Coconut coir is one of the most remarkable mediums used in hydroponic gardening and agricultural practices as a common soil amendment. Coco coir has accrued a surging popularity in hydroponic gardening since it’s renewable, unlike other hydroponic mediums like peat moss, which is non-renewable.
Moreover, it has a neutral pH, exceptional absorbing capability, and is highly porous. These are just some of the advantages coconut coir offers for your soil or hydroponic mixture.
Buckle up, and let’s explore all the details you need to know about coconut coir, from how it is produced, its pros and cons, and how to use it to the different coir products available.
How Coir is Produced
Before diving into the details of how to produce coir, you first need to understand what coconut coir actually is.
Coconut coir is a product that is made up of the fibrous material from the outer husk of coconut. Gone are the days when we harvested coconuts only for their delicious, tasty meat and juice while their outer husk was discarded. Thanks to the many coconut fibre industries today, everything between the shell and the outer husk of the coconut seed is used to make coir.
Wondering how coconut coir is produced? Well, it is as simple as extracting the long white and brownish fibrous material found on the outer husk of the coconut. After extraction, these fibres undergo various processes, including cleaning, sorting and processing to create different types of coir products. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to produce coco coir:
- Coconut Husk Harvesting Process–After harvesting coconuts and preparing delicious fruit and juice, you’ll remain with the coconut husk.
- Soaking – You’ll have to soak the collected coconut husks in water. The soaking process is extensive, and it may even take a whole year for the husks to soften and break down the ligament that binds the fibres together.
- Fibre Extraction Process– the next step is to extract the fibres from the husk. This is a long, thread-like material that is mostly brown. Extraction of the fibre can be done manually or using a machine.
- Cleaning Process– the extracted fibres are cleaned thoroughly to remove any impurities.
- Drying Process – After washing the fibres, you must dry them under the sun or using machines. The extensive drying process involves removing all the water content from the fibres.
- Processing –Finally, the dried fibres undergo processing to produce ground coconut coir, which is finally made into different types.
Different Types of Coir Products
Coconut coir has excellent drainage, aeration, and water retention capabilities and is thus used in gardening, horticulture, and even hydroponics. There are different types of coir products available, they include:
Coco Fiber
These are long fibres extracted from the coconut husk. While they can create rope and twine, coco fibres are also common soil amendments since they are crucial in mulching, controlling soil erosion, and landscaping. Moreover, coconut fibre is very absorbent and aerates your growing media.
Coco Peat (Coco Pith)
It is also known as coco pith, the finely ground coconut coir obtained after processing and removing large particles. Coco peat has an excellent water retention capability; thus, it’s often used with other ingredients, such as perlite, to enhance the drainage of the resulting soil mix.
Coco Chips
Every production process has a waste product, and when it comes to coconut coir production, coco chips are the waste products. Coco chips are simply the small pieces of coconut husk. Although they might appear useless compared to the coco fibre and peat, these chips have excellent moisture absorption and retention capabilities and are thus ideal for hydroponics.
Although these three coir products can be used together as a growing medium, using a single coir product alone comes with specific benefits. Thus, you must understand your needs before settling for a single coir product or a combo.
Pros and Cons of Coconut Coir
Like any other gardening, horticultural or hydroponic medium, coconut coir has many advantages. Nevertheless, it also has its share of flaws. Let’s go through some of its advantages and disadvantages:
Pros
- It is renewable
- It has an excellent water and moisture retention capability
- Has a neutral PH
- Coir is pathogen-resistant
- Environmentally friendly
- Coir decomposes slowly and thus has an extended lifespan in soil
Cons
- It is inert, meaning it lacks nutrients
- It has low NPK levels; thus, you’ll need to regularly add fertilizers, calcium, and magnesium, among other supplements.
- It can be pretty expensive.
- Coconut coir is bought dry; thus, you’ll need to rehydrate it before use
How to Use Coir
Coir has numerous applications in gardening and agriculture. To be precise, it can be used in the following ways:
- Used As A Soil Amendment Component
Coconut coir amends garden soil by improving the soil structure, aeration and water retention ability. If you fancy gardening, you can mix coir with your garden soil or top-dress it on your soil.
- Coir is Used In Hydroponics
If you fancy hydroponics, then coconut coir is one of the best-growing mediums you’ll find out there. It provides an excellent medium for the plant roots to thrive and exhibits excellent water retention.
- Coconut Coir is Used In Making Potting Mixes
Coir can also be used to make potting compost and potting mixes. A potting mix is a substance used to grow plants in a container and is an excellent alternative for those looking to adopt hydroponic gardening. Coconut coir increases water retention in a potting mix.
Visit Earth Scape to buy coco peat products.
Editorial staff’s at Aligned Intermediary are experts on various niches.