Source for Washed Coco Coir?

ohiobruce

ohiobruce

Well-known member
Does anyone have a good source for coco coir? I don't want to have to wash it.

I estimate that I will need about 75 quarts for my classroom rooting project, so something economical would be good too.
 
It may be more pricey. But I would check out some reptile stores online. The stuff for plants I find sometimes has sand or plastic in it. I even found one to have small pieces of glass. I still order the plant type because of price but I would not take a chance if being used in a classroom.
 
@ohiobruce if you're not going with straight coco coir I personally recommend not using Pro mix for propagation. I don't know if you can purchase Gary's best mineral soil but that's what we've had the best luck with this year, and last year. I mix it with perlite#3, and coco coir, if you can't get Gary's best then mix with regular peat moss. LOL trust, and believe I'm not the only one who's getting better results not using Pro mix. Though I'm sure there will be opinions voiced that are not in agreement.
 
GoodFriendMike said:
It may be more pricey. But I would check out some reptile stores online. The stuff for plants I find sometimes has sand or plastic in it. I even found one to have small pieces of glass. I still order the plant type because of price but I would not take a chance if being used in a classroom.
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, my daughter gave me a brick of it and I'm using it now. My concern was that I couldn't verify if it had been rinsed. So I rinsed it and then spent some time drying it. I'll see if I can find some that has been rinsed.
 
Figless said:
@ohiobruce if you're not going with straight coco coir I personally recommend not using Pro mix for propagation. I don't know if you can purchase Gary's best mineral soil but that's what we've had the best luck with this year, and last year. I mix it with perlite#3, and coco coir, if you can't get Gary's best then mix with regular peat moss. LOL trust, and believe I'm not the only one who's getting better results not using Pro mix. Though I'm sure there will be opinions voiced that are not in agreement.
Click to expand...

In my area, the garden centers have closed shop for the year so I'll need to order what I need. I was planning on using coco coir and pearlite. And maybe adding peat to the mix.

But, I also bought 3 gallons of pumice, and I have about that amount of pearlite, and a 4 cu ft bag of peat moss. I also have Dip-n-Grow and a bag of OptiSorb DE I bought from O'Reilly's Auto Parts. And Mosquito Bits. And a bag of Mykos mycorrhizae. And a pH kit. And water soluble fertilizer.

If I can't get Gary's, what ratio of coir, peat, and pearlite do you recommend?

I might make 3 different mixes and try 25 of each. I've expanded my original number to account for cutting failures.

All of the students might not get a fig, but they'll get a life lesson instead. Lol.
 
I was looking up my favorite brand to post it here and just saw it’s no longer in stock on Amazon. Bummer!

I do hate to recommend buying coco coir on Amazon because the shipping is incorporated into the price and it adds up. Better if you can get it from a local hydroponics store.

I have gotten this brand though before and it works well:


It also is available without perlite.

If you are okay with mixing your own though, you can get base ingredients from Home Depot or Lowes.

Good mixes are 50/50 peat and perlite or pumice; or 1:1:1 of peat, perlite or pumice, and vermiculite.
 
Figless said:
@ohiobruce if you're not going with straight coco coir I personally recommend not using Pro mix for propagation. I don't know if you can purchase Gary's best mineral soil but that's what we've had the best luck with this year, and last year. I mix it with perlite#3, and coco coir, if you can't get Gary's best then mix with regular peat moss. LOL trust, and believe I'm not the only one who's getting better results not using Pro mix. Though I'm sure there will be opinions voiced that are not in agreement.
Click to expand...
I’ll take the bait - why is ProMix not recommended for use? I’ve only used it one season when purchased on clearance without issue rooting cuttings, seed starting and uppotting. It’s only peat moss, coir and perlite of varying percentages.
 
bushdoctor82 said:
I’ll take the bait - why is ProMix not recommended for use? I’ve only used it one season when purchased on clearance without issue rooting cuttings, seed starting and uppotting. It’s only peat moss, coir and perlite of varying percentages.
Click to expand...
I was wondering the same thing. I have never used it. But it seems most fig growers love it.
 
ohiobruce said:
In my area, the garden centers have closed shop for the year so I'll need to order what I need. I was planning on using coco coir and pearlite. And maybe adding peat to the mix.

But, I also bought 3 gallons of pumice, and I have about that amount of pearlite, and a 4 cu ft bag of peat moss. I also have Dip-n-Grow and a bag of OptiSorb DE I bought from O'Reilly's Auto Parts. And Mosquito Bits. And a bag of Mykos mycorrhizae. And a pH kit. And water soluble fertilizer.

If I can't get Gary's, what ratio of coir, peat, and pearlite do you recommend?

I might make 3 different mixes and try 25 of each. I've expanded my original number to account for cutting failures.

All of the students might not get a fig, but they'll get a life lesson instead. Lol.
Click to expand...

If you could get a little Horticultural pumice in the mix so much the better. As been noted previously Horticultural pumice, and perlite aerate at different levels in the soil due to different weights. Roughly 30% perlite 35% peat moss, 30% coco. But if you can get ahold of Gary's best it also has 5% biochar and 10% or more Horticultural pumice. If not just go with the figures mentioned above. The reason I do not recommend promix is because there is a counter indicated Myco Strain in the mix that produces yellow mushrooms throughout the Fig pop bags. Whenever these little buggers develop we call them the yellow mushrooms of death. Cuts our success rate way back. I haven't just used it once or twice I've used it lots, and lots of times. Now I prefer to Omit this ingredient just go with peat moss. Or Gary's or any good mineral soil formula.
 
bushdoctor82 said:
I’ll take the bait - why is ProMix not recommended for use? I’ve only used it one season when purchased on clearance without issue rooting cuttings, seed starting and uppotting. It’s only peat moss, coir and perlite of varying percentages.
Click to expand...
ProMix is designed for sprouting seeds and is very fine and dense. It technically holds too much water for cuttings because of that reason. It’s about 80% peat and 20% perlite, give or take depending on the one you buy. When you read of people having to weigh their pots or use syringes for watering because otherwise they die, this is why.

Cuttings need a more aerated mix. When it’s balanced, you don’t have to be as afraid to water them because a balanced mix is what works for the intention. 50/50 is recommended for cuttings.
 
ktrain said:
I may have missed some of this...you are planning a class project, how many students?
Click to expand...

61. I originally intended to do less than half of that and hold a raffle for the trees, but after seeing their interest, I figured I should try and give one to everyone. Go big or go home, right? Lol. So now I'm rooting a few in my basement to see if I can get it figured out before next spring.
 
Figless said:
If you could get a little Horticultural pumice in the mix so much the better. As been noted previously Horticultural pumice, and perlite aerate at different levels in the soil due to different weights. Roughly 30% perlite 35% peat moss, 30% coco. But if you can get ahold of Gary's best it also has 5% biochar and 10% or more Horticultural pumice. If not just go with the figures mentioned above. The reason I do not recommend promix is because there is a counter indicated Myco Strain in the mix that produces yellow mushrooms throughout the Fig pop bags. Whenever these little buggers develop we call them the yellow mushrooms of death. Cuts our success rate way back. I haven't just used it once or twice I've used it lots, and lots of times. Now I prefer to Omit this ingredient just go with peat moss. Or Gary's or any good mineral soil formula.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I didn't want to buy promix anyway. Off now to research making biochar.

You make a good point about not using a product just once or twice. Youtube is full of videos where someone posts several different methods over the course of time as they learn from their mistakes. But each revision is posted as the "best". It's hard for a new guy to figure it out sometimes.
 
Inflorescence said:
ProMix is designed for sprouting seeds and is very fine and dense. It technically holds too much water for cuttings because of that reason. It’s about 80% peat and 20% perlite, give or take depending on the one you buy. When you read of people having to weigh their pots or use syringes for watering because otherwise they die, this is why.

Cuttings need a more aerated mix. When it’s balanced, you don’t have to be as afraid to water them because a balanced mix is what works for the intention. 50/50 is recommended for cuttings.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Does it matter what the 50 percent is as long as there is 50 percent pearlite/pumice, etc? So, could I go 25 percent coir/25 percent peat/40 percent pearlite/10 percent pumice?
 
ohiobruce said:
Thanks. Does it matter what the 50 percent is as long as there is 50 percent pearlite/pumice, etc? So, could I go 25 percent coir/25 percent peat/40 percent pearlite/10 percent pumice?
Click to expand...

You absolutely could do that!

In many ways it does not matter, even the 50/50 ratio can be altered in different directions depending on your climate. For example, humid areas may prefer a more aerated mix, dry areas may prefer a more water retentive mix.

The only thing to keep in mind is that coco coir holds less water than peat. Chunkier coco coir will hold less water than fine coco coir. Some things provide both aeration and moisture retention, such as vermiculite.

Not to make it more complicated for you! But you really can play around with it a lot.

Some make gritty mixes where they combine a bunch of different things, like coarse clay particles, zeolite, sand, vermiculite, DE, pumice, perlite, etc. and then add in a certain percentage of peat to help keep moisture dispersed throughout the mix.
 
Last edited:
Inflorescence said:
You absolutely could do that!

In many ways it does not matter, even the 50/50 ratio can be altered in different directions depending on your climate. For example, humid areas may prefer a more aerated mix, dry areas may prefer a more water retentive mix.

The only thing to keep in mind is that coco coir holds less water than peat. Chunkier coco coir will hold less water than fine coco coir. Some things provide both aeration and moisture retention, such as vermiculite.

Not to make it more complicated for you! But you really can play around with it a lot.

Some make gritty mixes where they combine a bunch of different things, like coarse clay particles, zeolite, sand, vermiculite, DE, pumice, perlite, etc. and then add in a certain percentage of peat to help keep moisture dispersed throughout the mix.
Click to expand...

It sounds like I need to dive in and try a few different things to see what works for me.

I clicked your links and read the articles you wrote about rooting, rotting, and mixes. Very educational! Thanks.
 
ohiobruce said:
61. I originally intended to do less than half of that and hold a raffle for the trees, but after seeing their interest, I figured I should try and give one to everyone. Go big or go home, right? Lol. So now I'm rooting a few in my basement to see if I can get it figured out before next spring.
Click to expand...
Well then, such a great idea deserves some assistance, if you pm me your address I will send you 4 bricks of coir to start you on your journey. :)
If you would like them that is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top