Coots Mix Advice for new living soil grower

C

ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
I have no idea what those results are, how accurate that is, or how to interpret them. What amendments did you decide to add to the coots base mix? Keep in mind that depending what the amendments were, they will not show up even on a "basic" laboratory analysis until microorganisms mineralize the elements bound to those complex organic molecules. Most basic tests only measure soluble nutrients, along with CEC, pH, buffer pH, and organic matter. Most basic tests will not include nitrogen though because it's more difficult.

You would need a more advanced laboratory soil analysis, and that costs us here an extra $20 to $30 Canadian a sample. For example, these usually measure useful things like phosphorous saturation which I recommend because it's so damn easy to overdo the P, especially if your amendments contain any kind of animal manures. Then there are extra options you can add on to this like the SLAN test to measure organic nitrogen mineralization potential. For a more accurate estimate, testing labs might recommend a CO2 burst test to measure microbial activity in your soil, but they can't predict the future of your soil and losses that occur during the mineralization process.

So to sum up, I'm sorry to say testing NPK at this stage with a basic laboratory test is pretty close to being useless, and even more so for home tests where accuracy and interpretation could be an issue.
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Brillant insight imo!
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
Following along here. Is “Coots Mix” just the 1/3 1/3 1/3 thing??nothing to do with an actual Coots product correct.
awesome thread!!
 
GrassBurner

GrassBurner

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
I have no idea what those results are, how accurate that is, or how to interpret them. What amendments did you decide to add to the coots base mix? Keep in mind that depending what the amendments were, they will not show up even on a "basic" laboratory analysis until microorganisms mineralize the elements bound to those complex organic molecules. Most basic tests only measure soluble nutrients, along with CEC, pH, buffer pH, and organic matter. Most basic tests will not include nitrogen though because it's more difficult.

You would need a more advanced laboratory soil analysis, and that costs us here an extra $20 to $30 Canadian a sample. For example, these usually measure useful things like phosphorous saturation which I recommend because it's so damn easy to overdo the P, especially if your amendments contain any kind of animal manures. Then there are extra options you can add on to this like the SLAN test to measure organic nitrogen mineralization potential. For a more accurate estimate, testing labs might recommend a CO2 burst test to measure microbial activity in your soil, but they can't predict the future of your soil and losses that occur during the mineralization process.

So to sum up, I'm sorry to say testing NPK at this stage with a basic laboratory test is pretty close to being useless, and even more so for home tests where accuracy and interpretation could be an issue.
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Its just a basic soil test, the darker the colors the more N (purple) P (blue) K (orange) I know it's not as accurate as a lab test, just trying to get an idea of where the soil is. Probably overthinking things as usual :lol:
I didn't add any ammendments other than coots recommendations. 1 cup Oyster Shell flour, 1 cup Neem/Karanja meal, 1 cup Kelp meal, 1/2 cup gypsum, and 3 cups Basalt per cup ft.
Thanks for the explanation, I appreciate it :blsmoke:
 
N

Northwood

Well-Known Member
GrassBurner said:
I didn't add any ammendments other than coots recommendations.
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You should be fine then regardless of what that test says. Sometimes less is more. You only get into serious trouble when you start adding all kinds of other stuff "just in case". You already have some raw organic material in there for the bacteria to chew on with the neem and kelp, and the C:N ratios are usually good with these which is why I suspect coots recommends them. Anything with higher N you can add later along with a straw mulch if you think you need it. I added some alfalfa pellets mixed in with my straw as a mulch during my first cycle so the bacteria could draw on an ample amount of carbon. The straw didn't last long (I had to replenish a few times) to I guess they liked it ;)
 
kratos015

kratos015

Well-Known Member
myke said:
Following along here. Is “Coots Mix” just the 1/3 1/3 1/3 thing??nothing to do with an actual Coots product correct.
awesome thread!!
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There is a caveat to this, however. As Coots himself says, "You do not have my castings". I can't speak for others, but personally I've had to shy away from the 1:1:1 ratio due to not having the quality compost/EWC that Coots has.

I've experienced better results with 40% peat, 40% perlite, and 20% compost. This allows for better drainage and better water retention. Going 33% compost will hurt more than it helps unless your compost is of the highest quality, and not just nutritional content but the texture of it more specifically. Poor quality compost will clump up in your soil and create a host of problems.

I've personally found that 40% peat/40% perlite/20% compost, in conjunction with a weekly top dress of organic amendments covered with compost has given me better results.

As always, your mileage my vary. Just food for thought.
 
GrassBurner

GrassBurner

Well-Known Member
Got my aloe flakes, fulvic acid, and agsil 16H today from BAS. Picked up some of their 12 seed clover crop as well.
Started blowing my 2 acres worth of leaves today. Ive got about 5 acres touching my property that isn't owned by anybody. Im gonna go ahead and blow all of those leaves in a big giant "snake". Run them over a few times with my mower or a bush hog and get them nice and wet. Gonna try to make some black leaf mold. 90% of my trees out here are red or white oak, with the majority being white. Maybe next year between that and a homemade worm bin, I can make some really high quality soil. Gotta start somewhere.
I went ahead and planted a cover crop on my coots soil. Hoping that will help the soil start working together, so when I transplant into it there is already plenty of life going on in the soil. Gonna be transplanting my seedlings into 3 gallon pots before too long, got a couple freebies im gonna do a test run with.
 
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stonedmonkey93

Member
GreenestBasterd said:
I cut the coots mix 50% coots to 50% coco or peat for 3 gals pots and under then straight coots mix.

The seedlings, cuttings and small plants seem to “take off” a lot quicker and it’ll dry out faster if you overwater.
bongsmiliebongsmilie
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Do you get into early deficiencies even for an autoflower with using less compost?
 
GreenestBasterd

GreenestBasterd

Well-Known Member
stonedmonkey93 said:
Do you get into early deficiencies even for an autoflower with using less compost?
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I don’t grow autos myself, I hate them, only photos and haven’t ran into any deficiencies yet.
I don’t leave the plants for more than 2/3 weeks in the cut coots mix before transplanting into the traditional mix.
I’m sure there would be plenty of people who go straight into coots with absolutely no problem I’m just being over cautious.

Hope that helps mate and there’s a lot of people with years more knowledge and experience using coots or similar mixes than me out there who would be able to help a bit more.

bongsmiliebongsmilie
 
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