Do you have something that you add that isn't a common material?

Yes animal semen.

 

[Drop That Sound]

Yep!

 

[Cousin Bo]

coco fibers are a nice touch i thought about adding that too but never got around to it.

as for uncommon materials i add, zeolite is one of them. i read a couple of studies about zeolite which shows incorporating it in soil increases yield and i figured it should also be a good microbial breeding ground due to its porous nature. for the same reason i add spent activated carbon from my filters after soaking them in teas.

Adding filter carbon got me curious so I did some research. This explains it pretty well.

Biochar vs Charcoal: 6 Key Differences You Should Know About

Discover six important differences between biochar vs charcoal and if you can use charcoal instead of biochar for gardening.

rosysoil.com

 

[Drop That Sound]

 

[MissinThe90’sStrains]

After reading though that site about the charcoal/biochar, it really doesn’t explain anything well. It’s very lacking in information, and gives different facts about each material, but doesn’t give the proper facts to compare them equally. Then it recommends you buy their own product. Sorry, but that’s a shit source for factual info, with a glaring bias and conflict of interest.

 

[crimsonecho]

Adding filter carbon got me curious so I did some research. This explains it pretty well.

Biochar vs Charcoal: 6 Key Differences You Should Know About

Discover six important differences between biochar vs charcoal and if you can use charcoal instead of biochar for gardening.

rosysoil.com

activated carbon and charcoal shouldnt be quite same. i know charcoal real wood made charcoal works great in barbecues but activated carbon inside a filter is more akin to biochar i think. though i cant say for sure. well anyway i’ve been using this for a long while now and even as an experiment i germinated some oregano seeds in just coco and filter carbon mix and they germinated and grew fine.

 

[GenericEnigma]

I put sticks in my soil. Sticks in various stages of rot. Ash, apple, walnut, elm. Just sticks.

Sometimes it turns out a stick is a pumpkin stem or a pine cone. A couple of times it was a bone.

It's not really on purpose. I don't know if it does good, but it doesn't seem to hurt.

I've considered using more sticks and less perlite. I should experiment.

I have a huge pile of sticks I've been piling lawn clippings and peeing on for a few years. I might build some soil with it.

Yeah, I think I will. Put it in a SIP and see.

 

[big bud man 413]

There's a guy on here that goes by budzilla and he says to pee in your soil lol!

 

[cannabiscrusader]

Me and the wife take trips to the beach and collect buckets of sea shells that I smash up and put in the outdoor grow. Plus we get a hotel with a hot tub for the night

 

[Cousin Bo]

After reading though that site about the charcoal/biochar, it really doesn’t explain anything well. It’s very lacking in information, and gives different facts about each material, but doesn’t give the proper facts to compare them equally. Then it recommends you buy their own product. Sorry, but that’s a shit source for factual info, with a glaring bias and conflict of interest.

You're right it might not explain it the best, but it made a little sense to me. The Ion exchange part is what stood out. It looks like biochar can exchange ions and activated carbon can't. I could be wrong though.

This one might be a little better.

An Overview of the current Biochar and Activated Carbon Markets | Nuu

biofuelsdigest.com

 

[Cousin Bo]

I put sticks in my soil. Sticks in various stages of rot. Ash, apple, walnut, elm. Just sticks.

Sometimes it turns out a stick is a pumpkin stem or a pine cone. A couple of times it was a bone.

It's not really on purpose. I don't know if it does good, but it doesn't seem to hurt.

I've considered using more sticks and less perlite. I should experiment.

I have a huge pile of sticks I've been piling lawn clippings and peeing on for a few years. I might build some soil with it.

Yeah, I think I will. Put it in a SIP and see.

Sticks are good for the soil. Soil bacteria will turn the sticks and even bones to compost over time. Sticks don't really take that long in healthy soil.

 

[Budzbuddha]

Pee - Nature’s Mellow Yellow.

 

[MissinThe90’sStrains]

Pee is anaerobic because it comes from within the body. It’s also why it stinks after sitting around. That’s an outdoor-only thing for me dawg.

 

[conor c]

I put sticks in my soil. Sticks in various stages of rot. Ash, apple, walnut, elm. Just sticks.

Sometimes it turns out a stick is a pumpkin stem or a pine cone. A couple of times it was a bone.

It's not really on purpose. I don't know if it does good, but it doesn't seem to hurt.

I've considered using more sticks and less perlite. I should experiment.

I have a huge pile of sticks I've been piling lawn clippings and peeing on for a few years. I might build some soil with it.

Yeah, I think I will. Put it in a SIP and see.

Well idk bout for growing but ime sticks are what makes a good compost bed ime you need a good bed of sticks at the bottom and some throughout helps hold the big beds together and helps aerate it too somewhat the only bastard about it is at the end when your breaking it up its a bit more annoying but all the compost is nice and dark and ready so idc it works as for the secret ingredient care about what your doing and producing and never be happy with it completely that way your always improving over time and dont become complacent or lazy then quality can slide ime

 

[go go kid]

coco fibers are a nice touch i thought about adding that too but never got around to it.

as for uncommon materials i add, zeolite is one of them. i read a couple of studies about zeolite which shows incorporating it in soil increases yield and i figured it should also be a good microbial breeding ground due to its porous nature. for the same reason i add spent activated carbon from my filters after soaking them in teas.

your the only other grower that's mentioned zeolites, i too add some to the pot.
i cut n polish gemstones for a living, and i use the sedament from the cutting and grinding machines and add it to the soil too. also, any dust from the minerals go into the soil too

 

[go go kid]

Pee - Nature’s Mellow Yellow.


View attachment 5368273

brings new meaning to the word WEEd lol

 

[go go kid]

Sticks are good for the soil. Soil bacteria will turn the sticks and even bones to compost over time. Sticks don't really take that long in healthy soil.

you have to be carefull with larger bits of wood n stuff in the soil, the bacteria will concentrate on devouring the wood and not be acvailable to the plants roots

 

[crimsonecho]

your the only other grower that's mentioned zeolites, i too add some to the pot.
i cut n polish gemstones for a living, and i use the sedament from the cutting and grinding machines and add it to the soil too. also, any dust from the minerals go into the soil too

thats a great practice and zeolite was just something i read and said what the hell it shouldnt hurt anything and as far as i can tell after a couple of years since i started adding zeolite it still doesnt hurt to have it. yeah rock dusts are very important micro nutrient sources as well as soil conditioners. you gotta reuse the medium to get the full benefits though.

You're right it might not explain it the best, but it made a little sense to me. The Ion exchange part is what stood out. It looks like biochar can exchange ions and activated carbon can't. I could be wrong though.

This one might be a little better.

An Overview of the current Biochar and Activated Carbon Markets | Nuu

biofuelsdigest.com

in the end its free, its porous, its carbon. even if it has lower cec it will still provide aeration and a good surface area for microbial activity while also holding considerable amount of water in drought conditions. if you ask me way better than perlite which i dont use at all except for cloning.