Know Your Coco Coir Before Using It for Gardening
The coco coir is getting more and more popular for plant growing medium. You might be tempted to use the coconut coir for your gardening activity, as well. Yet, you should know the coconut coir properly to make sure that your gardening with coconut coir can go as desired.
Introduction to Coconut Coir
What is coconut coir? If you have ever heard of coco coir bricks used for a BBQ party, for instance, you might think that coconut coir can be used for making bricks. Compared to coconut coir, people usually are more familiar with coconut meat and coconut juice. Anything but meat and juice is considered a waste product. The coconut husk and shell are not valuable until people know that they can be useful for gardening and making home products.
Nowadays, people who love gardening are asking about where to buy coco coir. Coconut coir is a term used for anything between the coconut shell and coconut seed outer coating. The coconut coir is made up of two fiber types including the brown fiber and the white one. The brown coir can be found in mature and ripe coconuts. It is much stronger than the white one but it is also less flexible. Pre-ripe coconuts become the source of white fibers that are super flexible but not strong enough. Brown coconut coir is used for almost all coconut coir for hydroponics.
How to Make Coconut Coir
After understanding more about what is coco coir, you might have the next question about the way coconut coir is prepared until it can be used for gardening and hydroponics. Extensive processing will be involved in getting the coconut coir ready for planting purposes. You cannot use the coconut coir from the fruit right away.
First things first, you have to remove the coir from the coconuts. To do it easily, the husks must be soaked in water until the coir is loosened and softened. To soak the coconut husk, you need to use fresh water or tidal water. The manufacturer might use tidal water but the coconut coir will absorb salt in a large amount. That is why there will be a later stage taken to flush out the salt in the coconut coir. More steps must be taken until you can get coco coir for sale.
The coconut coir will be removed from the water bath. Next, it must be dried for more than a year. That is why coconut coir processing is very extensive. After the coconut coir is completely dry, it will be organized into bales. The bales will be processed further to create the desired formats. It can be chopped into chips or croutons. It can also be made into ground coconut coir which is the most familiar format of coconut coir. It can also be made into coco coir blocks.
Coconut Coir Types
Buy coco coir bulk near me can be done better by understanding the types of coconut coir products available in the market. You will find three options including coconut peat, coconut fiber, and coconut chip. They can be a great medium for growing plants. Let’s find out further about each type of coconut coir.
The very first type is coconut peat. It looks like finely ground peat or coconut moss. The peat of coconut has a small size. It can also absorb water very easily. However, you might not want to use it as the only growing medium because your plants’ roots can be drowned out by its characteristics.
To be able to use it as a growing media, you need to age the coconut peat first. It is a crucial step to take so there will be no more salts in the coconut peat that can harm your plant if you use it carelessly. That is why when looking for the best coconut peat for gardening, you have to make sure that the manufacturer has taken the essential steps for aging the peat properly.
The next coconut coir type you can find is coconut fiber. It has a specific function when being used for gardening. It will add an air pocket to your growing medium. Unlike coconut peat, coconut fiber is less absorbent. It will be great because the air pockets provided by coconut fiber can provide the necessary oxygen to the root area of the plant. However, the air pockets will not last forever because coconut fiber will break down pretty quickly.
Last but not least, there is coconut chip that many people desire when they try to buy coco coir. You can see it as an expanded clay pellet but the natural type since it is made from the plant instead of clay. The great characteristics of coconut fiber and coconut peat can be found in coconut chips. It comes in a large enough size so it can make air pockets. At the same time, it is also great to absorb water.
Each coco coir type comes with its characteristics and benefits. To make sure that your plant can get the most benefits from coconut coir, you need to use the right combination of coconut peat, coconut fiber, and coconut chip.
How to Choose the Best Coconut Coir
After understanding the coco coir usage, you want to buy this product right away. Nevertheless, you have to make sure that the coconut coir you buy has the best quality. To get high-quality coconut coir, various factors will have a very important role. The way the coconut is harvested, prepared, and also processed will affect the coconut coir quality.
However, you cannot control those factors. They will be controlled by the manufacturers. Nevertheless, you will depend on the suppliers to get your coconut coir product. in this circumstance, you need to choose the best suppliers that take the necessary practices to produce the best coconut coir.
The manufacturers have to pay attention to the pathogen risk, especially since the coconut coir will be stored for a few years. They will take the needed steps to prevent pathogen growth. It must have a system for controlling the coconut coir aging process. They must also flush out salt from the coco coir.
Tags: coco coir, coconut coir, gardening, planting media