Coco Coir?

seaeagle · April 20, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

What do you use in your homemade compost?

I've been using more coir this year also. I buy the brick and rinse it over time until the water run clears. It gets rain, or the hot water from the hose so I'm not wasting any water getting rid of the salts. Some brands I like much better than others.

WonderSoil, then for the cheaper ones: General Hydroponics CocoTek, then Root Organic are my favorites.

The Canna one was loose coir, and really good, but it is a different class and price point.

There were a bunch I didn't like - I will list if anyone is interested.

What are your favorites?

The only coir I have ever used is this

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Expert-Ga...lock/926142788

This is made by PlantBest in Canada and rebranded with the Walmart brand. It is pre-rinsed using no chemicals.

https://plantbest.com/

Someone did an analysis on it and it had less salt than tap water. I did not rinse mine. One less step

Expert Gardener Coco Coir is selling at my local Walmart. Brought it home for testing against 2 other highly rated coco coirs from Amazon. Sourced near the oceans, coco coir has salts that often need to be washed out prior to use. After pouring reverse osmosis water through, Expert Gardener measured with the least dissolved solids: Triumph Plant Coco Coir Bricks $16.95 for 6.26 lbs: 939 ppm (Poor, needs lots of washing) Coco Bliss Premium Coconut Coir $19.89 for 10lbs: 594 ppm (Ok, needs more washing) Expert Gardener $7.97 for 8.25lbs: 119 ppm (Very Good) Keep in mind, tap water is typically 200+ ppm so if you're not using reverse osmosis water, this is perfect out of the package.

As for what I use in compost. Long list. Almost anything.

Grass, weeds, eggshells, plants that are finished in the garden like okra, collards and kale etc, coffee grinds, food waste, wood bark from old firewood, newspaper, cardboard boxes.

And I have one special compost drum that just old rotten tomatoes and cantaloupe go in and soldier fly maggots compost that. Composting is fun for me.