Where does coco coir bricks (a coconut-based growing media) come from, and how is it made?
What are some advantages of using coco coir as a growing medium?
Why should you check your coco coir bricks for pH and EC levels?
Why should you know what type of coco coir you need and whether or not it should be pre-buffered?
How to prepare your coco coir?
---
Coco coir is the fibrous material is what you see after processing coconut shells for their oil. Coir-user growers dry the remaining husk particles into an absorbent material so that they can use it as a growing medium in hydroponic or soil-based setups. When they compress these materials into blocks, they're actually making coco coir bricks which they break into smaller pieces with a hammer or screwdriver when it's time to use.
Where does it (a coconut-based growing media) come from, and how is it made?
You might have heard of coir, but you may not know what it is or where it comes from. Coir is a growing media made from the fiber found in coconut husks. It's a sustainable and renewable resource that has many benefits for your plants:
- It acts as an excellent organic fertilizer
- It's a great alternative to peat moss or perlite
Coco coir is the fibrous husk of coconuts that remains after the farmers harvest and shred the husks into a thick fiber ready to use for many different applications.
Coco coir comes from two components: lignin and cellulose. Lignin is the tough part of a plant that gives it strength and structure, while cellulose gives plants energy by breaking down carbohydrates into sugar.
What are some advantages of using coco coir as a growing medium?
Coco coir is a growing media made from coconut husks. It's been around for centuries, but it's only recently that it becomes the star for farmers in the hydroponic industry. There are several reasons why:
- Organic coco coir is an excellent alternative to peat moss and other soil additives. It holds on to more water than peat moss, which means less frequent watering of your plants.
- Coco coir is renewable and sustainable. Every year, the world produce thousands of tons of coconuts; therefore, there will always be an abundant supply of this material available for growers looking to grow their plants in coco coir bricks or bags!
- You can use coconut husks as mulch or compost when growing in coco bricks or bags instead of throwing them away after harvesting your produce!
The best part about coco coir is that it's so versatile. You can use this growing media in just about any hydroponic system type, including soil-based and aquaponics. Coco coir also makes an excellent medium for container gardening.
Why should you check your coco coir bricks for pH and EC levels?
As you know, pH and EC are two critical factors that affect the growth of your plants. These two measurements determine whether your coco coir is ready for use. If these numbers aren't within the ideal range, it's time to adjust them before proceeding with the next steps in this article.
But first... what is pH? pH stands for potential hydrogen, which measures a substance's acidity or basicity (alkalinity). Check the following examples:
- Water has a pH of 7
- Milk has a pH between 6 and 6.5
- Lemon juice has a pH of between 2 and 3
- Bleach has higher alkalinity (which makes it corrosive to other substances around it!)
So what do these numbers mean? If you have ever tasted baking soda, you know that when baking soda mixes with something acidic like vinegar or lemon juice, they react together because they have opposite charges (acidity/alkalinity).
The same happens when your roots come into contact with water containing nutrients such as nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia, and nitrogen. You should balance them when mixing to avoid destroying the nutrients it provides. We want our plants to grow healthy without problems, so we must ensure everything stays balanced throughout their life cycle.
Read more Coconut Coir: What is it?
Why should you know what type of coco coir you need and whether or not it should be pre-buffered?
You should know what type of coco coir you need and whether or not it's pre-buffered. The kind of coco you choose will depend on the type of growing system that you want to use.
Pre-buffered coco coir has already pH level, so you can use them for hydroponic and soil-based growing, seed starting, cuttings, and more! In other words, these coco coir bricks are typically for hydroponic and soil-based growing systems because they are pre-buffered, and you don't need to adjust the pH before using them.
These coco coir bricks come in various sizes so that you can use them for multiple types of growing systems. Coco coir is naturally neutral, so it will not affect your plants' pH levels.
How to prepare your coco coir?
Your coco coir is the foundation of your growing medium. It's the "soil," if you allow me to put it that way. It will help to put this stuff in mind before throwing money at it. So here are some things to look out for:
- Check the pH level of your coco coir before adding nutrients and amendments like peat moss or worm castings. It will help ensure that you have a proper nutrient balance in your system, which is especially critical for seedlings when young and vulnerable to salt burn from too much nitrogen.
- Look into how they made it: does it come from sustainable sources? Did those farmers take care of their land? Did they add chemicals during processing that might be harmful to plants or people You don't have to go on a wild goose chase here, but understanding where something comes from can help inform how safe it is to use at home (or anywhere else).
- Find out what type of coco coir best suits your needs based on its durability level—you don't want something too coarse because that could scratch the roots when transplanted into pots later down the road!
Conclusion
Coco coir is definitely worth considering if you're looking for a new growing medium to experiment with. It's easy to use and has many benefits over other media types such as peat moss or perlite. However, it also has disadvantages that you must consider before deciding whether it suits your needs.
Check out our other articles on this topic if you want more information about how coir works in hydroponic systems or what type of pre-buffered coco coir should be used when making bricks of coir or blocks of coir.
If you have any questions about using coco coir in your hydroponic systems, feel free to leave them in the comments section below!
But if you're ready to grow plants using coco coir, our coco coir grow bag collection will help you get started!
