Coir | Preparation and use | Seed sowing mix using coir
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ม.ค. 2022
- In this video I prepare a coir block for use and make up a nice sowing mix with coir, sieved multipurpose compost, and some vermiculite. I have found coir to be a great addition and a useful alternative to peat when a light and finely textured compost is needed, such as for sowing, pricking out, and potting on young seedlings.
![[TH] Esports World Cup : Grand Final](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sedbKhFYDMo/mqdefault.jpg)
![[UNCUT] ลูกหมี-ลิลลี่ เหงียน เปิดใจฟาด ปู มัณฑนา I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 15 ก.ค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FKQ60Y7bJ6s/mqdefault.jpg)
Been looking for this type of info about coir ... great overview. We're giving it a try this year as an alternative to peat for starting seeds and potting.
As with any new compost it takes a bit of time to get used to it - particularly how much water to use - but hopefully you'll get good results. If you want to avoid all the bashing around I did, just drop it in a wheelbarrow and let it soak :)
Thanks for the very interesting video as always. I will buy some coir and give it a try. Steve T.
Hope you like it 👍😀
Such a good detailed video. Only just came across this, but thanks for sharing Jonny, as it's such an unknown medium still.
Thank you. I find it very useful and increasingly important with the removal of peat. I have used organic peat free composts for years and they used to be good but now they are produced in such large quantities that many are very poor quality and not well suited to seed sowing - the coir, though, is ideal for sowing.
1st year gardener here. Us8ng coir for 9 months from various resources with last batch of unbranded bricks from local offerup seller due to price. Indoor germination rate off last brick had VERY poor results. Upon researching and testing leads me to think high salt content caused the issue because the PPM between my tap water vs coir soaked water was over 1k! I didn't have any issues with the 3 previous bricks from the same seller. Until I test the new coir I got from Amazon (mfg in India), I am lost as to where/how I can source reliable coir because I dont have the bandwidth to flush the coir multiple times just to have viable growing material. Just wanted to share my experience and get thoughts from fellow gardeners on this.
That's interesting. I have not personally had any bad experience from using coir and have only read about the potential for high salt levels. However, I have not used it on its own, only in a mixture with other ingredients, and perhaps that might be why it hasn't been a problem for me. I have found that it can be a bit deceptive as far as watering is concerned - the top tends to dry out whilst the bottom remains moist and that can easily lead to overwatering, which doesn't help with germination or early root development. I wonder if there are supply problems now, with increasing use - before it was needed in such large quantities, one could readily find organic peat free compost of good quality at a decent price; when demand increased the price went up and the quality plummeted. I wonder if something similar may be happening with the quality of coir If it is sold for horticultural use it has to be fit for purpose.
I put my coir in a large container in the garden and wait for it to rain. No stabbing required :)
Stabbing is definitely optional 😂 Patience is probably best; my excuse is that I was in a hurry to get some compost mixed for the next video 😀
@@jonnyskitchengarden I definitely have a lot of patience, also don't do videos, so much appreciate all the work you put in for us. Thank you.
I had always purchased the 40 liter bags of premixed seed starting mix until last year after a bit of research about peat free alternatives. I experimented with mixing compressed coconut coir with varying amounts of perlite and sieved compost. My seedlings flourished, grew good roots and transplanted well. I'll keep mixing my own and internet searches have yielded several distributors that sell and ship premium bricks and other products at unbelievably cheap prices.
A similar experience here - good to hear of further success with it 👍🙂
Do you have any recommendations of where to buy it from? Thanks in advance!
I imagine that many garden centres stock it, but online it is worth shopping around as it is sold widely and price varies quite a bit - should be available for around £8 per block - the usual suspects like eBay and Amazon, and I have bought from Elixir before at reasonable prices.
iv been using coir for the last 2 yrs and i mix a bit of compost in it ...it cheep for me to buy and Carrie home i mix 70% coir to compost now
That sounds like a good ratio 👍
I use coir I reconstitute it with boiling water on top of the soil portion to kill off any pests probably not necessary but it makes me feel better 😂😂. Thank you for sharing as always 🐝 safe stay growing 👍🇨🇦
😂
I have been using a mix of leaf compost, wood chip compost and coir, it works like a dream - moist but with 'soil like body' (don't we sound like wine 'people' now ;-) ). If I were you I would take the bag of sieved remains of multipurpose compost back to the garden centre or producer and ask for its weight(pro rata) in money back - that lot is dreadful to find in a bag of compost!
That sounds like an ideal blend to me 👍🙂
Very helpful as like many I am struggling with post peat compost issues - terrible multi purpose stuff just doesn’t work for sowing and pricking out of small seeds - I am just about to buy some coir and make up a mix to try. Especially important if you are sowing expensiveF1 seeds which increasingly seem to cost upwards of £3 for 10 seeds ( e.g. blight resistant tomatoes) - at these prices you need high levels of germination.
You make a good point about the F1 seed. I sow very few F1s but the tomato rootstocks are hybrids and are very expensive indeed.
Hi Jonny i use the Coir and Perlite for my seed mix, and once they are ready to pot on it's the same mix but with added Sieved Compost, so similar to how you start your seeds in.
Stay Safe,
Barry (Wirral)
That sounds ideal 👍 I’m finding this stuff very useful.
Canna coco coir..
Light Warrior..
Bontanicare
CYCO Pearl
Roots Organic
Royal Gold
Steer clear of Mother Earth.
But my favorite is bricks of Canna.
The late Geoff Hamilton introduced coir-based compost to the gardening public in the 1970s but after a while it dropped off the radar. Glad to see it's still around.
That’s interesting! I remember his gardening programs fondly but did not know that he introduced coir. Ahead of its time I guess.
What's it like as a soil conditioner? Is it any good for building soil OM or does it tend to disappear fairly quick?
I have never tried it for that purpose, though I think it probably poorly suited compared with composts and manures. It has little nutrient, which is ideal for seed sowing and, in more modest amounts, a useful ingredient in various potting mixes. I imagine that it could improve the structure of some soils, an aid moisture retention on sandy soils. However, composts and manures will do that whilst also feeding the soil life.
So , if I don't plan on using a whole brick to plant something, is it okay to hydrate the whole brick and store it in the hydration bucket or will that possibly present a mold issue?
Yes, that’s exactly what I do. I’ve never had any problems with it. You can get smaller bricks but they’re not as economical. I’ve kept the stuff in tubs for months without any problems - you may have to add water from time to time or it can dry out completely and then need to be rehydrated before use.
I have never used it but I would think you could reduce it to small blocks with a wood saw before adding water, I might give it a try
Usually it’s not a problem but I was in a hurry this time and couldn’t just wait for it to soak thoroughly. You can cut it with a saw but it is surprisingly tough and it creates a lot of fine dust. It is definitely worth a try though 👍🙂
You can actually break up the brick using a screwdriver and hammer. You have to do it on the edge. If you look closely, you'll probably see that the 10-11lb (5kg) bricks are really made up of a number of layers that can be kind of split.
That's true - I haven't tried with a screwdriver, but I have taken chunks off with a hefty billhook :)
I’ve noticed that the bagged compost in Australia contains a higher proportion of wood these days too. The ‘junk’ that you sieved out of yours looks like it would be good mulch for fruit trees 👌
I just spread some woodchip in the fruit cage and it looks more like compost than this stuff does 😂
Never knew about this stuff, I'm off to get prices.
More expensive than peat, of course, but if you shop around it’s not too bad, especially compared with good seed compost.
All peat free is dog plop. I've used 4-5 different brands, all of them have had been bad, with most producing more mushrooms than plants. I've swapped to coir, perlite ,and peat i've used before, i just take the roots out by using a large mesh, but when i see bags of peat compost i buy it. I've just got hold of a load of Jacks magic by Westland which is very good as i only used B&Q's peat multi compost in the past but after buying the same brand , thinking it was what i always got, only to find it was peat free and was just full of wood chips and other un-composted rubbish. It just stunting my plants and grew orange mushrooms and was full of bugs after a week or 2 of using it. Those brick of coir are great, i just use a saw or trowel to cut/snap chunks off. I leave it out of the plastic shrink wrap as soon as i get it, and i find the humidity of my greenhouse expands the Coir where i'm able to pull pieces of as i need it.
The peat free stuff used to be good years ago, when the demand for it was low - nice texture, good for both seed sowing and potting on. Now it seems to be half composted junk with so much fibrous stuff that it can't be sieved - the producers seem to be having problems with the volume of material needed and don't give it time to compost properly.
@jonnyskitchengarden9128 I've found a cheap source of wormcasts so I'm adding that in the mix. I'm getting very good growth now.
Very nice 👍
20l of water for those 5kg blocks
It’s amazing how much they absorb.
We’re gonna need a bigger “ tote” lol
😂
"Gardening Made Easy With The Old Country Gardener" enjoyed your video and the coir masterclass. Will certainly use some of your ideas in our garden. Good luck for 2020, and we will follow your progress with interest. Perhaps you might like to view our videos, and follow our progress in the garden this year! Thanks from "Gardening Made Easy With The Old Country Gardener."
Thanks for your comment. I have just subscribed and look forward to watching your videos - good luck with your channel 👍😊
@@jonnyskitchengarden Thank you for subscribing.Your interest is much appreciated.We will follow your progress this year!
Thank you Jonny, I’ve been coir-curious, but I have never before seen it being prepared. It always looked so dusty I was sure it would be hydrophobic.
Maybe I’ll give it a bash sometime.
I can see why you might think that - if peat dries out like that it doesn’t want to rehydrate properly - but coir is quite happy to soak it up. It is easiest if just dumped in a wheelbarrow with lots of water and left alone - I was in a hurry so breaking it up speeds things up a bit.