- Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:54 pm
#15888
COIR -- The experience continues
Dionaea muscipula seeds germinating in pure coir, July, 2009
My impression of coir so far--
The short story--
Awesome!
The longer story--
Time will tell.
Coir holds both air and water in a seemingly ideal mix. However, coir by itself can hold so much water, for so long, that I don't believe it would be good with the "tray method" of watering plants from below for extended periods of time. I'll bet it would promote rot, and then algal and fungal growth on the decomposing organic matter. A mix of coir with other ingredients would be better (see "Flytrap Ranch Coir Medium" below).
For seed germination, pure coir seems great, so long as the medium is thoroughly watered and then allowed to dry somewhat and is not kept in a tray of water.
For general purposes, the best ideal coir mixture I have come up with so far is the following, using coir rehydrated from compressed bricks or bales, then soaked, drained and rinsed with rainwater or distilled water (probably unnecessary precaution, soaking and rinsing the coir to remove any residual mineral salts), then dried until light and fluffy. Coir is springy and spongy. It soaks up water and makes numerous tiny air pockets. It's great stuff.
Flytrap Ranch Coir Medium
I have about a dozen Venus Flytraps growing in this medium so far, and all of them are doing great and seem to love the medium. Unless some long-term negative effects can be observed, I'm sold on it and plan to use it for all my plants. It's great stuff!
Steve
Dionaea muscipula seeds germinating in pure coir, July, 2009
My impression of coir so far--
The short story--
Awesome!
The longer story--
Time will tell.
Coir holds both air and water in a seemingly ideal mix. However, coir by itself can hold so much water, for so long, that I don't believe it would be good with the "tray method" of watering plants from below for extended periods of time. I'll bet it would promote rot, and then algal and fungal growth on the decomposing organic matter. A mix of coir with other ingredients would be better (see "Flytrap Ranch Coir Medium" below).
For seed germination, pure coir seems great, so long as the medium is thoroughly watered and then allowed to dry somewhat and is not kept in a tray of water.
For general purposes, the best ideal coir mixture I have come up with so far is the following, using coir rehydrated from compressed bricks or bales, then soaked, drained and rinsed with rainwater or distilled water (probably unnecessary precaution, soaking and rinsing the coir to remove any residual mineral salts), then dried until light and fluffy. Coir is springy and spongy. It soaks up water and makes numerous tiny air pockets. It's great stuff.
Flytrap Ranch Coir Medium
- 12 parts by volume of dry, fluffy coir
- 5 parts by volume of coarse silica sand (or any silica sand, or a mixture of silica sand and perlite)
I have about a dozen Venus Flytraps growing in this medium so far, and all of them are doing great and seem to love the medium. Unless some long-term negative effects can be observed, I'm sold on it and plan to use it for all my plants. It's great stuff!
Steve