coco coir

[figpig]

My newest medium that i started using is a 2 pound brick coco coir brick. I mix my water with vitamino and only add enough water just to barly hydrate the brick. The coir will look like loose,coffie grounds. Almost dry. Put it in one gallon zip lock bag with cuttings. No mold at all. Seen others over hydrate this causes rot and mold,in my experience with it. This way is,so easy. Keep mine in hot water tank closet. Stays at 79 degrees. Richie

[AscPete]

Richie,
Welcome.
Thanks for sharing. I've used Plantit Coco Core and Burpee Coco Coir for the past 2 years and have always hydrated with the exact amount listed in the instructions. It winds up at almost the correct moisture and consistency for rooting fig cuttings, possibly a little too dry. I hydrate the coir with warm water and very dilute MG All purpose @ 1/4 teaspoon/Gallon of water

Please post updates on your rooting experience with the Coir and Vitamino.

[figpig]

I started my greek figs in perlite before i statred using coir. They were doing good bt leaves started looking dry and week. Sprayed them one time with vitamino and next day they looked awsome. Dont know anything about vitamino but it works. Got it because of the micro nutrientS. Dont know what amino acids do but has that too. The nitogen is derived from ammonium nitrate which is the best nitrogen source. They quick selling ammonium nitrate because peps making bombs.

[AscPete]

I looked up Vitamino due to your post, I've never used it....
For Foliar feeding I've used and recommended dilute MG All purpose for years. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon / gallon of water. The nutrient absorption through leaves is considerably less that through the roots.

[cyberfarmer]

I'm.doing my cuttings one small shoebox per week this season. I don't measure anything. I just break off a chunk of coir brick and stick it in a glass bowl. I drizzle some wqter over it and put it in the microwave long enough that the water getsbgood and steamy. I do this to sterilize it in case any bugs or pathogens have found their way into my coir. The steam also helps distribute the moisture. Some of my shoeboxes look pretty dry while others look too moist. It doesn't seem to make a lot of difference in rooting rate. I have never had any mold in coir. I am very happy with it and wouldn't go back to moss, perlite, paper towels or anything else i've tried. This is just too easy.

[AscPete]

Paul,
Ive also had consistent results in coir...

[figpig]

One node cutting. !! Yes i noticed. Good job there.

[cis4elk]

I have been a moss guy up til this rooting season. After reading Frank/FMD's thread about rooting in coco coir on F4F 2-3 months back I decided to give it a try. I haven't been rooting large numbers of cuttings but the results have been interesting none the less. I didn't follow any directions either, just soaked the coir in hot water and then squeezed every drop of water out that I could. It does seem dry but the figs root very well, with zero mold. One of the other huge benefits vs moss is that there is no worries of root tangle whatsoever. Every variety I have split numbers and rooted half in quality Angel Moss and half in coir. The coir has a slight lead in rooting success, but is very much ahead for the ease of use.

[FMD]

Glad to see some coir enthusiasts here!
I did a little experiment over the winter equally dividing a total of 16 identical Violette Dauphine cuttings (thanks to Leon Redmond) into coir and into Harvey's method. Coir won hands down in speed and in overall success .
Be that as it may, not everyone has similar success. I was very surprised that Wills' attempt at using coir was a failure.
PS, anyone looking for VD?

[figpig]

I think people fail from over hydration of Coir
seen blogs on coir hydration and the stick it in water till full of water then drain it. This method it bad. Aleast for cuttings. Used correctly it cant be beat. Also it has no nutrition at all so needs additives.

[Bijan]

Hi Frank,

Is the VD the 2 cropper variety or the San Pedro type?

[WillsC]

For me the coir was a disaster. Part of that i'm sure was my fault but I had a LOT of rot issues. It is possible that due to inexperience I had the coir too wet...... I will try it again and see what happens but this winters lesson was PAINFUL.

[figpig]

Will. I lost alot this winter to rot. ( ice Crystal that i was,so proud of when it made leaves. So i started watering it. Lol. CDDG ROT. 258. ROT. WHEN THE 258 ROOTED IT HURT BAD. ITS BRINGING BACK THE PAIN JUST TALING ABOUT IT. LOL. WATER = bad. I am still using my moss. Spanish moss. The stuff you see hanging in trees,in the swamp. Its strange. Keep it preety wet in a plastic pastry container. Cutting in the middle. Water is drawn to outside of moss and cuttings look dry in the center. Using the,same container and moss over and over. I just hy jacked my own thread.

[twovkay]

I was the same as Wills, coir for me was a 90% failure. Out of 20+ cuttings only 2 rooted and 1 didn't rot before I changed it back to Promix and perlite. Again, I think it was too wet, always seems to be the enemy.

[figpig]

Hey von glad to see you here!!

[twovkay]

Hey Richie! Have you cleaned out that frig yet? LOL

[figpig]

Half way. Thats why i started using coir and one gallon zip locks. Quanity not quality lol

[F. Bennett]

Another thanks to Frank for the coco coir thread. I'm currently rooting a few cuttings in coir/perlite and they're doing well. I especially like how clean the coir is washed away from your hands after messing with it.

[DaveL]

I am in the coco coir corner. I ran both PM/perlite and coco coir/perlite cuttings and under equal conditions the speed and amount of roots of the coir mix was by far superior.

[jkuo]

This is my first year rooting cuttings, and I went with coir after reading through Frank's thread. So far, I've had pretty good luck with it. As another added benefit, after filling my containers with the moistened coir, my hands feel super smooth. That stuff exfoliates like nothing else.

[AscPete]

One thing that I've found using Coir or Long Fibered Sphagnum is that the pH needs to be on the low end (pH 5 - 6) for it to be more successful.
When the material is hydrated with too much water and the water is "wrung out" the pH sometimes increases and rooting success decreases.
Also its very easy to saturate Coir because it remains well aerated (fluffy), but it will retain too much water for rooting fig cuttings.

[joann1536]

I've experimented a bit with rooting media, and the coco coir was good. I followed the package directions for hydration, too, and everything rooted beautifully. Lost a couple, though, to an invasion of gnats. Caught it in time to save a couple. Didn't have to water until I potted up to the gallon-sized pots, and I water with a tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide added per gallon of water.

[PharmaChad]

Where is the best place to find coco coir?
How does the price compare to peat moss?
Thanks for your reply.

[WillsC]

You can buy it on Amazon in 12 pound bales but the cheapest place I found it was at an orchid supply outlet and was $1 a pound, $33 for a 33 pound bale.

[Harborseal]

For those of you having success, what brand are you using? Even among pre-washed brands there's a huge variation in texture, fiber content and particle size. The brand I had last year was great but I only bought a little of it. This year's brand is worthless.

[DaveL]

I Bought a 230g block by Triump Plant Co from Amazon. Smaller individual brick makes just over a gallon. $6.99 with prime. Did a 80/20 mix with perlite.

[joann1536]

I also got the Hydrofarm from Amazon, but in smaller bricks. I think one brick filled about 15 clear drink cups.

[AscPete]

Plant It brand from Hydrofarm 4.5 kgs. from local Garden center Adams Fairacre Farms @ $10.00
Coir Potting Mix is also Available at Most Hydroponics stores... Make sure to only use Coir labeled for Potting Mix.
I hydrate with 7 gallons of fertilized hot tap water in a sealed 30 gallon heavy duty garbage bag. Its also stored in the same bag.

[figpig]

I got three bricks for 13 dollers on ebay free shipp. 2.2 pounds a peice. Low salt content to.

[COGardener]

I think they are looking for a brand name.

[Harborseal]

I don't know if you get notified if I comment after your comment. I looked for the plant-it and only found chips. It seems they're 1/8 - 3/8". Is that what you have, Pete?

[AscPete]

Yes, my notifications is on....
No it is not the Chips https://www.hydrofarm.com/i/jpg/8081_20380.jpg ,
it's the Coco Coir Mix.... https://www.hydrofarm.com/i/jpg/8083_23181.jpg

[Harborseal]

Thanks, Pete!

[AscPete]

Bob C,
Here's a picture of a few cuttings pre-rooted in Coco Coir.
They were rooted in a seedling plug tray, a la Rootriot...

[Harborseal]

Beautiful!

[AscPete]

Thanks,
What's critical is maintaining the proper moisture content and ensuring the pH is 6 or less.
I had less than 1% failure while rooting several hundred test cuttings in 72 cell plug trays.

[Bijan]

Someone mentioned these to me in passing. Apparently one expanded puck fills a gallon container. Kind of like the coir version of the Jiffy Peat Pellets.

[Harborseal]

This is what I had last year. It worked well but I haven't seen it around this year. Thanks for the link.

[cis4elk]

General Hydroponics Coco Tek used here.
I have the small brick. I just flake some off the brick and put it in a cup and run hot water from the tap until its covered. I stir it a bit to break it up and add more water if needed to make a slurry type of consistency, meaning enough water to completely saturate ever grain. I let it set for 10-30 minutes, strain some out with my hand and squeeze every drop I can possibly get out of it. Honestly, when I put it in the bag it feels like it might be too dry, but I know better; when you touch it days later you can't really feel the moisture until you take a handful and give it a squeeze, then you feel the moisture.

The other thing I like is that I can use it in my potting mix later on versus throwing it away like I do moss.

[figpig]

I use coco gro from bontanicare. With vitamino from bontanicare. Love vitamino. I use it as a spray and with in 12 hours you notice a huge difference in leaves of plants.

[Zuny]

I started using coco coir to root my cuttings, hydrated with promix half doze. By doing so my rooting success rate went to 100 percent. I started using it after seeing Dave's success with it and used the promix fertilizer cuttings like he suggested. He also suggested to use and an inch at the bottom of perlite which helps a lot because a lot of the mosture stays at the bottom. I make sure to squeeze any excess water of the coco cor when I first start the cuttings.

Just thought I share because I was excited when I saw all my cuttings. The roots also look a lot better with coco coir.

[WillsC]

I believe part of the issue I had with coir is due to the fact I root outside in a propagation room. Coir draws water like a sponge and I believe it even pulls moisture from the air so what it did was take coir that was the perfect moisture content and over time with no added water from me it would get more and more damp. SO for me coir is evil BUT I do like coir much better than peat in the potting mix. I no longer pre-root, just way too many cuttings and varieties to do so as it just takes too much time. The coir does make up a portion of the mix that the cuttings are rooted in though and results have been excellent.

[FigMania]

I've ben going thru some of the comments on different coir products (Hydrofarm, Kempf, etc) I usually don't get into the negatives too much.. but, in this case there seem to be quite a number who have had problems based on salt content (of some sort) that kills seedlings. Seeds start out ok.. but then die. Salt crystals visible on the surface even with using RO or rain water. For those of you who have had successes, do you rinse the coir well or just hydrate?

[AscPete]

Hydrofarm PlantIT Brand Coir Potting Mix... Hydrated only, with nutrient mix 1 Tbs MG All Purpose / 5 gals water. Initial Ph of mix is ~ 5.5 to 6.0, never any issues.

[Zuny]

I use Cocotek that is omri listed and hydrate it.

[lilfiggy]

This year I am trying something different. A three way mix perlite, rice husks and coir. I put a coir brick in a dishpan wet it with a weak liquid fertilizer mix and water ( l/4 tsp to a gallon) and let it sit over night. I then break it apart and stir it around and fluff it up realy well. If it looks barky dry, I move those parts to the side and put a very little bit of water on it and let that sit over night. I mix and fluff everything together and put in a large container. I add equal parts husks and perlite as I have coir. I have to use the regular perlite because I can't find chunky. I mix a brick at a time. I will let you all know how it goes. This year maybe I won't have to buy kleenex in bulk to sop up the tears.

[BrooklynMatty]

You found the rice husks? Where did you find them? If so, congrats!!