100% coco-peat for germination

[keebod.dobeek]

@patlpp

I can get those phosphorus and potassium as individual items as the only premixed fertilizers available are 19-19-19, and the two ratios I mentioned earlier which are 25:10:15 and 10:15:25
Please tell me if half kilo of N and half kilo of K mixed together = 0:10:10 ?

 

[keebod.dobeek]

@monkeybones

http://www.neopeat.com/
That is the only option here, and the nurseries or garden supply stores here stock their products.
I asked this Sterling Farms, the name of the company whose website link I gave, directly through their own nursery section, as well as the nearby nurseries.

When I checked their pots, they had only red-soil(laterite) and cocopeat.

 

[patlpp]

No, the goal is to have less N., N&K mixed in this case would be 10:0:10. Buy some 0-0-10 that you say you can get and use maybe 2 parts 10:15:25 and 1 part 0-0-10 giving you 1-1.5-3 ratio which is doable. The goal is to decrese your N in relation to your P an K but you still need SOME N just not as much. Better yet, can you get a silica supplement like 0-0-2?

EDIT: That green isle bloom is just right: 1-2-2

 

[keebod.dobeek]

No, the goal is to have less N., N&K mixed in this case would be 10:0:10. Buy some 0-0-10 that you say you can get and use maybe 2 parts 10:15:25 and 1 part 0-0-10 giving you 1-1.5-3 ratio which is doable. The goal is to decrese your N in relation to your P an K but you still need SOME N just not as much. Better yet, can you get a silica supplement like 0-0-2?

I'm really sorry for the typo I made. When I typed the names I had typed it as "Phosphorus and Potassium", but when I typed the abbreviation I typed N instead of K
So, 500g of P and K, individually bought as powders mixed together means 0:10:10.
One lesson learnt

There is the following thing, which is already in liquid form, so no water mixing required I guess.
"Green Isle Liquid Fertilizer: Ideal for growing flowers and vegetables. It contains all the three major nutrients, N, P & K in 2:1:1 or 1:2:2 proportion, in liquid form for quick absorption and better results."

In this above one, I hope that second ratio along with some K extra would do?
The P and K individually are in a wet like powder form. Like salt kept in a humid place. Or even sugar.

 

[george xxx]

last I checked aquarium gravel was more expensive than a bag of perlite

Cheap sand here is $2.29 for a 40 pound a bag. Perlite is $8 for 3 pounds. Big difference in those costs everywhere. Cost for me is not an issue with perlite. I do not like perlite because it is not reusable for a planting mix. http://www.perlite.org/news_archives/04June.htm
Coco can be rinsed and reused. Its a cost savings plus continously obtaining garden soil is an indicator of growing weed. Law enforcement is rather proud of the number of weed busts they make here.

Sand is good for starting many cuttings but unwashed sand offers many disease problems.

No, the goal is to have less N.

EDIT: That green isle bloom is just right: 1-2-2

Yes anything with numbers like that is a bloom food.

May be a weak, may need to feed more with 1-2-2 but any fertilizer that comes pre-mixed is better that mixing your own.

 

[elchupacabra]

i'm a strong advocate of using sand for drainage...we don't get perlite easily here in india and sand (construction sand, sift it through a screen) is a lot easier to get a hold of, i think 25kgs cost me somewhere around 400 rupees? like $8...also, seedling germination in our country requires very little water, and an open environment as outdoors humidity soars between anywhere from 40-90, do not cover them, the taproots rot. keep em outdoors and covered from weather changes, rain is your biggest fuck up, she will wash out allof your seeds

 

[Vindicated]

Remember if your growing outside, be it in sand, coir, native soil, or a mix of all three, make sure your using organic ORMI fertilizers. The Canna nutes, they're great nutrients and all, but they are designed for hydroponic systems, not for soil growers or people growing in outside. Feeding weekly outside is a huge waste of time, money, and nutrients. Most of the nutrients will go past the root zone and any rain is going to cause the nutrients to leach out. It can't stress it enough. Wasteful wasteful waste. Repeat it with me. Hydroponic nutrients in soil is wasteful!

Early in the season you want dry or granular based fertilizers. Toward the end of the season or anytime you want something that absorbs quicker, look towards teas or liquid organics like fish emulations or kelp extracts. Or simply mix your dry fertilizer in a bucket of water, stir for a few minutes and let it sit for an hour when pour. Just avoid anything geared towards hydroponics. These are designed to be water soluble (a great feature in hydroponics) but this is what causes them to leach so quickly.

 

[keebod.dobeek]

Like elchupacabra said, its next to impossible to get such things as perlite or vermiculite.
Construction sand should be the other term for what I addressed as 'river sand'.
I did not buy it. I took it off my aquarium stock bought pretty long back

How would you keep it without covering? You mean, just lay it on top of the sand/coir/soil and leave it just like it would have happened in the wild?
Thats how we do when planting amaranth, or tomato, and even chillies. The tap root emerges, and itself would point downwards, like earthworm would do when dropped on sand

Looking at the international guides, I had kept the seeds buried under 1 - 1.5 cm soil
The humidity might never be in 90s like we have here, and that should be why they don't rot in temperate climates.

 

[keebod.dobeek]

@Vindicated

I had assumed hydroponic nutrients are what's to be used as the coco guides say that though coco looks like soil, it should be treated like hydroponics

 

[keebod.dobeek]

Hey!
Eventually one little runt came up!

It looks weird, with one cotyledon smaller than the other, and its almost dried up already, while the surviving cotyledon is big and green!
It looks like its in the classical south indian dance pose --> bharatanatyam



The seedlings on the left and right of the runt are tomato seedlings.
Both MJ and tomatoes were planted on the same day, though the tomato is what came up sprouting the second or third day, and this weedie seedling took more than a week or so!

 

[keebod.dobeek]

Its working on improving the posture.
Maybe because it got a delayed sprout, it is skipping leaf progression!

Usually its like:
Cotyledons --> Single finger Leaf Pair --> One and Half finger leaf pair --> Three finger pair --> 5 --> 7 and so on.
But in this seedling's case, no pair system at all!

After the single cotyledon, it shot a single true leaf. Then directly a three leaf. Again no pair?

 

[keebod.dobeek]

Update for day 3

 

[slopoke76]

you just won't get the same results. that looks like it's going to compact your soil even more

you can get a bag of each of what I mentioned for under $10. if you gotta break the bank, you'll still be thankful you did

i have a hard time believing you're posting from a computer on the internet in a 3rd world country, and you can't buy some soil amendment

I too live in a "3rd world country (5 yrs now in the Philippines) and it is difficult to source high quality planting materials locally.....I basically have 2 choices, order from Amazon and wait for 2 months to get it....or make my own....ie: FPJ (fermented plant juice), FFJ (fermented fruit juice), FAA (fish amino acid), CalPhos (self explanatory), vermicompost & castings...it's actually pretty easy & molasses (and muscavado) is easy to find & dirt cheap here....just my 2 peso's worth