Canna Terra Professional

[brick]

I like the original Terra better. Nothing added, you did that yourself. I like the new stuff but not as much as the old. I use half the Canna nutes dosage with the new stuff, every second water, until the plant is 15cm tall then it tells me whether it needs more or stay the same. Good flush out every 4-6 weeks. Water ph 6.5-6.8 and that is it.

[billygoat]

What is the actual difference between the two ?

[brick]

The professional has perlite already mixed with it and without going to the garage to have a look I think there are some nutes in it as well. The old one was a bit more coarser, for me easier to tell when to water. I just liked it because I got used to it and if something is working for me I don't like to change.

[obliterated]

Ive grown a lot with Canna Terra Professional over the years.
Ive also used Fox Farm and a variety of other premium peat substrates (non Bunnings by a mile)

Canna Professional is still the best Peat based medium I have ever seen out of the bag.

The only thing I believe is better is custom soil mixes from old guys that do their own composting and have been "conjuring" their own perfect soil recipes for 30+ years.... but off the shelf, Canna

My advice,

For every 50L of Canna Terra Professional (50L bag)... mix in around 15L of the coarsest grade perlite you can find.

The better the cation exchange (to a degree) the better results you will get. More exchange = more growth

After transplant into Terra, feel the dry weight of the pot. Now water through and feel the wet weight. Pay attention to this weight to accurately know when to water. Soil/Peat must dry out to achieve proper cation exchange.

 

Only plain water for the first 2 weeks, plenty of goodies already available in the medium

After 2 weeks, alternate nutrient feedings.

Nutrients one watering, allow to dry, plain water next watering to flush out any salt buildups, allow to dry out, nutrients again and repeat and so on...

The Peat will harden over the top (resists water) which is good, simply rough up the top surface with your fingers before watering and water slowly.

If you hear that faint bubbling and gurgling sound of the water soaking through, this is good, this is the cation exchange

Regardless of when the last time you watered was, do not water unless the soil is dry (close to dry weight) or you may end up with root rot diseases or poor growth from your medium.

Nutrient wise, dont bother using Canna Terra Vega or Flores... use normal Canna Classic AB nutrients. Much better bang for buck and better results! A little Rhizotonic or similar will work wonders also

Hope this helps

Peace!

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Nice write up obliterated. Do you get much runnoff?

[obliterated]

Ahh thank you Ford Fairlane

I generally aim for around about 10% runoff with my Terra both nutrients and water.

Another nice little trick I picked up along the way is soil PH correction.

Even though Terra Professional has Dolomite added into the mix, many soil growers add dolomite to the mix prior to planting so that it will automatically adjust the PH of the root zone regardless of the nutrient PH given.

A product that I found was made by an Australian Organic company called Eco Organic Dolomite.

http://ecoorganicgarden.com.au/products/soil-improvers/eco-flo-dolomite/

Available from Bunnings and other stocklists for under $10

Due to its micronized form, it can be drenched through the medium after transplant and will last months, is far more effective than any application method and comes with bonus goodies like seaweed.

No need to PH nutes or measure runoff PH, just nutrient, water, nutrient, water and it works a charm

Peace!

[russkoit]

Hi all long time reader new to posting. will adding some dolomite lime will help me keep my mediums ph level at an acceptable level for over 2 months, could some other members in here help with a litle more info.

I grow 300w led in a 4ft x 2ft height 6ft. And im just using a 1/4 strength nutes for my 3 wek old babies. Its called GT ionic grow,

[russkoit]

Obliterated. Mate its sound like I have a similar set up to you. But you have alot more experience under ur belt. Can you pls recomend a product to add to my terra pro to keep ph levels to a recommended level.

Cheers guys and yhanks in advance

Russkoit

[brick]

What is your PH? You can get PH up and PH down from a hydro shop! I find tap water and even my rain water up here in mid nsw at about ph8. So I just eye drop some ph down into the water starting with a few drops then building until the ph is around 6.5-6.8 or even 7. PH down is phosphoric acid in concentrate, so you only need a little bit at a time. I have never worried about ec I just keep the ph as right as I can. Canna terra nutes is what I use.

[russkoit]

The ph here in Fnq is about 7. when its not raining. I dont mind adding to the nute feed but after reading an earlier post from obliterated I was hopeing to not have to add ph up or down just add the right amount of dolomite to the medium and then feed water feed water.

I trust in his experience and yours to. So I just want some reassurance that it will or wont work, so I dont have to ajust ph every feed.