About Coco Coir

Were all going to vary some with our method of growing in coco and no two grows are ever going to be the same, nor is one method necessarily better than the other. Just using common sense, knowing coco and the ability to think like a plant are golden....Enjoy


Urban Garden Magazine takes a detailed look at the rise of coco coir as a hydroponic growing media.

The glorious coconut has been providing us with much more than the odd Piña Colada for centuries. Traditionally, coconut coir (the outer fibrous husk) has been the backbone of “Welcome” doormats, brushes, sofa stuffing and horticulture for well over 100 years but, as far as hydroponics is concerned, coco coir started to make a name for itself during the late '80s and early '90s as a substitute for peat and rockwool, both non-renewable resources. In a nutshell (sorry, couldn't resist), coconut coir is an environmental by-product of the long-established coconut industry. It's a 100% renewable resource and the environmentally friendly alternative to bog dredged peat moss.

So what is it about coco coir that makes it such a popular replacement for peat and as a hydroponic medium in its own right? Firstly, check out its outstanding water and air holding capacity. Unbelievably, coco coir can hold eight to nine times its own weight in water! More importantly, coco coir holds a lot of air, in fact even when saturated it typically still holds around 22% air. In this respect it is superior even to rockwool, the world's most popular hydroponics medium. Rockwool is a great medium but some beginners can easily run into trouble as it typically only holds around 10% air, leaving plant roots in danger of becoming oxygen deprived, particularly when the nutrient solution temperature is over 68-72F (20-22C). (The warmer a nutrient solution is, the less dissolved oxygen it can hold.) With coco coir, however, this type of overwatering (or, to put it more precisely, oxygen deficiency in the root zone) is avoided by the enormous amount of air that good quality coco coir can hold.

The amazing properties of coco coir don't end with excellent water and porosity. Oh no! The best aspects of coco coir are far more varied! Did you know that coco coir possesses antifungal and root promoting properties? As coconuts spend long periods of time floating in the sea before they beach themselves and sprout a lovely new coconut tree, their physical dynamics have to be incredibly tough and unique to survive such a harsh, salty environment and still be able to sprout and grow when the time arises. These properties are available for you, the indoor gardening aficionado, to freely exploit in your quest for your perfect indoor garden. Recent studies have shown that coco coir has a great ability to suppress and protect plants from phythium and phytophthora, two very unpleasant root diseases that can quickly ruin your crop and put a real dampener on your day, week or month! This is very helpful if you are using organic-based nutrients, as these can contain high levels of urea that can build up and burn your plants.
Qualities of Coco Coir

Coco has ideal pH in the range of 6-6.7
It holds 8 to 9 times its weight in water
It holds 22% air even when fully saturated!
It has excellent drainage and air porosity for better plant growth
The top layer always remains dry, leaving behind no chances of fungal growth
It never shrinks, cracks or produces crust
It aids in suppressing fungus gnats, to a degree
Excellent cation exchange
Its anti-fungal properties help plants to get rid of soil borne diseases (inhibits pathogens like phythium and phytophthora)
Extremely easy to re-hydrate after being dehydrated
It is a 100% renewable resource
Lightweight
Completely environmentally friendly

So what makes good quality coir?

There are three parts to a good coco medium: coco fiber, coco pith (coco peat), and chips. Each part brings its own attributes to the table.

Coco Pith

Coco pith / coco peat holds a large amount of water but is smaller and facilitates much less capacity to hold air. It is more lignin (woody) and decomposes very slowly. Properly aged, it contains the complex that holds potassium and sodium until it is fertilized and a stronger ion, usually calcium, bumps these off, thereby locking up the calcium and freeing large amounts of harmful salts. Proper aging of this coco pith is critical. It affects the crop time since a minimum amount of time is required to make this usable, at least four months, which reduces the amount of time available for use.

Coco Fiber

Fiber holds little water but increases the capacity to hold air; the more fiber you see in your coco mix, the more often you will need to water it. Fiber is largely cellulose and degrades fairly quickly. This degradation has an adverse affect on the stability of the medium. The length of these fibers is also critical to these functions as well.

Coco Chips

Coco chips combine the properties of the fiber and pith; they are approximately the same size as the fiber and positively influence air-holding properties while holding water. Chips hold less water than pith or fibers. They have the highest air to water ratio of all three parts. Achieving the correct ratio of these components is critical in developing a well-drained, well structured medium for growth, just as the proper preparation of the chemical characteristics is important by buffering the blend before use. (Hydroponic-grade coco coir growing medium has been treated so that unwanted potassium and sodium has been removed. This helps to ensure that the nutrients you later add to the coco coir can actually be used by your plants.)
Storage and Sterilization

Coco is usually stored in giant piles for a couple of years at its country of origin. Unless stored carefully, these huge coco piles can be susceptible to colonization by unwanted pathogens (partly due to the pH of the coco being favorable to pathogens) so, in this case, the coco must be steam or chemically sterilized in order to make it suitable for horticultural use. However, chemical sterilization can have adverse effects; and steaming destroys the structure of the coco peat while converting any nitrogen present into a toxic form, nitrite nitrogen; both destroy any beneficial organisms that are usually present. So what's the solution? A coco coir supplier needs to control the coconut from harvest to bagging, remove the opportunities for unwanted seed and pathogen contamination, and carefully control the aging process directly. Only then will they stand a chance of producing the cleanest, most alive and most productive form of coco coir. Regulations vary between countries with regard to sterilization (Australia is very strict). Shipping microbes across continents is frowned upon by customs agencies. Some brands are inoculated with specific microbes that are either allowed to cross borders or are blended after landing on the shores where they ultimately will be used.

Finally, caring for the product through proper storage and packaging is critical, after preparation and again after packaging. Storing it too wet speeds decomposition. Drying in big mechanical driers can also have a detrimental effect on structure. In short, improper handling will drastically reduce the ability of the product to provide the correct root environment for proper root growth. Finally, consistency: a grower needs to be sure that they are growing in the same material crop after crop to ensure success. Imagine the heartache of losing a crop because the salts were not properly washed off your latest batch, or the coco peat is too decomposed – this REALLY happens!

So don't be afraid to ask questions of your coco supplier. Look for an established supplier that sun dries the coco, one that incorporates the correct coco pith, coco fiber and coco chip fractions to get the best blend. This is specific to the grower's irrigation system, the plants being grown, and the size of the pots used. For instance, you wouldn't grow orchids in fine coco pith as they require lot of air! Conversely, any fast growing vegetable in warm conditions would enjoy lots of coco pith in the mix. Look for coco that is clean and washed correctly, one that is packaged and stored correctly, and one that is correctly aged.
Preparation

Let's take a look at how this natural product should be prepared by the manufacturer. This is the biggest concern in selecting coco coir for hydroponics use. The outer fibers of the coconut are removed by soaking them in water. This soaking process involves either the use of fresh water or, more commonly, the use of tidal water which can be very high in salt. As coco coir has an excellent cation exchange ability it tends to hold onto things like salt which, when used in a hydroponic or indoor set up, can wreak havoc on your plants. Good quality, hydroponic grade coco coir will have not have a high salt content, but you should always flush it through with a low EC nutrient solution before use until no more tannins are coming out. Tannins can easily be seen as they stain or color the water brown. Some indoor gardeners check to see if the PPM of the water coming out of the coco is the same as the water they're putting in – but a more reliable method is the 1:1.5 extraction method which better determines the actual pH and EC of the coco itself.


I think the best way to get the maximum benefit from coir is in pots, as a direct replacement for rockwool or peat based mediums. Since coco coir holds so much air and water, it is a good idea to capitalize on this by placing a shallow layer of clay pebbles, such as Hydroton, or clean silica rock on the bottom. This provides excellent drainage and, more importantly, causes a huge amount of air to be pulled though when you water for feed. This assists in allowing the maximum amount of air possible into the root system and assists in pushing out the old water or feed solution.

The best way to irrigate coco coir in pots is via drippers. This is the best way to ensure that the growth media remains consistently moist (but not overly wet).
Coco-specific Nutrients

There are a number of manufacturers out there who offer a ‘coco specific' nutrient formula. These specific formulations are based on the tendency of coco coir to hold onto phosphorus, while only holding a little calcium, while giving off small amounts of potassium. The best nutrient formulations for coco coir will therefore have some extra calcium, but not too much as it will compete for potassium uptake resulting in a potential for potassium deficiency. So are they any better? Well, generally speaking any good, complete hydroponic nutrient is more than suitable for coco coir as these invariably contain all the calcium needed to provide for excellent growth in coco coir. However, for best results, a purpose-made nutrient is best. When feeding nutrients to plants grown in coco coir, aim for a pH of around 6.0 as this will allow maximum availability of all nutrient elements. Remember, a slightly fluctuating pH is a good thing (say between 5.5 and 6.5) as it opens the doors to different nutrients. As for feeding times and frequency, that is really going to depend on what type of system you are running; but for those replacing their peat mix or rockwool with coir there is essentially nothing you need do differently, as far as feeding frequency, flushing, et cetera goes.

CONTRIBUTORS:
Geary Coogler, B. Sci. Horticulture, HORTISOL North American Research


Benefits of using COCO FIBRE
igrowhydro.com :: Information about Hydroponic and Soil Growing Media

Coir fibre, Coir, Coco, Coco fibre is a product derived from the husks of coconuts. Visually it looks a lot like peat. Coco, when used properly, represents the best of soil and hydro in a single media. Coco can be extremely forgiving, and growth tends to be very consistent. Coco is pretty damn tolerant of over-and-under-watering. As you will see below Coco has many amazing properties (and some minor obstacles) making it an ideal medium to grow plants in.

Coco is almost a neutral medium, which means that aside from its limited ability to adjust pH to optimum levels, it does
not bind nutrients and feed them slowly to the plant over time like traditional do. (This means that Coco has a relatively low cation exchange capacity (CEC) compared to most. All the nutrients your plant needs to grow must be provided by you.
Coco fiber does, however, create millions of tiny air spaces, which are great for the roots. This is due to the large surface area of the coir particles. Think of coco as a very porous, open cell sponge; it releases water very quickly and as it drains out of the bottom of the containers, it pulls in fresh nutrients and oxygen. The medium holds water, oxygen,and nutrients in a perfect ratio for the roots in these tiny spaces. As oxygen plays an all-important role in respiration (roots pumping nutrient up to the plant), the structure of coco coir further promotes root and plant health.
This factor should not be underestimated because healthy roots invariably lead to a healthy plant (and a healthy yield).
Coco also has a remarkable capacity to insulate and protect the plant's root system in hot weather. This means that coco coir isn't as prone to overheating, due to excessive ambient air temperatures, as many other mediums, making it ideal for warm climates. Because the root zone is cooler, there is more oxygen available for the roots to use.

On a less positive note, coir can also contain high levels of sodium (salt). If you're growing in coir be aware that this can be a potential problem. We suggest you only use High - Grade Coco Mediums.

Tips on How to Make Coco Fibre Work Best:

Watering with coco is different than with soil. If you grow in soil, it can be much easier to “drown” the plant with too much water. Coco on the other hand is so light that there will always be more oxygen left and the plant will have a much harder time being oxygen straved. You can let the pot become dryer the first week only to stimulate root development. We suggest watering your medium until fully saturated (with at least 10% run-off) and then letting your plants go from wet to barely moist.

Coco can be used differently than this - allowing for multiple waterings a day. A grower must only let Coco go from Wet and Fully Saturated to Moist (usually a few hours when the lights are on) before watering again. We have had consistently great results off of the former method - Going from Wet - to Barely moist.

Although Coco, has a very good water - to - air ratio (even trumps Rockwool which also claims to have a 70% water - 30% air holding capacity); however coco offers the unique ability of being cut with a further aerating substance like Perlite.
Adding perlite can increase your overall oxygen levels within the root zone immensely. We suggest one 1 cu. ft. bag of Perlite to one bag of 50 Liter. This will give you roughly a 60% Coco / 40% Perlite mix, which has ideal aeration levels as well as maintaining an adequate water - holding capacity.

Coir holds a considerable amount of water within. It also evenly distributes the water throughout the medium. This is great
for growers using drip systems becuase you only need one to two drippers to create full saturation throughout the entire container. However, since Coco holds onto water and nutrient within its structure it creates a pH Buffer within the medium itself. Coco also has a natural tendency (because of its high levels of Potassium contained within) to hold onto to certain
salts. This tendency (which contributes to its mid to low CEC value) tends to make Coco's buffer rather difficult to bust,thus making it harder to change the pH of the medium. Do not fret though because the Buffer CAN be broken. It just takes flushing copious amount of pH corrected 300 ppm nutrient solution (50% of which should be Cal/Mag) with (Flushing agent mixed in) through the medium before you even start to grow in it. In this way you can
ensure that the pH of the solution going into the medium and the pH of the solution coming out of the solutiion match. (An example of this would be 6.0 pH going into the medium and 6.0 pH coming out as run-off. This is a VERY IMPORTANT concept to grasp when using Coco - based mediums.

Another issue a grower should be aware of when using Coco - based mediums is that Coco naturally holds onto to some nutrients (such as Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, and Sulfur), therefore we will want to FLUSH the medium on a regular (weekly or bi-weekly) basis or water with very low ppms / EC values. When Flushing, we also suggest collecting and testing the run-off to make sure that the ppms have gone down to almost nothing, and that your pH coming out of the bottom of the containers matches the pH being fed to the plants.

If you Flush regularly we have found that you can feed your plants as High ppms as any other medium we have used). We highly suggest using a medium that was designed to be used with Coco - fibre based mediums such as Coco is most suited to a run-to-waste system.

A run off of 10-20% of the volume watered each watering is the most common recommendation to avoid the possibility of salt buildup in the coco media. Drainage helps control ppms / EC and pH levels, and flushes unnecessary salts out of the media.

Since not all plants use similar amounts of nutrient, and they also secrete salts, any surplus of nutrient makes the coco brackish and changes the pH. By means of drainage you flush the media every time you give nutrient, which prevents it from becoming brackish. This does NOT mean that you should Not FLUSH as indicated, but by regularly testing the run-off you can do less Flushes. Many seasoned Coco growers will only Flush once every 3 weeks

Working With COCO-Fibre Summary:

When planting into Coco we suggest the following 3 protocol:

1-Flush the Medium wih 6.0 pH water.
2-pH the Medium to 6.0 pH.
3-After the medium has the correct pH - Add 4-500ppms of Nutrient to charge the medium before planting
within it. Once it is pre-charged and pH corrected plant into the medium.

3 Potential Problems when using Coco to be aware of:

1. Coco holds salts and must be Flushed. The Run-off should be tested to see what ppms/Ec and pH levels are.
2. Can create a pH buffer (at the wrong pH level within the medium) which must be and re-set to the proper pH level for optimal growth. 6.0 in Vegetative Stage / 5.6-5.8 in the Fruit / Flowering Stage.
3. Coco can still be over-watered (never mind what you have heard). Even if over-watered your plants will still survive. They just will not be happy. So, make sure to let the medium dry out a bit before re-watering.

Procedures to Follow when Using Coco-based Mediums

1. FLUSH the medium on a routine basis. Every 1-2 weeks is what we suggest.
2. Check the Run-Off for proper pH level and (when Flushing) for a low ppm
3. pH the Medium to 6.0 pH to start with in Vegetative Stage. Drop down to 5.6 - 5.8 in Fruit / Flowering Stage.
4. Do NOT over-water the medium. make sure that it at least goes from wet to Barely Moist before watering the medium again. In general, this should be about one time a day or even once every other day in the vegetative phase and then one to two times daily in the Bloom phase depending on container size, and environmental (temp, humidity, and CO2 levels).

The complete guide can be found at igrowhydro.com :: Information about Hydroponic and Soil Growing Media

 

Glad you liked the read dingus...It helps to know what your working with before you start....

You will like using coir in that hempy.....

 

How true CC...Altough some(igrow) may suggest flushing their medium on a weekly basis this should not be neccessary if your feeding the plants from a good base and only what they need and can consume. I would never recommend making flushing a routine in the garden and would only flush as a last resort to correct toxitity....
By allowing 20% runoff as a safe guard to avoiding salt build up and keeping ec levels between 1.2-1.3 as a good place for plants to be is key. From that ec level one can work up or, down to dial in their grow by observing their plants health and needs.
You just don't need to fix what is not broken and by taking a common sense approach to feeding will reap the rewards.....

Your hero is correct dingus....It's at the soil level where the roots live we should be concerned with and not what is going in.
I find checking ph runoff somewhat inaccurate and choose to take an actual sample of the soil and use the ph rapidtester to adjust the ph of the medium.

I don't think coco is a risk. It's like any other medium where you need to follow basic guidelines of the medium for success...The beauty of coco is the amount of oxygen the roots get for faster, healthier growth and is great as an organic medium...
As a substitute for dirt, I guess you could consider any grow that was not grown in the ground naturally a substitute. In dwc their are guidelines to follow and the temp of the solution is most important to root health. In coco the advantage is more forgiving in this respect......