Quote:
Originally Posted by drew51
So do you hand pollinate? I'm wary of coir myself, having seen a few studies where peat out performed it. I know peat is a problem keeping wet, but I never found this to be a major problem. Misting before watering always solved it. Plus my mixes are mostly pine fines anyway, not peat.
http://cpl.usu.edu/files/publication...b__9468201.pdf |
The only thing that study proves is that between a 50/50 mix of peat/perlite + dolomite and a 50/50 mix of coir/perlite + gypsum, all fertilized with the 20-10-20 chemical salt ferts is that the combination worked better for the peat mix.
For growing in coir, both Calcium and Magnesium are needed additions to offset lockout by the high K content of the coir. Possibly the Calcium Sulfate is not an optimal Ca source for that mix and fertilizer regimen. I've never seen gypsum recommended for use in a coir mix anyway.
It also appears they also did not leach the excess Na from the coir medium prior to producing the mix which I would guess would have some negative effect on plant growth. The Mexican coir they used had the highest EC, so had the most Na in it and worst plant growth. What the study proves to me is the wrong way to grow in a coir mix.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drew51
I guess the product is improved. Salt used to be a problem with it, as the coir is cleaned in saltwater. But is it the coir or the amendments? Which can be added to anything. Part of the problem when evaluating a full product, not just the base. In the studies it's peat vs coir, and all else is the same. Results are pretty clear. I add minerals, fungi, bacteria, organic ferts, compost, and worm castings to my soil mixes too. Even Promix to me is lacking. It could use minerals and compost.
As a base product with no additives maybe WS is better. But I myself mix my own soils. I just use too much to purchase ready mixes. So for me starting from scratch peat makes more sense. It clearly outperformed coir. I just wanted to add this to the discussion as many here also make their own soils. As a pre-made soil it looks to be decent. All the same If I did want a pre-made soil I myself would go with a Fafard or Happy Frog product. Lack of Pine concerns me in both of these mixes you guys have been using. Pine has been shown to suppress pathogens such as Phytophthora root rot. Fafard and Happy Frog contain pine fines. In general I avoid all mixes without pine.
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I think the folks that formulated Wonder Soil put some work into it to produce a good ready to use coir based mix. It's a biologically active mix with the addition of worm castings, mycorrhizae and organic ferts. It looks like they got it right from the results Anne got. A coir mix can do just as well as a peat mix as long as it's done right.