You’re probably familiar with coir doormats and coir hanging basket liners.
Coconut coir is rot-resistant, which also makes it perfect for outdoor use in the garden.
It is also used for garden beds and container plants, as well as a soilless mix forhydroponicsandclimbing plants.
The Spruce / Phoebe Cheong
Coconut coir is also used as asoil amendmentfor any bang out of soil.
It improves the air porosity of soils, even when wet, and aids in moisture retention.
Coconut coir absorbs 30 percent more water than peat and is much easier to re-wet when dry.
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It helps loosen the texture of clay soil and improve drainage.
It also allows sandy soil to hold onto water longer.
What Is Air Porosity?
Porosity refers to your soil’s permeability to both air and water.
Advantages of Using Coir Over Peat
Peat takes hundreds of years to form.
Coconuts grow throughout the year and can be harvested every two months, which makes them sustainable.
Here are the disadvantages:
Types of Coconut Coir Products
Coconut coir goes by many names.
Dark brown coir is from mature coconuts.
White coir, which is finer and softer, is made from immature green coconuts.
Here are the forms in which you’ll find coconut coir for use in your garden.
It is not always easy to find brick or blocks of coir.
When you do find it, do not use it right away out of the packaging.
The blocks need to be properly soaked before use.
You will need to soak the coir brick to turn it into a loamy texture.
An 11-pound brick (about 12.5 x 12.5 x 8 inches) will make approximately 16 gallons of coir.
The chips are much coarser than finer coconut coir which is also used to amend soil.
Chips are ideal forhydroponic plantssince they offer plenty of aeration in addition to water retention.
Potting Soil
Coir is used in someindoor potting mixes, as well.
Most potting mixes still contain peat, which is a non-renewable resource.
However, it’s possible for you to mix up your potting mix blend quite easily using coconut coir.
Since coir is organic and sterile, it’s an excellent choice forstarting seeds.
Baskets
Preformedcoconut coir basket linershelp to retain moisture in hanging plants that quickly dry out.
Liners come in bowl or rectangular shapes to fit containers.
Keep an eye out for deterioration and recycle them into your garden soil.
Pots
When buying potted plants at a garden center, look for pots made from coconut coir.
Since it is a compostable material, coir is a good choice when planning asustainable garden.
Plants that benefit from coco poles includeMonstera,Philodendron, andpothosplants.
These poles are viable alternatives tosphagnum moss poles, also used for the same purpose.
However, coco poles may not retain as much water as a moss pole.
Coir is sustainable alternative to peat moss in the garden.
Oregon State University Extension.
