Has anyone ever used cocoa shells for their figs? I was looking for a new potting mix today and kept smelling something sweet... I finally saw this bag on the bottom shelf tucked way back.



I bought it and plan to use it as part of my potting mix along with pine bark, perlite, mg potting soil, lyme, and slow release fertilizer.

It smells heavenly! From what I can find online, the only drawback might be how fast it breaks down. Because of that, I plan to use a bit more perlite than normal.

Nick

I used it for years as a top dressing/mulch.  It will last for quite a while if it can dry out (top dressing).  A a component in your growing mix....since figs require frequent repotting, it should work well.  By the time it breaks down, it's also time to repot.

Try some plant with and without the cocoa bean hulls.  Good luck and happy growing.


Frank

I've always heard that it's not good for dogs, should they decide to chew or eat it. Might want to research that.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I had read about the cautions with dogs, but I chalk it up to the normal chocolate over exageration. Besides, my dog shouldn't be eating my pots! The shells had a nice texture and really made the mix feel a lot smoother. Once my pine bark ice block melts, I'll be able to up pot some of my cups.

I used them in my mix for figs a few years ago and thought the smell was nice too. Then a few weeks later, I had a BAD issue with them rotting and molding and had to re-pot everything a couple of weeks later. I would not recommend them! There were a couple other forum members a while back who experienced the same and maybe you can find an old post on it. Can you get pine bark fines instead?

never used them. not because i had any bad experience or anything. back about 10 yrs ago, i was looking for substrate for the poison dart frogs terrarium. i heard bad things about anything related to coconuts. not sure if it's true, but from what i've heard, they rot easy and that attracts gnats. poison dark frogs will enjoy the snack at first, but the number will quickly overwhelm the frogs and they will start to stress and run into bad health. since i heard they are bad for the frogs, and attract gnats, i never used it on the figs. 

but i heard some members indicating success with them before.

Here is a thread with some mix experiments. Mention of cocoa hulls around post #26. I hope this helps. I just would feel bad if you have to go through what I did and some others and have to re pot. I know, the smell and feel of them dry seems to be a tempting medium, however, once they get wet, they never dry out and start to rot and mold. They got "stinky" too.


http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/potting-mix-experiment-semigritty-and-promix-combo-5732950

They do tend to mold but it goes away fairly quickly. I'd suggest more as a mulch than part of a soil blend.

I had a bag last year that raccoons (I think?) tore open that was sitting outside...so maybe avoid if you have those around.

They smell good when dry, but are about worthless in the soil or as a mulch. I would spend your money on something else.

Thanks for the reading material Christy!

I had a bag and opened it already, so I figured I'd give it a shot!  From the little I was able to read, there were some complaints of it retaining too much water.  I thought it might be a good media for my self watering pots.  My ice block of pine bark was still barely defrosted, so I said what the heck and used mostly cocoa shells.  I grabbed one of my extra Sal G's cuttings and potted it in.  The little fig could probably use a bit more time partially covered, but it's been in a half open tupperware container for a week, so it shouldn't be too traumatic leaving it out in the open now.



I'll try to keep everyone updated.  I'm going to pot up an extra chicago hardy in a regular pot as well to test it out.

Nick

As of today the fig is doing great. The self watering pot is holding moisture, but is not soggy. I up-potted some of my larger trees to see how they handle it as well.

like everything else.. it's what a person does. it's not the specific technique. it's not some theory written by phd. it's what a person can do with what he has on his hand. i studied.. 6-7 different martial art in my life. i'll probably get beat up on the first fight. but, i know what the trick is. and i won't share it :)