I was able to pick up a couple at Pet Outfitters. One compressed brick will expand to make 7 - 8 liters of substrate. They sell it for $6.99. Good deal?
:) Donna
Compressed Coconut Fiber
Okay where are our hoya experts???? Wake up!!
Hey Donna. I am not an expert,but, I did try the compressed coir. It did not work well for me, but, I believe others use it in their mix. When it breaks down, it tends to rot. Also, it has lots of salts and you really have to rinse the heck out of it to leech out the salts.
Maybe others can chime in that have had better luck than I have.
If I am not mistaken where a man used it for potting his plants.... plants grew well..... the outcome >>>> roots rotted. holds toooo!! much moisture.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/465823/
and
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/433178/
are two threads I could find on it......looks like our experts took the weekend off Donna. I'm pretty sure I read that they don't like the pet grade coconut fibre.
Thanks, meltn, sodapopkid111 and Pam. Thanks for the links. I read them and think I will mix it in with potting soil and not use entirely by itself. I will definitely make sure I rinse it really well with hot water before use.
:) Donna
Hi Donna - Just got back to reality....
Mel is right...the coir needs to be rinsed and rinsed and rinsed. If you are talking about the stuff like sawdust...I never use it alone and mix it with perlite for a starting mix....and sometimes I mix a handfull or two in my big pile of potting mix when I add the peatmoss. It does hold a lot of water...and mixed with the peat, the peat doesn;t dry out as fast. I do NOT use it on my plants hanging outside as they usually get rain every day.
I DO use the fine (chips about the size of my little fingernail) in my mix...they retain moisture but don't get soggy. The rest of the mix is very loose and fluffy(?)...
Hope this helps!
Carol
Hi, Carol. The kind I bought is by Eco Earth. It does it can be mixed with an organic fertilizer for the perfect Vivaria soil. It looks like the one you use. So I will rinse, rinse and mix. Thanks!
:) Donna