Growing in coots mix newbie alert.

I call coots mix, mofo mix, no till recipe the same thing. I use the No till recipe with a tweak or two, but not the 11 day watering feeding schedule. I use the same stuff, but the timing is a little different for autos.
Cheers
Os

 

Alright... so if I'm understanding this recipe correctly after the initial base of 1/3 compost/cspm/aeration (per cubic foot).. the nutrient line will be:

1/3 cup Crustation meal
1/3 cup kelp meal
1/6 cup neem
1/6 cup karanja
1/3 cup basalt
1/3 cup gypsum
1/3 cup ag lime
1/3 cup mbp

Is that right? That seems fairly weak to me unless I'm missing something. Why is tad going so lite on inputs?

 

All accurate with the exception of the MBP...

"2 cups of Malted Barley (blend 1 cup into a powder then mix into soil, the other cup will be top dressed at a rate of 1/4 cup of malted barley each week starting in week 3-4."

Official Clackamas Coot Nutrient and Mineral Kit

I've watched the various incarnations of "Coot's mix" change/transform over the last ten years or so. I've witnessed just as many folks experiencing "issues" with this mix as I have those who have experienced success. IMHO, these mixes have always been grossly over-limed. Measuring lime (and nutritional amendments) by volume is completely antithetical to the methodology practiced by greenhouse and nursery production facilities relevant to building soilless container mixes. GNP facilities measure soil amendments by weight, not volume, and the amount of lime added isn't added until the chemical characteristics of all the materials going into the soil mix are carefully considered, including water quality. And in the GNP of soilless container mixes, the goal is to produce a mix that arrives at predetermined ph "target range", one best suited for the plant species being grown in it, and one that will maintain said target range through to harvest. This (old) liming application rate doesn't take into consideration the highly variable nature of the acidity produced by peat mosses, the highly variable nature of the factors that influence reactivity rates inherent in the different forms of "lime" that folks are able to source, or the highly variable nature of the acid buffering capacities of one compost to the next. It still doesn't, but at the very least the lime application has been greatly reduced. IMO, it's always been a crapshoot...

As for the reduced amounts of "nutrient amendments", I would expect that was to ameliorate issues related to high salinity (too many dissolved solids) in "smaller" container grows. Good compost is very rich in plant available nutrients. Issues related to soil chemical "imbalance" are greatly exaggerated in reduced volumes of soil. Once materials are in the soil, there's very little one can do about having added too much of anything. But we can always top dress...

For some clarity on what I've discussed about peat, lime, and compost, give these a read...

 

I bumped ya in!
cheers
os

 

1/2 cup each neem, kelp, crab oyster and 1 cup rock dust

Since you’re just starting out it’s the best time to experiment with mixes and see what works best.

 

That's just perfect for an auto in 5-7 gal!
cheers
os

 

For seedlings/germination its better to use a mild mix with no amendments and high aeration.

 

Hey Wak!
What makes you question the use of need in containers?

 

Id wait until 4th set of leave before transplanting. The seedling really doesn't need more than water and space to grow some roots until then.

 

Oh for autos IDK, @Organic sinse would answer that better than me.

 

Cool, glad to watch the grow. Coot soil noobie here too

 

The presence of dicyandiamide. It's a nitrification inhibitor, and utilized in agricultural applications for that very reason. One of the reasons, anyways.

I'm still working through some details relevant to it's use in potted containers. It obviously isn't that problematic. Folks have been using it potted container mixes for years without issue (maybe). I have some concerns about what it might mean for nitrate availability in soil mixes that have been cycled for extended periods of time.

I've got to get a soil sample off to the lab to verify my suspicions...

 

Seaweed extract is very different product, it’s used to make a liquid. You want seaweed meal/kelp meal.
Cheers
Os

 

That’s definitely extract, it’s not what you want. Try looking for kelp meal animal feed, it’s the same as we use for gardening.
Cheers
Os