How to Use a Coconut Pellet Seed Starting System In addition, coco peat supports strong root growth and is often used to start seeds and grow hydroponically. Inert – coconut coir is inert, meaning that it has no nutrients within it. Arrange coconut fiber in a pot if you are sprouting seeds. Step 2. While most people consider it for use in the garden or to make potting mixes, it is a very popular worm bedding for worms, reptiles, turtles, even tarantulas. The material remains loose for improved root formation and the netting surrounding the ground coconut hulls retains the shape of the pellet. It can be confusing since coco coir usually comes in dehydrated bricks with no instructions. How to Use Coconut Fiber for Planting. A lot of cannabis growers have started using coco coir in their garden, but there isn’t a lot of information about exactly how to use coco coir for cannabis. Coir fiber comes from inside the coconut shell and is a natural byproduct of the processing of coconuts. Organic Garden Coir via Burpee. Many people find coir easier to handle and work with than peat. Garden Coir by Burpee is available in 8-quart bags directly from Burpee. Not only is it useful for starting and growing plants, but sheets of coir fiber make great mulch around young trees and bushes. The coarse, strong fiber is used to make rope, floor mats, brushes, mattresses, and, for the past 20 years, landscape mulch. What is Coconut Coir & How to Use It Coconut coir, also known as coconut fiber, is a natural waste product that comes … Just be sure and expand your block in a container that can hold seven times the volume of the block. It contains 100% coconut coir in a crumbly form like peat, and holds up to 150% of its weight in water. The tiny grains of coir are extracted from the coconut shell and pulverized into a packable growing substrate. The fibers are separated, cleaned, sorted and graded before shipping. In gardening you can use coconut coir to make excellent potting mix and to improve the soil quality in your garden. … Most garden vegetables and flowers grow best in neutral to slightly alkaline conditions. It may look like soil, but it is not soil. Coir will expand once the water has soaked into it, and this will make it easier to spread out where you want it. Using coconut coir as mulch is an environmentally friendly alternative to non-renewable mulches such as peat moss. Filling seed trays is time consuming and the sterilization needed to prevent disease is a lot of work. Coconut Coir (also known as Coco Coir) is made from coconut husks. Add a little bit of water at a time. More fruits and veggies prefer a more alkaline soil. Add water and let it absorb and expand. Even if you have not consciously chosen to use coconut coir, you may have noticed it as a fibrous, dark brown component of your favorite potting soil. Coir pellets for seed planting are fungus free. Coconut coir mulch or coco chips are great for use outdoors as ground cover. Coir dust is the by-product of this process. Much of the coconut coir used for growing and garden purposes is the waste product (pith) from generating fiber for use in mats and other long fiber products. Source: Martin LaBar. Here's a link to a YouTube video on the whole process (~15-min long). In gardening, it is a popular additive to both garden soil and soil mixes. Coco coir, in its various forms, is increasingly used by gardeners as an addition to soil, or as its own growing medium. It may take about 15 minutes (maybe more). It may take some time for the brick to soften up and the fibers to expand. You don’t want to over-hydrate the coco coir. Use warm water and slowly pour it over your brick. It is hospitable to a wider variety of plants, and easier to amend with nutrients. Tips for Using Coconut Coir Mulch. Coir dust is the by-product of this process. When you start off with coconut coir as a grow medium, you will not need to amend with lime to produce these results. Coir has some nice advantages as a soil amendment. And in hydroponics, it is held in high regard as a very capable growing medium. These tips for using coconut coir mulch will help you get the most out of it when gardening. Yet dragging bags of starting soil into the house is messy. Those are coconut coir fragments. If you've been gardening, you've no doubt seen the words 'coconut coir' thrown around. Coir is an excellent soil enhancer. Coir mulch uses include brushes, ropes, upholstery stuffing and doormats. But what exactly is coconut coir and how do you use it in gardening? In any form, coco coir … Coco seems almost tailor-made for growing cannabis… as long as you follow basic instructions. By: Laura Miller Starting your own plants from seed is a great way to save money when gardening. Basically, coconut coir is a type of mulch that's environmentally friendly, as opposed to other commercial mulches. Coir fibers are generated when the coconut husk is ground. Any coir you don’t use will retain its properties for many years, so just store it in a dry place. Scoop the hydrated coir with your hands and mix it around until the fibers separate and... Add equal parts coir and soil in a container. Last summer, though, I completely removed all the weeds and overgrowth in the beds directly in front of my home and purchased a few perennials to plant that I knew were drought tolerant.