Do you have a secret ingredient?

Rivendell

Rivendell

Well-Known Member
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

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
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

big bud man 413

Well-Known Member
Rivendell said:
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?
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Yes animal semen.
 
Cousin Bo

Cousin Bo

Well-Known Member
crimsonecho said:
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.
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Adding filter carbon got me curious so I did some research. This explains it pretty well.
rosysoil.com

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 rosysoil.com
 
MissinThe90’sStrains

MissinThe90’sStrains

Well-Known Member
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

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
Cousin Bo said:
Adding filter carbon got me curious so I did some research. This explains it pretty well.
rosysoil.com

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 rosysoil.com
Click to expand...
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

GenericEnigma

Well-Known Member
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.
 
Cousin Bo

Cousin Bo

Well-Known Member
MissinThe90’sStrains said:
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.
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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.
biofuelsdigest.com

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

biofuelsdigest.com
 
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Cousin Bo

Cousin Bo

Well-Known Member
GenericEnigma said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
C

conor c

Well-Known Member
GenericEnigma said:
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.
Click to expand...
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

go go kid

Well-Known Member
crimsonecho said:
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.
Click to expand...
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
 
crimsonecho

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
go go kid said:
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
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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.

Cousin Bo said:
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.
biofuelsdigest.com

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

biofuelsdigest.com
Click to expand...
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.
 
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