Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
low, which is a common problem when your soil mix contains a lot of raw organic matter that has not
been decomposed. Also, as this coir breaks down, which it does quickly in TLO like in any other organ-
ic style, it releases available potassium (K) which is always an important thing to cover when flowering
cannabis. Cannabis loves her K, and the microbial life really likes the coir fiber as well, so this stuff is
great—although it does not aerate soil well as some believe. Always use perlite for superior TLO soil mix
aeration.Anotherthingtonoteaboutthecoiristhatitisalsoabletoholdalotofwaterforitssize,andthis
is always a big plus when you favor growing in smaller container sizes.
Last, but bynomeans least, always get coir that has been thoroughly rinsed with fresh water. It will say
so on the product, and keep in mind that sea salt is all natural, but those salts are detrimental in a TLO soil
mix in any great amounts. Botanicare has a fantastic coconut coir product called “CocoGro” that has been
left outside for a season or two and thoroughly rain rinsed. Be aware that coir products can fly all natural/
organic labels, including OMRI rating labels, but still have too much salt for TLO growing.
Perlite
is the stuff, boys and girls! Aeration in your living soil mix is über-important, and you can pretty
much cut any bagged soil mix with perlite by at least 20% to accommodate super natural levels of micro-
life. I recommend smaller nugget-sized perlite, and this is straight-up good math. Smaller particles equal
moresurfacearea,andmoresurfaceareaequalsmoreaeration.Perliteisnotconsumedbythemicro-beast-
ies for food so it hangs around for a long time, which is why it works so well. Shredded bark and coconut
coir are both examples of organic stuff that sucks to use for aeration in TLO growing, due to the fact those
both decompose rapidly in a TLO soil mix.
Another less well-known property of perlite that any TLO grower has to love is its very porous and
neutral pH nature, which makes it a beautiful place for microlife to colonize. Think of it as lots of mini-
ature versions of artificial reefs out at sea that coral builds upon; in your soil mix the microlife does the
same thing, attaching to the perlite for essentially the same reasons.
