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Pre Washing Coco Matting

T

Teddybrae

Hello All ...


I have some matting here I want to use as 'mulch' over my large outdoor pots.

I think I should wash this material first in case it flushes nasties into my pots when (if ) it rains.
Would anyone know how much of a wash this material might need?
Thanks!


Here's a picture:


picture.php
 
Rico Swazi

Rico Swazi

Active member
Heylo Teddy


Nice product it seems. Not sure on the washing but my suggestion would be to lay that mat out on the ground or compost pile, maybe spread a bit of soil on top, water a bit to encourage local microorganisms and then use it


might ease your mind a bit getting nature to do some of the work
 
T

Teddybrae

Thanks Rico ... yes of course. What you say makes lots of sense! (I have lots of smelly worm juice for starters.)


I have hosed the blanket and some dust washed out. The wash water did not discolor so am assuming all is ok.
 
AgentPothead

AgentPothead

Just this guy, ya know?
My understanding with coir is the prewash is to get rid of a lot of the salts that built up while the coconuts were drying out near beaches? So if you got a ppm meter you could test some tap water, then rinse the coco with the water and retest it's ppm? If it's gone up a bunch it's still cleaning it off but if it's pretty much the same the coco is probably clean? This is all a stoned guy guessing though :D
 
T

Teddybrae

Guys ... I 'm sorry about using the word 'Mulch' too generally!

I want the mat to stop evaporation and to shade the soil. The mat is not intended to feed the soil.

I have worms in my large pots. The worms feed the soil. The leaves I am presently using for mulch are Eucalyptus and do not contribute much food. So when I feed, say cowshit, I have to rake off the leaves and then put them back again. Which is a pain. So peeling back the mat and putting food under will be much easier.
Also I 'm getting Fusarium on some varieties and I reason this is due to the leafy mulch remaining too wet. Once again, I 'm thinking the coco matting will stop this.

So sorry to send you off on a bum steer, Rico ... and Others. THANKS!
 
Rico Swazi

Rico Swazi

Active member
Its all good Teddy, I ride bum steers backwards because I heard hindsight is 20/20 :)


The matting should do you well for what you want to do. Good choice. I also believe the lignin will break down eventually and help feed the soil. Worms will love being able to be close to the surface and root zone of your plants.


Late summer when the sun is lower in the sky, I need to shade my containers from getting too warm. That is at 45N and wonder if at 25 S you find the need to do the same?


Wishing you a kick arse season my friend
Whats the lineup this year?
 
h.h.

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
I’m not talking about feeding the soil.Just saying untreated coco may contain an abundance of salt.
Calcium will help displace the salt.
 
T

Teddybrae

Thanks Rico!

Yes, heat directly from the sun and reflected from the ground is a problem here when pot growing. (It was 42C here the other day.)

My big pots are still uninsulated around their sides but I 'm working on it. They have 'Mango Haze' in them.

The little insulated pots (20L) pictured are 60 day 'Anodyne' from Aridbud. Unfortunately and freakishly looks like 4 of 5 are male!

Thanks for the input here and may your next season's grow be a good one!


picture.php






Rico Swazi said:
Its all good Teddy, I ride bum steers backwards because I heard hindsight is 20/20 :)


Late summer when the sun is lower in the sky, I need to shade my containers from getting too warm. That is at 45N and wonder if at 25 S you find the need to do the same?


Wishing you a kick arse season my friend
Whats the lineup this year?
Click to expand...
 
Donald Mallard

Donald Mallard

el duck
Moderator
Veteran
Teddybrae said:
Guys ... I 'm sorry about using the word 'Mulch' too generally!

I want the mat to stop evaporation and to shade the soil. The mat is not intended to feed the soil.

I have worms in my large pots. The worms feed the soil. The leaves I am presently using for mulch are Eucalyptus and do not contribute much food. So when I feed, say cowshit, I have to rake off the leaves and then put them back again. Which is a pain. So peeling back the mat and putting food under will be much easier.
Also I 'm getting Fusarium on some varieties and I reason this is due to the leafy mulch remaining too wet. Once again, I 'm thinking the coco matting will stop this.

So sorry to send you off on a bum steer, Rico ... and Others. THANKS!
Click to expand...
no need to scrape back the mulch ,
what you have already put in the soil should be enough for the life of the plant ,
cover with a generous amount of hay/straw ,
and liquid feed after that , ie fish emulsion and kelp ,



the life of the plant is only short usually,
if you feel you need to add a bit more ,
use something like dynamic lifter pellets , and once again ,

no need to put it beneath the mulch , add a little more mulch on top if u feel thats needed ...



hay is the best thing to mulch with by far ,
certainly not eucalyptus leaf matter ....



oh i noted your growing in pots ,, any reason for not planting directly in the ground when its so hot,??
thats by far the best scenario during the hot times ,
soil is its own insulation , covered with good mulch the ground stays quite cool if its damp ...
 
Rico Swazi

Rico Swazi

Active member
Teddybrae said:
. (It was 42C here the other day.)
Click to expand...


Seen on tv you had record temps over 50C and hellish fires/smoke
Sending you good vibes that things change soon


What are the cages for? and why not grow in the ground? I have used cardboard to shade my containers in the past.

I heard you have a good water supply and hope that is the case all summer

Looking to hear how the anodyne are doing as well as your other plants
 
T

Teddybrae

Thanks so much for the kind thoughts, Rico! Is forecast 40C here today.

(This stuff is off thread ... but ... the cages are to keep out Sugar Gliders. They can avoid the wallaby and possum fences by flying in. They don't eat much but are partial to juicy tips so they are a beautiful silky-furred catastrophe!!!.
The amount of water required to grow in the ground thru a drought is enormous. It's like watering a giant sponge! Also tree roots can grow very fast and invade a garden that is the only damp spot for miles around. And termites are in their millions here and also love the damp of an in-ground garden.)


I 'll put up a pic of my newly insulated pots with erosion matting mulch in a day or two. I have to be away for a couple of days ...


Ooroo ...
 
T

Teddybrae

Here's an insulated pot with Coco 'mulch'. The plants are Mango Haze.


picture.php
 
Rico Swazi

Rico Swazi

Active member
Mango haze look healthy and happy in the picture mate , still growing strong I hope

how are the autos?



You prob already thought of it but another use for that matting would be to encircle the pots with it to keep your soil in
maybe doubled with leaves between for more insulation ?

Also curious if you have noticed a difference in the overall moisture content of the soil compared to not using it
 
T

Teddybrae

The Mango Haze look better than ever. They are showing flowers and just received a top dress of compost as well as foliar of high K kelp. No autos. The seedlings I showed earlier were (forgot the word! Later EDIT: photoperiod) and besides which 4 of 6 were male. So #5 is a little head on a stick and the 6th is an entirely different unknown variety ... a "ring in". (Aussie sheep shearing term.) No photo, sorry.

I rejected the idea of encircling the pots with the matting because the material is not knitted together ... it seems to be pressed somehow ... like, you can pull it apart piece by piece with the fingers. Thus I thought that gravity would see it slowly droop ground-wards.

I would say there is no difference in the mat's water retaining ability and the leaves I used previously.

Here's a picture of high CBD "King Gee":


picture.php
 
Last edited:
T

Teddybrae

I think one of the benefits of this matting is that it does not contain soil organisms/bacteria. It must then be mould/fungus resistant eg: Fusarium.

After a month the Coco is darkening in places where fungus has begun its work of decomposition. But it looks like there is a long way to go before rotting of the material actually occurs. Time will tell how durable the material is ...

I 'm also using pure coco 'soil' on top of my small pots as mulch. No ill effects even close to the trunk. (So far ...)

Here's what a Coco wrapper has to say about soil bacteria:


picture.php
 
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