@MeEasy OK I know. It’s 3:30 am and I’m scanning TGSC website and found What’s the Best Way to Use Earth Dust? A Look at Your Options
In regards to peat moss it says it is slightly more compatible with ED than coco. As for ph, this is taken directly from the article
“However, because peat moss is not a humus, that is, not a mixture of organic compounds making up a soil, you may want to control the pH of your water as with coco coir. Peat moss has a much higher CEC (cation exchange capacity) than coco, but still less than a full mixture of humic elements.”
Referring to the article’s comments on coco and ph, the article states:
"For Earth Dust users, however, this is less than ideal [ coco coir’s ability to allow the grower to control nutrient content by adding synthetic nutrients in a constant regimen.] . Earth Dust is designed to simulate nature in that it uses readily available organic matter in the medium. This is not to say it’s impossible. If you are using coco coir, we suggest you start with 3-5 tablespoons of Base and 1 tablespoon of Boost for every gallon of coco coir. Blending in some additional organic material such as peat moss may prove helpful as well. Paying attention to the pH of your water is more important with coco coir as well, since the low CEC limits the relative amount of ionic exchange, which in turn limits the microbial capacity to regulate pH. A good range to aim for in the pH of your water when using coco is 5.8 – 6.5. Coco coir is also not very good at retaining water, so a much more rigorous schedule will be in order.
In short, treat peat like coco for ph purposes.
Thanks for your follow up and your diligence.
p.s. I was on the site thinking about a comparative grow of clones from the same mother using Earth Dust and a good quality soil Vs coco using Jack’s and other supplements I customarily add.
Thanks a lot for the support, I actually emailed TGSC a few months ago having issues with my first 2 grow attempts and discovered the soil I use using wasn’t good for their earth dust technique (Foxfarm Ocean-too hot). The Promix BX was one of 3-4 they recommended. Not sure if that helps. But after 2 crappy grows I need as an on-site grow expert
By the way that could be a new job- Home Supprt for home growers? Right?
Well it looks like you found the answer I’m going to get from Matt it sounds like peat is going to be pretty much the same thing as coco which I consider growing hydro with a sponge in the water and throwing in dry organic nutrients isn’t going to work without something else for the microbes to eat.
Which is what you just said except you are obviously smarter than me and use bigger words and proper names. Thanks a ton for doing the research for @Jerdan03 and sharing it with us. I love growing because of the challenge and the never ending education
I’ve actually thought about doing a in home grow consulting but I live in a smaller town and hate going into the city for any reason I bet it would be a good business opportunity though.
I’m not sure why you couldn’t make dust work with ocean forest I recommend using something with less nutrients but it’s okay to use it. The key is to do your initial mix with 1 tbs/gallon of soil and cooking it a little longer. I use happy frog only because I get a good deal on it here in town
@Jerdan03 Here’s the link to my growroom thread you are welcome to come check it out it shows like a year n a half or my growing all with Dust along with a bunch of bs’ing about just about everything you are welcome to join us in the bs’ing as well
@Jerdan03@beardless I got an email back and it doesn’t say what we thought. I sent a picture of the pro mix bag so they know what you are using. Here’s the whole email I got back
copy paste from the email
If their water is at 6.8, I would just leave it there. Typically, peat moss tends to lean more acidic and should balance in the soil
@MeEasy now that’s confusing. It sounds like they think is a blend peat and humus / soil. Otherwise it contradicts the article.
All I know with Jack’s and either coco or peat I’m in at 5.8 - 6.0.
I don’t know, and yes I’m confused but thought I’d better share the confusion. I sent the email attn Matt but someone else answered it, David. Id have to go through a couple years of emails to see if I’ve talked to him but he doesn’t sound familiar TGSC is growing and there’s new people all the time, he might not know what he’s talking about