Another coffee question - sources?
8 months ago
last modified: 8 months ago
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- 8 months ago
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Yet another coffee question, but about FRESH grounds
Comments (7)"Right" pH is a bit of a misnomer -- most plants will tolerate, even thrive, in a relatively wide range of pH and peppers are no exception. A quick Google search turned up the following ranges: 5.5-7.0, 6.0-6.5, 6.5-7.5. Unless you were growing a specifically acid-loving plant (blueberries, potatoes, etc.), a slightly acidic soil (6.3-6.8) is the preferred range for the largest number of plants. I wouldn't bother to do any adjusting to a potting soil. The need for frequent supplemental fertilization for any containerized plant will override any need for fine tuning the pH any further....See MoreYet another, perhaps, testing of coffee grounds
Comments (13)Okay, I see what you're saying. I missed Albert's part about wanting a cation exchange capacity. Anyway, it's a good value to know in your organic amendment if you're deciding between a couple of choices and increasing nutrient holding capacity is a major concern. As one of the deciding factors, CEC can be one more thing to consider when choosing. To assume that one type of testing has no use because another type of testing is useful is a one-sided approach. That's usually not a good way to address any situation. One should strive to see the whole picture. I do agree that the results of the other tests that you mentioned would be nice to know to get the whole picture, but I was addressing why you would do a chemistry test. (since you asked) When it comes to chemical hazards, I wasn't talking about poisons and herbices. I was talking about salinity, pH, boron, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and the like. Are any of those going to be a problem in coffee grounds? Probably not, but it's never a bad idea to test something to ensure that what somebody says you're getting is what you're actually getting. I've had situations where a company sells a contractor "nitrolized fir shavings" only to find dangerous levels of boron because their "shavings" were actually ground-up, recycled, pressure-treated plywood. When it comes to salinity yes, testing just one contributing ion one would be a mistake and all of those nutrients are necessary for plant growth. That's why the lab tested all of them. The ECe, gives the overall salinity and addresses it as a single number to give you an idea of the osmotic potential of the salts when combined. Osmotic potential means that they pull and hang on to water. With enough combined salts, this osmotic potential is great enough that the salts can actually pull water with more force than plant roots can pull the water up. In those cases, salts pull water right out of the roots osmotically. That is where the burn on roots comes from. It depends on which plants you're talking about but for salt sensitive plants, that starts at an ECe of around 3.0 dS/m or so. A lot of stuff will start showing symptoms at 4.0 dS/m or greater. Then you look at specific ions because some (notably sodium) also have "specific toxicity". That means that in addition to the problem of osmotic potential, they are also taken up into the plant and act as a poison. So it is a good idea to look at specific ions in addition to as the overall salinity to get the whole picture. When it comes to balancing those minerals, yes. They are all nutrients and they need to be in balance. However, that will only get you so far. You need the whole picture to really address the issue (Gee, I'm sensing a theme). Let's say you have an ECe of 8.0 dS/m and your plants are burning and you find that your salinity is coming largley from magnesium, which is also at a 2(Mg) to 1(Ca) ratio with calcium. Sure, that ratio should be flipped so that you have a 2(Ca) to 1 (Mg) ratio but adding calcium at that point will also raise your salinity. You'll balance that ratio, but your salinity problem will still kill your plants. A different approach should be considered. The ECe is an important tool to help guide those decisions. I think that the confusion regarding organic material comes down to the definition of the term. Lots of people use the term very loosely to mean that the material in question is derived from something that was once alive. That isn't a good definition to use because, as we see here, it leads to confusion. In the particular case I used as an example, nitrate is considered an inorganic substance because it is the product of the neutralization of an acid (and microbes play a big role here). The acid in this case was ammonium (NH4), which is considered a weak acid because of it's ability to make a solution more acidic as it releases hydrogens. The nitrate is then an inorganic polyatomic (more than one atom) anion (an ion with a negative charge). And like I said before, this stuff happens over and over again with lots of different compounds. As materials break down, all sorts of acid and base neutralizations (that's a big reason why composting usually pushes the reaction of stuff towards neutral) and oxidation reduction reactions, microbial activity and all sorts of other stuff take place, and inorganic compounds are formed along the way. Back to blood meal. The nitrogen is more available in blood meal than in other nitrogen sources. However, if you're broadcasting it, the nitrogen material still needs to break down and work its way into the soil. It happens pretty quickly, but it still takes some time and doesn't happen all at once. Is that a pretty high rate? Sure. Would I go that high? Probably not. But nitrogen does not present that "specific toxicty" problem we were just talking about. It's the osmotic potential of the stuff. If it is placed on top, works its way into the soil over time, and is accompanied with sufficient irrigation to ensure that there is enough water to over-come the osmotic pull of the nitrogen, the roots shouldn't burn. I say that because I've seen similar rates of blood meal used successfully in the field time and again by different individuals and agencies. I've also seen rates like that burn plants when poorly managed. It depends primarily on the competency of the person applying. Again, would I recommend that rate? No, you can trust people to be competent. Is it a tactical nuclear strike on plants every time? No, it can be managed. As I said previously, it isn't too awful high....See Moreanother source
Comments (1)I've only heard good about them Tom. Dax...See MoreAeropress coffee-science question for coffee weenies
Comments (27)Thanks for the tips Sleevendog! I haven't found my perfect "sweet spot" for coffee but am getting there. I much prefer the Aeropress to the "pour over" method and french press using something that is glass or china. I love the taste of beverages in glass, do not like plastic dishware in general, but experience tells me I need to stick to plastic with this frequently used appliance. I have a big Chemex that I could use if I ever had company. My folks got it in 1960 as a wedding present. Never used it to my knowledge, and I am continuing the trend. But that's because I rarely have company, not because it isn't cool! I may look into a metal filter because with the extra pressure I imagine that the paper does add something perhaps that leaches into the coffee. I was having good luck with bamboo filters for my pour over gizmo but I like the idea of a metal filter. I have tiny living quarters so probably will never invest in any type of larger counter-top appliance for coffee. Also since it is just me most of the time, a single cup method is fine for the vast majority of the days of my life. I guess I will have to read through the information you posted, but in general I am just wondering about the idea of making really strong coffee and then diluting it which is how they recommend doing it with the Aeropress, aka "cafe Americano." Why not have all the grinds interact with all the water? Also not sure why the espresso grind, other than maximum surface area interacting with the water. I like that with the press I don't get errant grinds in the coffee as I did with my french press. A minor thing really, but it used to bug me. I am also wondering about the "sludge" I get at the bottom of my cup with both the Aeropress and french press. Not a bad thing but not the best "mouth feel" for me with coffee. I'm sure it has all the flavor bits in it. As for roasts, I prefer the stronger roasts, which actually have less caffeine and acid. I supposedly need to drink low acid coffee but I do well with French roast and Sumatran. I just don't tend to like the Sumatran and other low acid coffees. I know that coffee is acidic so "low acid" is somewhat of a misnomer, but the longer I am on this low acid diet the more I realize it is not the pH/acidity that is the issue, it is the type/kind of acid. I do not know why the acids in tea and wine bother me more than the acids in coffee, but it does. Which is a bummer because I much prefer tea and wine to coffee! I've tried cold-brewing coffee, which supposedly produces a less acidic product, and the taste was underwhelming. Like I said in my previous post, the other thing I may do is go to this new local coffee roaster and try some of their product. Around where I live it is a coffee desert, not much good product available locally, and even what is reasonably good, I imagine doesn't turn over very fast on the shelves due to the cost of it. I could mail order from some good regional roasters, but I am not there yet as far as my persnickity-ness with coffee....See More- 8 months ago
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