@@sydneyfranke yes, probably best if you don’t add a lot of water to start with because it will need to dry before you store it. Also,the dried, compressed coco coir is usually a block made sections. I use it for my earthworm bedding and I either separate the “slabs” that make up the block. You can also put some water on the block, taking off the coco coir as the outside of the block absorbs water. N. To picture how the coir sections, think of it as a three layer cake, a square cake. If you put it on one of its two large square sides, you can see the three sections that compose the coir block. If you use a very slim tool, a putty knife or a couple of old butter knives, you can pry the sections apart. It is probably easier to let water soak in from the bottom of the “three layer cake.” As the coco coir becomes damp you can rub sections off, preserving the dry or mostly dry section to use later. I set the mostly dry part of the block in the sun and make sure it has dried before you put it away.
I have to let everyone here know. I started growing microgreens this year for market. I helped my 9yr old to do his science fair project to find which growing medium would work best... we used peat, cocoa coir, compost, and an equal parts al 3 mix. The coco choir was by far the best with both raddish and green peas.
I picked up a leaf of a snake plant from the parking lot of a nursery 5 years ago. I planted in pure coir and it's doing great. It's now a cluster of snake plant.
Hi! Here in Germany I prepare coco coir with water to which I add liquid fertilizer (organic of course). My potting mix is this: compost, worm castings, coco coir + granular clay instead of perlite for drainage and aeration. This mix works fine for heavy feeders like tropical hibiscus, roses, oleander, citrus plants.
I used about half and half of Coconut Coir and an organic manure plus compost. At least I did for a decent amount of my buckets and pots. In some cases I mixed in other things, but I can't remember. This is my first year taking gardening seriously, though I failed to record what I did in each container. All I can say for sure is that it is all organic based, no Miracle Gro. At the end of the season I'm probably going to recycle my potting soils by mixing them all together, add a mushroom compost and more Coconut coir. I'll call it my Square One initiative. Also I love the rrrr sound.
@@NorthernCatt sure but there's no organic material. Best to add some worn castings or compost as well. Also look up washing and charging coco. If you're getting it in brick form it's a must IMO. You'll see a big difference in results
Coir has become one of the most favoured ingredient in all potting soil and substrate mixes due to its unique properties and plays an important role in reducing and replacing peat in the mixes...
Good presentation. You almost said it... but to clarify, coconut coir is a true renewable and manageable resource. That is a major benefit. It is a forest product. It grows. When you use it, more can be grown. In fact, I would think it consumes far less energy during production and shipping than peat products.
I know you posted this some time ago, but I just had to add in my 'Thank You' for your video. Your recipe is simple, efficient, and just an all around good general base for planting! Plus - you taught me something about Spinach sprouts, - I didn't realize you could segregate and bare root plant them so easily. Thank you - two for the price of punching a couple of keys!
One thing that is nice about coir is that if it gets dried out, it absorbs water rapidly, Dry peat repels water. This is important when growing xerophytic plants like cacti and succulents. When watering such plants grown in peat, the water runs across the top of the soil, down the sides and out the drainage holes leaving the bulk of the soil ball bone dry. Another point: don't use either vermiculite or perlite. Use both perlite and vermiculite. Mix them about half and half. These are two different products and each adds qualities that enhance the other to the benefit of your plants.
To add to this and be more specific.... Perlite is good for aeration + drainage and vermiculite holds water really well but also when watering with liquid fertiliser, vermiculite will hold onto those nutrients leaving them available for the plant to take in for a longer time. Each plant is different so double check what it likes first. Some, like Emmit said, thrive in a 50/50 mix. Some like 2/3 of one and 1/3 of the other. Some like only one or the other. It also depends on what you're growing in; the garden, a container, a pot, indoors etc.
Also, vermiculite contains silica which is good for many plants including cannabis. I use Dr. Bugbees mix of Peat moss/vermiculite/perlite with a little lime and gypsum. It does drain slowly when dry. @@anunohmouse7460
I have gotten a in house plant compost that came packaged like this it said to add 3L which i did and it was a bit hotter than lukewarm however the soil is extremely wet! 😭 will this dry out after a while?!!
Nice, this is easy to follow and simple to do. Also, thank you for the tip about peat being a finite resource vs coconut coir being renewable. I do want to use more renewable resources.
coco coir is not eco friendly because it takes vast amounts of fresh water to remove the salts in the coir. They almost never do a good job of this so you must finish rinsing out the salts at home. 3 gallons of coir takes about 10-15 gallons of clean water to rinse it good. And that is after the harvesters rinsed it. I use peat moss and vermiculite and a little perlite.
Thank you for an episode on soil mixes...we use this same coir mix in our raised beds with much moisture retention success (the vermiculite/biochar option tends not to float like perlite ;-). We are getting great looking eggplants now with this mix...and by watching your profile series!
CM Nakagawa Thank you and glad to know you are getting great looking eggplants. Our eggplants are still growing in the cold of December :) I just put some black plastic bag cover to retail more heat, which is helping a lot. I too like vermiculite since Perlite does float and doesnt look pretty on small seedlings/plants. However not much difference once the plants grow up! The aeration properties of coconut coir and perlite/vermiculite is quite amazing!
Never heard of using this stuff for my seed starting planting Have to try it better than lugging 40 lb bags of Top Soil I guess etc Thanks for sharing great info etc.
Hello, this mix is great for seedlings as seed compost in England has no fertilizers, apparently seeds grow better with little nutrients and then when potting on you use a compost with fertilizer. thank you your video as very informative x
+Andrea Farrell (rowanessque) The compost/worm castings is enough nutrients for the seeds to germinate. When they become a little tall you can start using a liquid fertilizer. Hope that helps!
Coconut coir contains more than just potassium, it's also full of sodium (salt). It's important to not only soak the coconut coir, but also to rinse it thoroughly to remove the salts as well as the dusty coco peat that soaks up moisture and doesn't allow proper drainage. Another important factor is properly buffering the coconut coir with calcium and magnesium. There are cation exchange sites in coco that will interfere with nutrition until they are buffered. The cation exchange sites in coco naturally come loaded with sodium (Na) and potassium (K) cations. However, the Na and the K are only weakly held to the exchange sites. In the presence of calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg), the sites will release their Na or K cations and lock onto the Ca or Mg. These processes are known as “cation exchanges”. Also, vermiculite and perlite aren't the same thing. Vermiculite holds on to moisture like a sponge, perlite just creates air pockets and improves drainage. I had to learn that one the hard way.
Yep you should wash and charge it. You can actually see a difference in the medium once done. It's less dusty, it's fluffier, and it isn't hydrophobic like untreated brick coco can be. And you're asking for PH problems otherwise
I wasn't sure what to get, so I just filled 2 new small raised beds with an ' organic plus raised bed & potting mix' Kellog bag that I bought from Lowe's. It's ingredients: aged recycled forest products, coir, perlite, dehydr.nchicken manure, composteed chicken manure, peat moss, kelp meal, worm castings, bat guano. It looks really dark, fluffy with flecks of perlite & smells humusy. Sure hope the asparagus crowns & onions grow!
+ekeanor roberts Its a good mix. I have covered this exact raised bed mix in my video on how to start a raised bed garden: ua-cam.com/video/-tY5g7Dm2yk/v-deo.html
I like everything you covered. Information, demo, presentation, explanation in Shuddh desi English. Except for the words “water” with the “rolling R” and “Potting” with “drumming D”
I've been playing with soil and coco coir this year and somehow I think you don't really need perlite. Coco does not compress from watering, it stays fairly loose giving a lot of oxygen to your roots and even tho it can take a lot of water in, it does drain extremely well after it's full. It never stays soaked long if your pot has holes. What seemed to work well for me was actually just use potting soil with Coco fiber 50/50 and the Coco replaces the perlite. For some plants like orchids you can also wash the Coco to remove most of the fine parts, which creates an even looser substrate. Pure coco does work, but needs constant fertilization, which can be a bit too much work for some, it's called "fertigation", you fertilize with every irrigation, ideally until water comes out in the bottom (to prevent build up). The results I've seen with Coco have been impressive so far. Plants grow much faster than in pure soil and the more coco, the faster they grow (but the more work).
Thanks for excellent presentation on making growing media with coconut coir and organic material. It is available because it is a forest product. The benefits of coconut coir is found in the following sectors: - Nursery seedlings management. - Rooftop gardening - Greenhouse & polly house cultivation. - Commercial seed research farm.
I'm using 12.5L (half a bag) quality potting mix, 9L (one block) rehydrated coco-coir, some slow release fertiliser (blood and bone as well as slow release pellets) and a few handsfulls compost. Having good luck with this mix so far. Wets nicely too, doesn't dry out and pool on top.
Most potting mix in Australia is mostly bark, at different grades (ie. fine and larger for drainage) with a little sand / compost mixed in and slow release fertiliser. It's not as heavy as garden soil but it's still pretty heavy. Vermiculite/perlite is not used much here except in seedling mixes.
I always learn so much from your videos! This is a great idea. So interesting. Thank you for sharing!! I love how you whip up some mix to plant your seedlings. Can't wait to see how they do!
***** Thank you! I am doing several comparisons this year with growing medium - coconut coir mix, sand/perlite/compost mix etc. Its fun to see which techniques are better than the other. Happy Gardening!!
Hello, I used your method of making potting mix. I think it is perfect. The only problem I am having is after watering it if I check it with moisture meter, it shows me very low water content. Would that be okay? Have you tried checking moisture content after watering?? Please advise..
I noticed you did not wash the coco choir to reduce salt. CCR is ph. neutral and may need acidifiers for berries etc. It is still quite costly here in Texas, but peat moss is also going up in price again. I learned the hard way a MEl''s mix beats Kellogg potting mix.
The only difference I found between washed coco coir (most are washed these days) and peat moss is firstly the price (peat moss is still cheaper) and coco coi is not hydrophobic like peat moss. If you forget to water peat moss, it strangles the plant roots
Yo, that montage song is LIT. What is the name? Great video, vibbed hard during the rehydration scene but overall a lot of great information! In case anyone is wondering between the difference of Perlite and Vermiculite. Vermiculite will mix with soil and help it retain water while perlite will add drainage to the soil when mixed.
I use coco coir for pretty much everything my mix is usually 1/2 coco coir 1/4 earth worm castings and 1/8 perlite I also mix in 4,4,4 all purpose Gaia green fertilizer and 2,8,4 bloom from Gaia green.
Its good. Just remember that the fine mix is great for microgreens and the one with coco chips is great for general container gardening: amzn.to/35MB8T2
I mix 25% homemade compost, 25% perlite, 25% Coconut coir and 25% Sharp sand or builders Sand, then add Chicken Manure for seedling, I feed liquid from my wormery and sometime Comfrey & Nettle Liquid to my vegetables.
I am a beginner in gardening so have few doubts. Should the potting mix be different for germinating seeds n growing plants? What would be best to grow carrots, ginger n lemons?
I love your videos thank you for making them. The coir block that I bought has a lot of salt in it. I heard plants will die if you use the coir as is so you need to wash the salt out first. Have you ever had this problem and if so how many times would you need to wash it?
I did a mix of 1:1 coco coir and perlite, and a small handful of worm casting. it turned into a think sludge that held water and nearly killed my plants
Yes, 3 equal parts. Try to use different sources of compost for best results (for example home made compost, chicken manure, cow manure, worm castings etc)
nice to hear about usage of coconut coir mixed with other ingradients At the .same time is it not necessary to mix neem cake powder and dry leaves as well. pl. express ur views. Subramaniam, HyBad
Excellent edit! Is there a video outlining how to mix the liquid nutrients? I have purchased Cocos A & B by a company called Home Garden and would like to know how to mix them correctly. Thank you!
Chemicals fertiliser and manure needs time to break down in a very small structure by the bugs, fungi and bacteria that lives into the soil and also decompose insects and worms, they are responsible to break down all organic matter and them good bacteria and fungi like microrriza to a symbiosis with the root system of the plant and synthesize for them the nutrients that's plants can't get by them self. So plants now can feed themselves pretty much like our intestines flora, they synthesize vitamins and minerals from the vegetables we eat that we can't produce by ourselves and them we can get those nutrients and also they defend us helping our defense against pathogens etc like good fungi and bacteria do in healthy soil helping plants against pathogens when there no chemicals like systemic fungicides and systemic insecticides that kill also the good guys like antibiotics do in our intestinal flora. BUT it you take all you healthy pulled plants, pruning material and weeds and vegetable lefts and put in a water bucket and let sit and swirl one time per day or a few for week, the vegetable material will break down and made a organic fertiliser (also called weed tea) all the nutrients, the soluble ones that those plants bring up from the soil now are in the water so will can dilute them in plain water rain/tub water and fertiliser your soil, bringing them all the nutrient the live of the soil need to start the cycle again and for this in a whole natural process, all organic, this will immediately feed your plants, you will see the results the very week, don't have to wait for 5 to 6 months. And all for free! You can also use this tea to build up organic matter in poor soil and to better structure used soil.
Nice mix CG! Do you ever use sand as a drainage assistant? Have you used top soil in a bucket grow mix? I'm thinking of coco-coir, top soil, perlite and compost in equal parts. What do you think?
You make up a pot with a beautiful plant, and what you see when you look at the pot is all those white bits on top of the soil. For the starting gardener, when you're told about Perlite, nod your head as if you're listening. Vermiculite is better because it's much less visible.
I just got into planting and I make soil with coco coir, pumice, and worm castings. And then fertilize with liquid fish and chelated iron. Is this good?
I just ordered everything on this list. But one question. I have worm castings already. Do I just use that as my fertilizer? I also have access to fish emulsion. Will those do as a fertilizer?
Why does it cost so much since it is just a by product of coconuts? In South East Asia, they just take the coconut husk and dry it out and smash it with their hands and use it.
Im from Andhra Pradesh, Rajahmundry. Beside we have a village of nurseries called Kadiyam, called a nursery and asked the cost of 5kg block, he told me ₹200 to deliver to my home,went to that nursery and bought 5kg block, he told me ₹200 & gave me a vermicompost which costs ₹50, its ₹150 per 5kg
Hi great video, ive just filled my raised garden beds with coco ,compost,worm castings and vermilcuite, i haven't started planting anything yet, but i was wondering is this a good mix one of my beds is about 2.5 meters long, 1.5 wide and 1meter high.your opinion greatly appreciated thanks.
Hi Steve. How did this work out for you? I'm an avid proponent of coco coir, but it does have its drawbacks when used as the bulk of the substrate in its natural unbuffered state. If your plants grow slowly, and show signs of calcium or magnesium deficiencies, the coco coir is the problem. If, upon recognizing the deficiency, you go on the offensive and start feeding Cal-Mag, you might notice unresponsiveness and possibly even potassium toxicity. This is because unbuffered coir is full of potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) which is locked up in _cation (positively charge ions) exchange sites_. When calcium ions (Ca++) or magnesium ions (Mg++) come along, they are adsorbed at the cation exchange sites, thus releasing the K+ and Na+. The Ca and Mg are locked up & unavailable for your plants. If this sounds like issues you've been experiencing, this year's crops are probably a bust, right? You can still save your beds by giving them a thorough drenching of double-strength Cal-Mag. As long as everything is trying to flower or fruit right now, you probably don't have to worry about the sudden release of potassium unless of course you've been using potassium fertilizers already. In this case, try saturating the beds in double-strength Cal-Mag, wait 15 minutes for equilibrium at the cation exchange sites to establish, then flush the beds with plain water to rinse out the excessive potassium. Then continue feeding Cal-Mag as directed. Next year, you wont have such issues. In case you were wondering, my mix is ~50% coco coir and perlite, and 40% home compost (full of naturally occurring worm castings), and 10% chicken manure. I also use organic dry amendments and organic fertilizers quite heavily for my large hungry cannabis plants. With as much coco coir in the mix as I use, I don't have to worry about drowning plants or root rot either, as I would if the coco was peat.
Excellent video. This season I'm switching from peat moss to coir for my potting mix. I already use home made compost and vermiculite (1/3 of each). As for fertilizer, I'm wondering if fish oil alone would supply enough variety of the nutrients for seedlings. As for the rock dust (or azumite), I've done a lot of reading on its use (for potting mix or regular veggie gardening). I try to find the more scholarly sites like *.org or *.edu. My conclusions are that rock dust isn't really effective in reasonably healthy soils and also that it takes a significant time for essential nutrients to break down to become bio-available. I'd love to see you do a comparison test on this stuff. Many thanks for your wonderfully-informative videos.
+Captain Ron Nice to know that you're switching from peat moss to coco coir - a large step in sustainable gardening. For fertilizer there are many options, a fish fertilizer works very well, with alternate seaweed applications for even better results. You can also very the compost to add nutrients - for example use cow manure, chicken manure etc as a part of the "compost" part. Azomite does help but only for soils where nutrients are depleted. For soils which are already rich in nutrients Azomite won't show you a lot of differences. Hope that helps!
*I am using a Bio-manure in Hemp Farming, having following ingredients and am getting bumper yield and wonderful results every time:* *1.* Cocopeat: 60% *2.* Azadirachta Indica cake: 10% *3.* Castor cake: 10% *4.* Bio-consortium: 10% . (N,P,K fixer bacterias) *5.* Vermi-compost: 10% I am ready to tell you its source of availability in the best interest of mankind.
If I'm adding Dr Earth Premium Gold All Purpose Fertilizer to the Coir, compost and vermiculite. What should the percentages be for each ingredient with this combination? THanks!
Did you use one brick block (5kg) or two blocks. One block will make about 12-13 gallons of medium, so closer to 2-CFT for one brick. Used to get them for about $10/5kg brick, but prices have seemed to have risen recently. Often 50 percent more ($15/5kg-brick). Is it the popularity of coir that has caused higher prices? Just something that I noticed looking at prices on Amazon/eBay where I was looking for a better deal. I think my Hydro store still has General Hydroponics bricks for around $11 w/10 percent discount. Strange! Have you noticed the price increases? Often generic companies I haven't heard of but are getting on the wagon, lol. Thanks for the info! Any opinions would be appreciated! Great video
Buy coco coir here: amzn.to/16ino3a
Can I use soil instead of compost
Actually where can I get compost
High quality Coco coir and compost export from Sri Lanka . Whatsapp +94757575100
can I just use a partial brick or set aside unused coco coir for later use?
@@sydneyfranke yes, probably best if you don’t add a lot of water to start with because it will need to dry before you store it. Also,the dried, compressed coco coir is usually a block made sections. I use it for my earthworm bedding and I either separate the “slabs” that make up the block. You can also put some water on the block, taking off the coco coir as the outside of the block absorbs water. N.
To picture how the coir sections, think of it as a three layer cake, a square cake. If you put it on one of its two large square sides, you can see the three sections that compose the coir block. If you use a very slim tool, a putty knife or a couple of old butter knives, you can pry the sections apart. It is probably easier to let water soak in from the bottom of the “three layer cake.” As the coco coir becomes damp you can rub sections off, preserving the dry or mostly dry section to use later. I set the mostly dry part of the block in the sun and make sure it has dried before you put it away.
I have to let everyone here know. I started growing microgreens this year for market. I helped my 9yr old to do his science fair project to find which growing medium would work best... we used peat, cocoa coir, compost, and an equal parts al 3 mix. The coco choir was by far the best with both raddish and green peas.
Good to know! Thank you for sharing!
How is the microgreens business going so far, where's you demographic located if you don't mind me asking
Use it for my cannabis and they love it.
I add pearlite, local worm castings, and Gais greens dry amendments.
Dam an here I am teaching my 9 yr old an my 6 yr old how to cultivate canibus
I picked up a leaf of a snake plant from the parking lot of a nursery 5 years ago. I planted in pure coir and it's doing great. It's now a cluster of snake plant.
I use this mix for nearly everything I have planted. All are growing perfectly!!
Hi! Here in Germany I prepare coco coir with water to which I add liquid fertilizer (organic of course).
My potting mix is this: compost, worm castings, coco coir + granular clay instead of perlite for drainage and aeration. This mix works fine for heavy feeders like tropical hibiscus, roses, oleander, citrus plants.
Hey how much fertilizer are you using? Just the recommended mix with water?
My brother just used these on my
Vegetable plants, will see how good
this will be for my plants!🤞🏼🤞🏼
I used about half and half of Coconut Coir and an organic manure plus compost. At least I did for a decent amount of my buckets and pots. In some cases I mixed in other things, but I can't remember. This is my first year taking gardening seriously, though I failed to record what I did in each container. All I can say for sure is that it is all organic based, no Miracle Gro.
At the end of the season I'm probably going to recycle my potting soils by mixing them all together, add a mushroom compost and more Coconut coir. I'll call it my Square One initiative.
Also I love the rrrr sound.
always amazes me how each time I watch your videos on gardening I learn something new. Thank you
One thing that I do, is add the liquid fertilizer to the water that expands the coir block. That way it is in the coir as you mix your potting mix.
Is coconut coir and perlite okay? Or do I need to add something too
Does that mean that you can then plant your vegetable in there without having to add compost or things like that
Daniel Herrera coco and perlite work fine
Does coco come with insects in it?
@@NorthernCatt sure but there's no organic material. Best to add some worn castings or compost as well. Also look up washing and charging coco. If you're getting it in brick form it's a must IMO. You'll see a big difference in results
I like your accent and love the way you say "brick" and "potassium".
Coir has become one of the most favoured ingredient in all potting soil and substrate mixes due to its unique properties and plays an important role in reducing and replacing peat in the mixes...
I bought a packet today from Aldi, so glad I watched this, well I was looking for a video and found this, thanks
Good presentation. You almost said it... but to clarify, coconut coir is a true renewable and manageable resource. That is a major benefit. It is a forest product. It grows. When you use it, more can be grown. In fact, I would think it consumes far less energy during production and shipping than peat products.
Yes that's correct! Happy Gardening!
I thought it was from the husk of coconuts. 🤔🤭😀
I know you posted this some time ago, but I just had to add in my 'Thank You' for your video. Your recipe is simple, efficient, and just an all around good general base for planting! Plus - you taught me something about Spinach sprouts, - I didn't realize you could segregate and bare root plant them so easily. Thank you - two for the price of punching a couple of keys!
Thanks! Glad you liked the video! Happy Gardening!!
Amazing also how I've got spinach seedlings handy!!
@@easypeasy2991 mmmm
One thing that is nice about coir is that if it gets dried out, it absorbs water rapidly, Dry peat repels water. This is important when growing xerophytic plants like cacti and succulents. When watering such plants grown in peat, the water runs across the top of the soil, down the sides and out the drainage holes leaving the bulk of the soil ball bone dry.
Another point: don't use either vermiculite or perlite. Use both perlite and vermiculite. Mix them about half and half. These are two different products and each adds qualities that enhance the other to the benefit of your plants.
Vermiculate does the same benefits as perlite?
To add to this and be more specific.... Perlite is good for aeration + drainage and vermiculite holds water really well but also when watering with liquid fertiliser, vermiculite will hold onto those nutrients leaving them available for the plant to take in for a longer time.
Each plant is different so double check what it likes first. Some, like Emmit said, thrive in a 50/50 mix. Some like 2/3 of one and 1/3 of the other. Some like only one or the other. It also depends on what you're growing in; the garden, a container, a pot, indoors etc.
Also, vermiculite contains silica which is good for many plants including cannabis. I use Dr. Bugbees mix of Peat moss/vermiculite/perlite with a little lime and gypsum. It does drain slowly when dry. @@anunohmouse7460
If you add boiling water it will expand much faster plus make sure it really is sterilized.
+Gustavo Ribeiro de Mello Thanks for sharing this tip!
You sterilized with hot water treatmeny
I have gotten a in house plant compost that came packaged like this it said to add 3L which i did and it was a bit hotter than lukewarm however the soil is extremely wet! 😭 will this dry out after a while?!!
Gloria O no sorry it will remain wet forevermore
Great video. I added some Worm castings to the mix & Jobe's Organic Vegetable & Tomato slow release fertilizer. The Chili peppers love it.
Nice, this is easy to follow and simple to do. Also, thank you for the tip about peat being a finite resource vs coconut coir being renewable. I do want to use more renewable resources.
Peat is being grown in Canada within 5 years so it won’t run out ever
coco coir is not eco friendly because it takes vast amounts of fresh water to remove the salts in the coir. They almost never do a good job of this so you must finish rinsing out the salts at home. 3 gallons of coir takes about 10-15 gallons of clean water to rinse it good. And that is after the harvesters rinsed it. I use peat moss and vermiculite and a little perlite.
I dig the funk. Also, the way you say "brick" is awesome.
For people who don't have perlite or vermiculite ,use coarse sand it can provide the needed aeration and drainage.
Perlite is a lot lighter right and allows more oxygen storage. Not sure on price comparisons but probably cheaper too
James Evans perlite is far more expensive than sand for the same volume. About $4 more expensive
Pumice works too
@John Evans
Rice hulls are even better than perlite. Lighter, more oxygen, hydrophobic, don't take up space for roots unlike perlite/hydroton.
Pumice and rice hulls
Thank you for an episode on soil mixes...we use this same coir mix in our raised beds with much moisture retention success (the vermiculite/biochar option tends not to float like perlite ;-). We are getting great looking eggplants now with this mix...and by watching your profile series!
CM Nakagawa Thank you and glad to know you are getting great looking eggplants. Our eggplants are still growing in the cold of December :) I just put some black plastic bag cover to retail more heat, which is helping a lot. I too like vermiculite since Perlite does float and doesnt look pretty on small seedlings/plants. However not much difference once the plants grow up! The aeration properties of coconut coir and perlite/vermiculite is quite amazing!
Never heard of using this stuff for my seed starting planting Have to try it better than lugging 40 lb bags of Top Soil I guess etc Thanks for sharing great info etc.
Hello, this mix is great for seedlings as seed compost in England has no fertilizers, apparently seeds grow better with little nutrients and then when potting on you use a compost with fertilizer. thank you your video as very informative x
+Andrea Farrell (rowanessque) The compost/worm castings is enough nutrients for the seeds to germinate. When they become a little tall you can start using a liquid fertilizer. Hope that helps!
Coconut coir contains more than just potassium, it's also full of sodium (salt). It's important to not only soak the coconut coir, but also to rinse it thoroughly to remove the salts as well as the dusty coco peat that soaks up moisture and doesn't allow proper drainage. Another important factor is properly buffering the coconut coir with calcium and magnesium.
There are cation exchange sites in coco that will interfere with nutrition until they are buffered. The cation exchange sites in coco naturally come loaded with sodium (Na) and potassium (K) cations. However, the Na and the K are only weakly held to the exchange sites. In the presence of calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg), the sites will release their Na or K cations and lock onto the Ca or Mg. These processes are known as “cation exchanges”.
Also, vermiculite and perlite aren't the same thing. Vermiculite holds on to moisture like a sponge, perlite just creates air pockets and improves drainage. I had to learn that one the hard way.
👌
Hi Jeremy, could you please advice on how much Ca and Mg you need for a 5 kg block like the one used in this video, and how long it should soak.
Yep you should wash and charge it. You can actually see a difference in the medium once done. It's less dusty, it's fluffier, and it isn't hydrophobic like untreated brick coco can be. And you're asking for PH problems otherwise
Amazing video compiled on the utilization of coconut choir for natural remediation
I like the coconut coir because it rehydrates so easily. Once peat moss is dried out, water just runs through it.
mbf211 Good point, I also find that when peat moss dries out it "strangles" the seedlings/plants, not a good thing. Coconut coir is so much better.
I wasn't sure what to get, so I just filled 2 new small raised beds with an ' organic plus raised bed & potting mix' Kellog bag that I bought from Lowe's. It's ingredients: aged recycled forest products, coir, perlite, dehydr.nchicken manure, composteed chicken manure, peat moss, kelp meal, worm castings, bat guano. It looks really dark, fluffy with flecks of perlite & smells humusy. Sure hope the asparagus crowns & onions grow!
+ekeanor roberts Its a good mix. I have covered this exact raised bed mix in my video on how to start a raised bed garden: ua-cam.com/video/-tY5g7Dm2yk/v-deo.html
Would this mix be ok if i was making a closed terrarium? Very good video and easy to follow. Thanks
I'm using tis in my raised wicking beds it's brilliant thanks a lot
I like everything you covered. Information, demo, presentation, explanation in Shuddh desi English. Except for the words “water” with the “rolling R” and “Potting” with “drumming D”
I've been playing with soil and coco coir this year and somehow I think you don't really need perlite.
Coco does not compress from watering, it stays fairly loose giving a lot of oxygen to your roots and even tho it can take a lot of water in, it does drain extremely well after it's full.
It never stays soaked long if your pot has holes.
What seemed to work well for me was actually just use potting soil with Coco fiber 50/50 and the Coco replaces the perlite.
For some plants like orchids you can also wash the Coco to remove most of the fine parts, which creates an even looser substrate.
Pure coco does work, but needs constant fertilization, which can be a bit too much work for some, it's called "fertigation", you fertilize with every irrigation, ideally until water comes out in the bottom (to prevent build up).
The results I've seen with Coco have been impressive so far. Plants grow much faster than in pure soil and the more coco, the faster they grow (but the more work).
Brrrrrrrrrrrrick. Love the accent and the video!
Wow, coconut coir sounds like the new age in soil -- sustainable, contains potassium, and just widely useful.
Very low in nutritional value, but certainly a good ingredient in a mix.
Peat is very low on nutrients too.
@@Zeric1 Sounds like a good candidate for ground eggshells and Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) mixed in.
Thanks for excellent presentation on making growing media with coconut coir and organic material. It is available because it is a forest product. The benefits of coconut coir is found in the following sectors:
- Nursery seedlings management.
- Rooftop gardening
- Greenhouse & polly house cultivation.
- Commercial seed research farm.
I'm using 12.5L (half a bag) quality potting mix, 9L (one block) rehydrated coco-coir, some slow release fertiliser (blood and bone as well as slow release pellets) and a few handsfulls compost. Having good luck with this mix so far. Wets nicely too, doesn't dry out and pool on top.
+Darkfalz79 Nice to know this mix is working for you! I think its a great combination.
Most potting mix in Australia is mostly bark, at different grades (ie. fine and larger for drainage) with a little sand / compost mixed in and slow release fertiliser. It's not as heavy as garden soil but it's still pretty heavy. Vermiculite/perlite is not used much here except in seedling mixes.
I always learn so much from your videos! This is a great idea. So interesting. Thank you for sharing!! I love how you whip up some mix to plant your seedlings. Can't wait to see how they do!
***** Thank you! I am doing several comparisons this year with growing medium - coconut coir mix, sand/perlite/compost mix etc. Its fun to see which techniques are better than the other. Happy Gardening!!
I like you because I've learned a lot of things about gardening. Thanks!
This video was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!
Hello, I used your method of making potting mix. I think it is perfect. The only problem I am having is after watering it if I check it with moisture meter, it shows me very low water content. Would that be okay? Have you tried checking moisture content after watering?? Please advise..
I like the wagon shure looks like right tool for that job
I LOVE THE WAY YOU ROOOOLLLLLL YOUR R's!!!!!!!!!
Gloria Lucia Storm
and the W as V.
nothing wrong with an Aussie accent This guy sound like one of my son in laws I don't why people have to bring up accents you all have one.
Thats not an Aussie accent its Indian
lol it's an indian accent
I like the way he says coconut coir.....you need not scream gloria g-l-o-r-i-a
I noticed you did not wash the coco choir to reduce salt. CCR is ph. neutral and may need acidifiers for berries etc. It is still quite costly here in Texas, but peat moss is also going up in price again. I learned the hard way a MEl''s mix beats Kellogg potting mix.
The only difference I found between washed coco coir (most are washed these days) and peat moss is firstly the price (peat moss is still cheaper) and coco coi is not hydrophobic like peat moss. If you forget to water peat moss, it strangles the plant roots
Yo, that montage song is LIT. What is the name?
Great video, vibbed hard during the rehydration scene but overall a lot of great information!
In case anyone is wondering between the difference of Perlite and Vermiculite. Vermiculite will mix with soil and help it retain water while perlite will add drainage to the soil when mixed.
In florida we have unlimited sand. I get a half bucket of sand mix it with cocofiver and tortoise poop and a lil mulch great stuff
Hi. If I store the wet coco peat, will it produce molds on it? If yes, how can I prevent that? Thank you.
I use coco coir for pretty much everything my mix is usually 1/2 coco coir 1/4 earth worm castings and 1/8 perlite I also mix in 4,4,4 all purpose Gaia green fertilizer and 2,8,4 bloom from Gaia green.
So, it’s 1/8 fertilizer?
This was extremely enjoyable and helpful to me!!! Thank you
I am looking to use this for succulents. What’s your opinion?
I love your rolling R's
amazing. Thanks for the info, and for being a good steward of the environment. I'm never going to buy peat again.
larkatmic Glad you liked the info! Happy Gardening!!
also pls make videos on south Indian veggies for us indians..like sambar onions, potatoes that will suit the climatic conditions of southern india
I always wonder about Coir and bought some the other day going to give it a try
Its good. Just remember that the fine mix is great for microgreens and the one with coco chips is great for general container gardening: amzn.to/35MB8T2
How did you get on?
Coco coir is used for water retention and perlite is usen to make high draning soil. So using both at the same time will not be contradictory?
I mix 25% homemade compost, 25% perlite, 25% Coconut coir and 25% Sharp sand or builders Sand, then add Chicken Manure for seedling, I feed liquid from my wormery and sometime Comfrey & Nettle Liquid to my vegetables.
+Arshad Farooqui That sounds very good, thanks for sharing!
A nice video !! Before big bagging do not you dry it ??
If you wish may skip my questions
I am a beginner in gardening so have few doubts. Should the potting mix be different for germinating seeds n growing plants? What would be best to grow carrots, ginger n lemons?
I love your videos thank you for making them. The coir block that I bought has a lot of salt in it. I heard plants will die if you use the coir as is so you need to wash the salt out first. Have you ever had this problem and if so how many times would you need to wash it?
When you water your container, all salts get flushed, dont worry about it!
+California Gardening thank you for your advice.
Please remember that the water should be warm as oppose to cold to absorb faster into the coco coir.
i love oll ur vdeos as dey make me a bettr gardener day by day ☺
Great tutorials on gardening!! Do you happen to have any links to purchase perlite and compost?
Same I need the compost
I did a mix of 1:1 coco coir and perlite, and a small handful of worm casting. it turned into a think sludge that held water and nearly killed my plants
what is the difference between coconut coir and coconut peat? what is the best for seed coconut peat or peatmoss?
Thanks for the video. Is the ratio 3 equal parts?
Yes, 3 equal parts. Try to use different sources of compost for best results (for example home made compost, chicken manure, cow manure, worm castings etc)
nice to hear about usage of coconut coir mixed with other ingradients At the .same time is it not necessary to mix neem cake powder and dry leaves as well. pl. express ur views. Subramaniam, HyBad
Sangat bermanfaat informasi jadi pengen menanam bunga trus
coconut coir is abundant in the sea coast area of India....its used in many many ways here.
Very informative video
Nice sharing
Stay tuned friend
great! way better than 20$ a bag!
1:02 “Let the Brrrrick absorb all the water” 😂
Thanks for the info, this video helped a ton.
Glad it helped!
Thank you for you explanation. It was simple and useful.
Excellent edit! Is there a video outlining how to mix the liquid nutrients? I have purchased Cocos A & B by a company called Home Garden and would like to know how to mix them correctly. Thank you!
Thank you for the detailed information, how can this ve used, can we use only cocopeat to grow or can add compost and cocoa peat for indoor plants
Thank you for this very informative video! So helpful!
Thank you. This was useful information and I am going to try it for potting, especially seed
Thanks for the practical information. Just need.to know why fertilizer is to be added when compost is already added with the potting mix
coz other video u said fertilizer take 4-6months to breakdown.. plz explain, ur videos r really good👍
Chemicals fertiliser and manure needs time to break down in a very small structure by the bugs, fungi and bacteria that lives into the soil and also decompose insects and worms, they are responsible to break down all organic matter and them good bacteria and fungi like microrriza to a symbiosis with the root system of the plant and synthesize for them the nutrients that's plants can't get by them self. So plants now can feed themselves pretty much like our intestines flora, they synthesize vitamins and minerals from the vegetables we eat that we can't produce by ourselves and them we can get those nutrients and also they defend us helping our defense against pathogens etc like good fungi and bacteria do in healthy soil helping plants against pathogens when there no chemicals like systemic fungicides and systemic insecticides that kill also the good guys like antibiotics do in our intestinal flora.
BUT it you take all you healthy pulled plants, pruning material and weeds and vegetable lefts and put in a water bucket and let sit and swirl one time per day or a few for week, the vegetable material will break down and made a organic fertiliser (also called weed tea) all the nutrients, the soluble ones that those plants bring up from the soil now are in the water so will can dilute them in plain water rain/tub water and fertiliser your soil, bringing them all the nutrient the live of the soil need to start the cycle again and for this in a whole natural process, all organic, this will immediately feed your plants, you will see the results the very week, don't have to wait for 5 to 6 months. And all for free! You can also use this tea to build up organic matter in poor soil and to better structure used soil.
Nice mix CG! Do you ever use sand as a drainage assistant? Have you used top soil in a bucket grow mix? I'm thinking of coco-coir, top soil, perlite and compost in equal parts. What do you think?
+Baron Christoph Thanks! That looks like a good mix (coco-coir, top soil, perlite and compost in equal parts). Happy Gardening!
+Baron Christoph And yes I have grown in sand and compost with quite good results. See this: ua-cam.com/video/3-3Ahda5OFU/v-deo.html
You make up a pot with a beautiful plant, and what you see when you look at the pot is all those white bits on top of the soil. For the starting gardener, when you're told about Perlite, nod your head as if you're listening. Vermiculite is better because it's much less visible.
mu99ins Yup, perlite does float up. If that is a concern, then yes you should be using vermiculite.
Brrrrrrrotherrrrrr.. yourrrrr english is superrrrrrr...
Loserrrrrrrr
How many languages can you speak?
@@matteo_syd7271 Attempted humour.
Do you have to rinse the coir to eliminate salt? Coconuts grow near oceans and absorb a lot of salt. Thank you for your answer.
Can I mix this with normal soil and Perlite and then use it for all my houseplants?
yes, i do that for mine.
Wash it out a couple of times with a good amount of water to get rid of the salt in the pith. Dry it, sieve it and use it.
I just got into planting and I make soil with coco coir, pumice, and worm castings. And then fertilize with liquid fish and chelated iron. Is this good?
Can you grow plants in just the Coco coir ? (Only) I'm new at this.
Nope they need nutrients
Yes, hydroponically. You have to put (salt based) nutrients with every watering.
thank you so much..... so nice of u guys. ..
+Sandeep Sachdeva Glad you liked it. Best wishes!
I have the perlite and coconut coir but I need help getting the compost, what do you recommend me getting
I just ordered everything on this list. But one question. I have worm castings already. Do I just use that as my fertilizer? I also have access to fish emulsion. Will those do as a fertilizer?
it's 20 bucks now. *sigh* anyway, thanks for showing us how much it expands! great vid.
The price varies by supply and demand. Yes its more expensive than peat moss :)
I just bought 3 of these bricks from Walmart for under $11.
I live in India and and I got the same size coconut coir brick for rs.125 or 1.87$.....its very cheap here..
My Company is manufacturer of coco Peat in Loose form and i used to sell it at Rs.10/Kg.
Why does it cost so much since it is just a by product of coconuts? In South East Asia, they just take the coconut husk and dry it out and smash it with their hands and use it.
Rooftop Veggies I'd like to learn to grow with it. I have to use containers currently .
Im from Andhra Pradesh, Rajahmundry. Beside we have a village of nurseries called Kadiyam, called a nursery and asked the cost of 5kg block, he told me ₹200 to deliver to my home,went to that nursery and bought 5kg block, he told me ₹200 & gave me a vermicompost which costs ₹50, its ₹150 per 5kg
I tough you would got the same accent.
Hi great video, ive just filled my raised garden beds with coco ,compost,worm castings and vermilcuite, i haven't started planting anything yet, but i was wondering is this a good mix one of my beds is about 2.5 meters long, 1.5 wide and 1meter high.your opinion greatly appreciated thanks.
Hi Steve. How did this work out for you?
I'm an avid proponent of coco coir, but it does have its drawbacks when used as the bulk of the substrate in its natural unbuffered state. If your plants grow slowly, and show signs of calcium or magnesium deficiencies, the coco coir is the problem. If, upon recognizing the deficiency, you go on the offensive and start feeding Cal-Mag, you might notice unresponsiveness and possibly even potassium toxicity. This is because unbuffered coir is full of potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) which is locked up in _cation (positively charge ions) exchange sites_. When calcium ions (Ca++) or magnesium ions (Mg++) come along, they are adsorbed at the cation exchange sites, thus releasing the K+ and Na+. The Ca and Mg are locked up & unavailable for your plants.
If this sounds like issues you've been experiencing, this year's crops are probably a bust, right? You can still save your beds by giving them a thorough drenching of double-strength Cal-Mag. As long as everything is trying to flower or fruit right now, you probably don't have to worry about the sudden release of potassium unless of course you've been using potassium fertilizers already. In this case, try saturating the beds in double-strength Cal-Mag, wait 15 minutes for equilibrium at the cation exchange sites to establish, then flush the beds with plain water to rinse out the excessive potassium. Then continue feeding Cal-Mag as directed. Next year, you wont have such issues.
In case you were wondering, my mix is ~50% coco coir and perlite, and 40% home compost (full of naturally occurring worm castings), and 10% chicken manure. I also use organic dry amendments and organic fertilizers quite heavily for my large hungry cannabis plants. With as much coco coir in the mix as I use, I don't have to worry about drowning plants or root rot either, as I would if the coco was peat.
I read somewhere that Coco Coir has some salt and we need to wash it and use it. Is it true. Thanks for your videos
Excellent video. This season I'm switching from peat moss to coir for my potting mix. I already use home made compost and vermiculite (1/3 of each). As for fertilizer, I'm wondering if fish oil alone would supply enough variety of the nutrients for seedlings.
As for the rock dust (or azumite), I've done a lot of reading on its use (for potting mix or regular veggie gardening). I try to find the more scholarly sites like *.org or *.edu. My conclusions are that rock dust isn't really effective in reasonably healthy soils and also that it takes a significant time for essential nutrients to break down to become bio-available. I'd love to see you do a comparison test on this stuff. Many thanks for your wonderfully-informative videos.
+Captain Ron Nice to know that you're switching from peat moss to coco coir - a large step in sustainable gardening. For fertilizer there are many options, a fish fertilizer works very well, with alternate seaweed applications for even better results. You can also very the compost to add nutrients - for example use cow manure, chicken manure etc as a part of the "compost" part. Azomite does help but only for soils where nutrients are depleted. For soils which are already rich in nutrients Azomite won't show you a lot of differences. Hope that helps!
I have lots of coconuts how do they grind it up where do I get the machine please
*I am using a Bio-manure in Hemp Farming, having following ingredients and am getting bumper yield and wonderful results every time:*
*1.* Cocopeat: 60%
*2.* Azadirachta Indica cake: 10%
*3.* Castor cake: 10%
*4.* Bio-consortium: 10%
. (N,P,K fixer bacterias)
*5.* Vermi-compost: 10%
I am ready to tell you its source of availability in the best interest of mankind.
Can you please post the links of their availability
If I'm adding Dr Earth Premium Gold All Purpose Fertilizer to the Coir, compost and vermiculite. What should the percentages be for each ingredient with this combination? THanks!
it is very useful to garden lovers
prakash 6699 Thanks, glad you liked it!
Did you use one brick block (5kg) or two blocks. One block will make about 12-13 gallons of medium, so closer to 2-CFT for one brick. Used to get them for about $10/5kg brick, but prices have seemed to have risen recently. Often 50 percent more ($15/5kg-brick). Is it the popularity of coir that has caused higher prices? Just something that I noticed looking at prices on Amazon/eBay where I was looking for a better deal. I think my Hydro store still has General Hydroponics bricks for around $11 w/10 percent discount. Strange! Have you noticed the price increases? Often generic companies I haven't heard of but are getting on the wagon, lol. Thanks for the info! Any opinions would be appreciated! Great video
Very nice video. Thank you for sharing.
+Lene Ring Thank you, glad you liked it. Happy Gardening!
Can this potting mix be use in a container for growing flowers or on a hanging basket flowers? I grow annual flowers. Thx!
Br-rr-rick ! ❤️ Thank you for the video
I use something similar but I let the fertiliser compost in the mixture for some months.
Thank for this video brother...