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Psicomb



Registered: 01/13/18
Posts: 4,635
Loc: the womb
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: nolpspj]
#26422876 - 01/08/20 12:24 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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Field capacity for me = very brief, small stream but my results are subjective because of hand strength, climate, etc. Others might fuck their tubs up doing it as wet as me. I still consider my dryer subs "field capacity" if water drips out of them during a squeeze. IMO the more water in the sub, the more likely you'll get good results (unless it's waterlogged). It has been kind odd seeing folks recommend 2-2.5qts water for coir only monotubs just because I would assume most water is used up by the first flush but hey whatever works, right..? I personally use 3.5qt water to 1 brick coir and 2qt verm.
Verm helps keep the surface conditions balanced and from getting too problematic if the substrate is on the underhydrated/overhydrated side so I always recommend verm for those having trouble finding consistency with their pinset and surface conditions.
Practice until you find your sweet spot.
Edited by Psicomb (01/08/20 12:28 PM)
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morty422
Wuba-luba-dub-dub!


Registered: 07/06/16
Posts: 988
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: Psicomb]
#26422893 - 01/08/20 12:37 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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Quote:
Psicomvb said:
Verm helps keep the surface conditions balanced and from getting too problematic if the substrate is on the underhydrated/overhydrated side so I always recommend verm for those having trouble finding consistency with their pinset and surface conditions.
Practice until you find your sweet spot.
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A.k.a
Stranger



Registered: 10/27/19
Posts: 16,782
Loc: Gaming the system
Last seen: 3 hours, 50 minutes
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: morty422]
#26422973 - 01/08/20 01:29 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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I can’t recall what exactly I had read and watched about field cap but I know it said you should be able to squeeze as hard as possible and get a drop or two. Idk if that’s wrong or it’s because I’m a big person or who knows why but my coir was way too dry.
Now I keep it so that if I squeeze it hard a small stream of drops will drip for maybe a second and it’s made the most difference of anything I’ve done. Most importantly for me it made it so I don’t need to mist at all, so no more monitoring conditions worrying about drying out. Which also means no overmisting or screwing the surface in any way.
The tough thing about having so much good info on here is that if you get something wrong stuck in your head or even something that just happens to not work for your space, you won’t know what to change up. When I follow 20 steps in a tek and 19 go perfectly I assume the 20th didn’t go well because I messed up.
That’s a good problem though.
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LAGM2020     
Edited by A.k.a (01/08/20 01:31 PM)
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myco_fun
Stranger

Registered: 02/26/17
Posts: 65
Last seen: 3 years, 4 months
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: A.k.a]
#26422995 - 01/08/20 01:42 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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I switched over the pre-shredded coir. This stuff: https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-eco-earth-loose-coconut/dp/123772?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Zoo%20Med&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj7S0qO705gIVxZ6zCh25eQn5EAQYAiABEgKAjvD_BwE
I understand that field capacity is determined via squeezing and observing.
But can someone give me a recipe to start with when using the loose coir?
I'm currently thinking:
200 g coir 75 g verm 2.5 C boiling water
It's for a small scale...no need to use a whole coir brick.
Thanks!
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Psicomb



Registered: 01/13/18
Posts: 4,635
Loc: the womb
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: myco_fun]
#26423000 - 01/08/20 01:44 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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The loose coir varies in dampness so it's hard to say. I dunno what 200g loose coir equates to dry.
At this point the best method is to just feel it out. Just add water and a little verm until it hits that "field capacity" point you see in the videos.
With the bricks you can always scale down with equal results, like 1.75qt water, 1qt verm, 325g coir to get 4 quarts of substrate rather than ~8, for example
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When we constantly pull things apart trying to see how it works, we may end up with only an understanding of how to destroy something - nick sand
Edited by Psicomb (01/08/20 01:46 PM)
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StygianKnight
A Mushroom

Registered: 03/12/12
Posts: 2,717
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: Psicomb]
#26423016 - 01/08/20 01:55 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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My current method is to overhydrate the coir so it’s a nice slurry when mixxed, then grabbing a handful, squeezing moderately into another bucket and rubbing it back and forth into a third bucket. (Once the overhydrated coir is soup, it gets poured through a colander strainer.) This always leaves things in a wet but fluffy manner. I started doing this after finding dry spots inside larger pieces when using just enough water.
It’s also why I can’t really give any measurements as I would need to weigh things before and after to know how much water remains.
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myco_fun
Stranger

Registered: 02/26/17
Posts: 65
Last seen: 3 years, 4 months
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: Psicomb]
#26423019 - 01/08/20 01:55 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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Quote:
Psicomvb said: The loose coir varies in dampness so it's hard to say. I dunno what 200g loose coir equates to dry.
At this point the best method is to just feel it out. Just add water and a little verm until it hits that "field capacity" point you see in the videos.
With the bricks you can always scale down with equal results, like 1.75qt water, 1qt verm, 325g coir to get 4 quarts of substrate rather than ~8, for example
thanks! I will test a small amount of coir now for field capacity.
For the verm - looks like 70 grams is about 2.5 cups. So for 2.5 C verm...it will take 1.25 C water to get to field capacity?
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myco_fun
Stranger

Registered: 02/26/17
Posts: 65
Last seen: 3 years, 4 months
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Re: Field capacity question [Re: myco_fun]
#26423062 - 01/08/20 02:21 PM (4 years, 21 days ago) |
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just did a little test...for those interested, for the loose coir stuff I have on hand...
200 g (which is roughly 6.25 C not packed down) takes 1.3 - 1.43 C water to reach field capacity.
So does this recipe look like a good starting point for the bucket tek?
- 200 g loose coir - 2.5 C verm - 1.33 C + 1.25 C boiling water
Will test via squeezing after 15-20 minutes....to see if a drop squeezes out. If not, 1 (or 2 tablespoons max) of boiling water can be added until a drop squeezes out.
Sound reasonable?
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