Coir

Hi there. I came to this forum because I heard the coir experts are here. My husband bought this coir as a mulch, but since I've heard such good things about coir as a planting medium, I mixed it with my SunGro Professional Potting Mix #4 (well-draining, large perlite) and used it to transplant my adeniums, which need super good drainage in order not to rot. It was rinsed hopefully well enough. I am wondering if this particular coir is in fact good in containers even though it is marked to use as a mulch. Thanks.

Here is the package:

Here it is being used as mulch under our fruit trees:

Here's an adenium in the mix:

It seems to be a coir mulch which is probably pretty coarse. It may be too coarse by itself as a plant medium (as compared to the fine grade that alot of us are using), but by adding Potting Mix to it, you should have a pretty nice medium to grow in.

Bob

Excellent. Thanks, Bob. One more question if you don't mind: what ratio would you use of this coir mulch to potting soil? I think I've been using about equal parts for the adeniums. I have a Ae Ae variegated banana pup coming in the mail that I'm nervous about, and I'm going to use the coir for that also.

If you are happy with the drainage with a 50/50 mix, it sounds good.

Thanks again:-)

Clare: The stuff will work great with trees and shrubs. I found this out simply by accident. My daughter used almost an entire block of coconut coir (Boca Bob's) to plant her lavender in, only she used one of those metal type containers, the huge barrel type, that had no drainage. Well, it got wet and soggy, I told her to replant it in a container with drainage, she dumped the whole thing in my yard. Thing was, where she dumped it was where I had this shrub I was thinking of getting rid of, and now the shrub is healthy and green, and huge, even though I've ignored it all year. LOL My two trees were doing really well also, til my handyman mowed over them and my blueberry bushes. In emptying out the 5 gallon self watering buckets I made for my tomatoes, I noticed that the fish pond basket that I made for a wicking device was wet, like it should be. Of course, I used the fine grade mulch. I'm looking forward to seeing how the crop circle does and the new grade mulch. Been thinking about using the new grade for my smart pots and for the potatoes especially.
joy

Thanks, Joy. I hate it when handymen and workers destroy plants! They can be so mindless sometimes when work, and that includes my husband! I follow my husband around when he is working in the garden to tell him, "Be careful of..."

That's good to know about the coir. I've heard good things about it. I once mixed in pine bark chunks with my potting soil to add a little more moisture to it and to make it go farther, but that wasn't a good idea for my container plumerias that need good drainage. It made the soil stay too wet, and I had some rot in the winter. I didn't want the same thing to happen with my adeniums, which rot easily, but I think the coir probably drains better and doesn't hold as much water and doesn't decompose as fast.

Clare: It was my fault, I forgot to tell him when I planted the trees and the bushes and the flowers. (frown). Helps when you keep your handyman informed of your rearranging the yard and garden on him doesn't it? LOL
joy

Clare, You might want to do a little experimenting with an empty clear container before you plant , to see how well it drains. Coir comes in many grades. What we use in the EBs is like ground peat, but isn't acid and doesn't break down. There are several orchid mixes that use a longer fiber coir with other ingerdients, or there are 1/2" chunks for orchids. I am using all three this year ,so far with good luck.
Carol

Good to know, Carol, thanks. So far, it seems to drain pretty well and dry out fairly fast. I'll keep analyzing it. I would be so sad if my AeAe banana rots, but I'll keep it on the dry side and be careful about overwatering like I do with my adeniums.

This message was edited Aug 23, 2009 10:39 AM

Clare: You sound like me, I'm heavy on the watering and will have to remember not to do that with my potatoes. Don't want the roots to rot.
joy