Evening! I've just discovered that there's a coir shortage due to the tsunami damage. I wasn't able to get any in the large center near me and might not be able to get any for months.
I advise coir people to buy now while they can.
Coir [merged]
Started By
morthos
, Mar 08 2005 09:50 PM
76 replies to this topic
#2
nicholas
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Mycophage
Posted 08 March 2005 - 09:56 PM
Are you sure? I just bought a few coir bricks at my local 99¢ store.
#3
Lazlo
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old hand
Posted 08 March 2005 - 10:15 PM
Hmmmmm. That's a good point. All of my bricks are a product of Sri Lanka.
#4
destroy_erase_improve
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Mycotopiate
Posted 08 March 2005 - 11:03 PM
a few bricks will last you FOREVER. they expand so damn much that unless you are growing nonnnstop every day, a brick could last you quite some time.
#5
Lazlo
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old hand
Posted 09 March 2005 - 01:40 AM
I don't know. Mine are $1.95 for a brick and they make 2 1/2 gallons when hydated a little more than field capacity. That's not too bad. Compared to straw and poo it is. Especially when you can get a bail of straw for 4 bucks and poo for free.
#6
shobimono
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Posted 09 March 2005 - 04:18 AM
Here is quite possibly the most expensive coir available.
www.petdiscounters.com/catalog/Hermit_Soil_Compressed_Disk-p-1143116.html
Kinda funny cuz these are right by the 4 dollar bricks, but it would probably take about 12 of these, at 2 bucks a pop, to equal one brick.
www.petdiscounters.com/catalog/Hermit_Soil_Compressed_Disk-p-1143116.html
Kinda funny cuz these are right by the 4 dollar bricks, but it would probably take about 12 of these, at 2 bucks a pop, to equal one brick.
#7
Guest_busst_*
Guest_busst_*
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Posted 09 April 2005 - 08:18 PM
okay, im gonna be doing an outdoor bed, and need all the spawn i can get. i cant use grains cuz the wildlife feasts on the shit.
i cant find vermiculite ANYWHERE in my entire fucking state, and i only have 3 quarts left, maybe 4. Shobimono suggested using coir, so i had to take an hour bus ride to the only petstore in the entire area that had some.
Now, when using Coir as an addative to a PF BRF style cake, should i expand the coir, and then let it dry, and then mix it with verm at a 1:1 ratio? and then use the verm/coir mixitre in place of the straight verm in the PF cake substrate? or just let it stay moist, add some verm, and brf, and go by judgement on how much water to add?
How big of a piece of the coir brick should i use, if i wanted like 4 quarts of expanded coir?
also, i bought 3 mini-bales from this arts and crafts store, i wanted to make sure this is really straw. one bag was 2 bucks, i know tis a ripoff, but i cant find straw anywhere.
So this is the plan. I was gonna make like 10 or so pints of coirBRFcake spawn. I was gonna make a poo bed. I was gonna powder the cakes, mix it in with straight bagged manure, maybe some wet straw, dig a hole in the ground somewhere, fill it with the substrate, cover with 1 inch of regular dirt, water alittle bit, and scatter some tree limbs, leaves, and stuff over the bed.
Will any plain old bagged manure work, as long as its horse or cow?
Sounds like a plan?
i cant find vermiculite ANYWHERE in my entire fucking state, and i only have 3 quarts left, maybe 4. Shobimono suggested using coir, so i had to take an hour bus ride to the only petstore in the entire area that had some.
Now, when using Coir as an addative to a PF BRF style cake, should i expand the coir, and then let it dry, and then mix it with verm at a 1:1 ratio? and then use the verm/coir mixitre in place of the straight verm in the PF cake substrate? or just let it stay moist, add some verm, and brf, and go by judgement on how much water to add?
How big of a piece of the coir brick should i use, if i wanted like 4 quarts of expanded coir?
also, i bought 3 mini-bales from this arts and crafts store, i wanted to make sure this is really straw. one bag was 2 bucks, i know tis a ripoff, but i cant find straw anywhere.
So this is the plan. I was gonna make like 10 or so pints of coirBRFcake spawn. I was gonna make a poo bed. I was gonna powder the cakes, mix it in with straight bagged manure, maybe some wet straw, dig a hole in the ground somewhere, fill it with the substrate, cover with 1 inch of regular dirt, water alittle bit, and scatter some tree limbs, leaves, and stuff over the bed.
Will any plain old bagged manure work, as long as its horse or cow?
Sounds like a plan?
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#8
destroy_erase_improve
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Posted 09 April 2005 - 08:30 PM
i dont know the answer to your question, as weve discussed it in chat, but that straw looks THIN AS HELL. ive never seen it so thin before. i wonder why its like that.
#9
highflyer
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 12:25 AM
Expand the coir before you use it. Use whatever amount you need then dry the rest in the oven. Id just go ahead and expand the whole brick to begin with. Then there will always be some ready.
Your plan sounds ok. Id see if you cant locate a bale of straw somewhere tho. Lowes usually carries straw. Its best to add more straw than bagged manure.
Look in the phonebook under greenhouses or nursurys to find verm, straw, ect.
Your plan sounds ok. Id see if you cant locate a bale of straw somewhere tho. Lowes usually carries straw. Its best to add more straw than bagged manure.
Look in the phonebook under greenhouses or nursurys to find verm, straw, ect.
#10
shobimono
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 02:33 AM
That isn't straw.
If they didn't have mini straw bales, did you ask for straw wreaths.
Most craft stores are gonna have straw wreaths in various sizes and styles (finished vs unfinished).
You could also try Joanne Fabrics stores for straw wreaths.
If they didn't have mini straw bales, did you ask for straw wreaths.
Most craft stores are gonna have straw wreaths in various sizes and styles (finished vs unfinished).
You could also try Joanne Fabrics stores for straw wreaths.
#11
Hippie3
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DUNG DEALER
Posted 10 April 2005 - 06:39 AM
busst
we sell verm at www.mycrotopia.com
anyway
can you find perlite there ?
perlite actually can make a decent spawn, esp. outdoors
as it won't attract the critters.
there's a recipe for perlite spawn in the old archives
we sell verm at www.mycrotopia.com
anyway
can you find perlite there ?
perlite actually can make a decent spawn, esp. outdoors
as it won't attract the critters.
there's a recipe for perlite spawn in the old archives
#12
Guest_busst_*
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 06:57 AM
yeah, i can get perlite. I called every nursery in the entire area none has verm. Well, what i got ISNT straw? i spend nearly 10 bucks on 3 bags of this crap!
also, how much does one brick expand do? if it expands to like 8 quarts, im gonna need a bigger bucket
cant find thaT perlite spawn in the archives, care to just summarize what i have to do? perlite is good for aerating the manure also, is it not? and retains moisture very well also.
also, how much does one brick expand do? if it expands to like 8 quarts, im gonna need a bigger bucket
cant find thaT perlite spawn in the archives, care to just summarize what i have to do? perlite is good for aerating the manure also, is it not? and retains moisture very well also.
#13
Hippie3
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 07:02 AM
Well, what i got ISNT straw?
nope.
not even close.
the brick of coir will expand to about 6-8 times it's current volume
once water is added.
#14
Hippie3
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DUNG DEALER
#15
Guest_Peter Cottontail_*
Guest_Peter Cottontail_*
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 07:05 AM
Coir will expand about seven to one. Agreed, that first picture isn't straw. There is also nothing wrong with using grains. The animals get a few of them, but no biggie. It is best to expand the mycelium indoors, then bury a larger substrate mass outside. By the time all of that is colonized, the grains don't attract animals as much anyway.
RR
RR
#16
Hippie3
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DUNG DEALER
Posted 10 April 2005 - 07:13 AM
i've had outdoor patches [grain-based] dug up entirely, ruined, by critters
so it's possible.
the less grain you use, the better, imho.
so it's possible.
the less grain you use, the better, imho.
#17
Guest_busst_*
Guest_busst_*
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 07:35 AM
damn it! i shoulda known that arts and crafts store lady was lying. thats 6.50 down the drain.... what do you think it actually is?
#18
Guest_busst_*
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 07:36 AM
and instead of wheat bran , could i use BRF?
so i can use perlite as a substitute for verm in the pf cakes?
so i can use perlite as a substitute for verm in the pf cakes?
#19
smegma
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Posted 10 April 2005 - 07:40 AM
looks like some kind of spanish moss that has been bleached?
#20
Hippie3
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DUNG DEALER
Posted 10 April 2005 - 07:46 AM
and instead of wheat bran , could i use BRF?
so i can use perlite as a substitute for verm in the pf cakes?
well, kinda but you won't get much from perlite cakes 'as is',
they must be used as spawn to manure/straw.
i wouldn't even use jars either,
bags would be faster and hold more.
