# Organic compost?



## Guest (Jun 21, 2005)

Do general hardware stores like home depot and lowes carry organic compost, or is is mostly only sold at specialty nurseries? Also, what are some brand names of what to look for?


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## audioandroid (Mar 13, 2005)

if you have one in your area check out a hydrophonics store.


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

You can find organic composte at Lowes, Home Depot, Wall Mart and your local nursery, perhaps. I have recenlty used a brand called EKO, that seems to work very well for terrariums and vivariums.


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

To be honest, I don't think I would trust any compost that was purchased. Even if the ingredients are safe, I would guess that the compost would be high in nitrogen content to promote plant growth. That's not really a good thing in a vivarium since it can lead to fast, floppy growth of plants and in worst case leach nitrogen into the system. A high carbon compost like leaf mold is a better choice. If I did buy organic compost, I would mix it with about 50% chopped leaves, sawdust, or peat moss to immobilize the nitrogen and make it release its nutrients more slowly.


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

Organic composte by defininition isn't supposed to have any added nitrogen. The composte I mentioned above has not caused floppy or overenthusiastic plant growth. You can just look at the label. There are no fertilizer additives. But adding it to some other leaf mold or whatever won't hurt anything.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2005)

Well, I think for now I'm just gonna go with the compost. If I notice plants looking different than they should, I'll mix it with some peat moss. I'm going to purchase some Selaginella Kraussiana from black jungle soon, so maybe the overenthusiastic growth wouldn't be so bad for types of moss and other ground cover. Thanks for the tips.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

Since you mention Salaginella, I thought I'd mention most species like a low pH...A good layer of spagnum or peat makes for good salaginella growth.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2005)

So I'd just plant the Selaginella into the peat or sphagnum moss and pretty much let it grow through the other moss?


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

...What I found to work was to put an inch of spagnum moss over ABG substrate mix...then I just put the salaginella (already had roots forming) over the top. Springtails also love the moss.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2005)

Sorry for the stupid question, but what's the ABG substrate?


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2005)

Atlanta botanical gardens - do a google search.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

stitch said:


> Atlanta botanical gardens - do a google search.


...Or a search on this site...might be more specific. 
T+C terrrariums sells it pre-mixed, or if you are doing a large tank, or plan to do many tanks, you can get the ingredients in bulk at Calwest Tropicals and save some money.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2005)

Can the equivalent of the ABG mix be found in nurseries or hardware stores, or can it only be purchased online?


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

slaytonp said:


> Organic composte by defininition isn't supposed to have any added nitrogen. The composte I mentioned above has not caused floppy or overenthusiastic plant growth. You can just look at the label. There are no fertilizer additives. But adding it to some other leaf mold or whatever won't hurt anything.


The operative words here are "no fertilizer additive". The materials used to make the compost in the first place will have a huge impact on the nutrient content of the resulting compost. For example, composted manure is going to have a LOT of nitrogen in it. Composted leaves or straw will have very little. Both would be organic with no fertilizer additives. The availability of nitrogen will be controlled by the carbon to nitrogen ratio which, in turn, regulates the rate of microbial breakdown and nitrogen immobilization and availability. I don't know anything about the compost you had recommended. It may be fine. I just wanted to point out that just because a product is "organic" does not mean it is safe and just because it is "safe" does not mean it will give the desired result.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2005)

You also do not need fertilized soil in your viv. I thought all my plants would die at first but frog doody is a wonderful fertilizer.


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## Guest (Jun 23, 2005)

Alright, well then it sounds like I'm gonna have to read all the fine print on whatever product I end up buying. Thanks for all the tips.


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## Guest (Jun 24, 2005)

I went to Home Depot today searching for something along the lines of organic compost. I looked around the garden section for a few minutes and finally just gave up and asked someone. The lady looked at me like I was crazy and searched through some book to see if they had it. She said it wasn't in there and she'd never even heard of anything like that. Should I be asking for something else, or did she just have no idea about the section she worked in?


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