THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW WHEN BUYING COCO COIR
Coco coir is an extremely versatile medium that can be used on its own or in combination with other components to create an incredible soil blends .
But getting coco coir on its own can be a tricky process. If you’re trying to make your own blend and want to save costs on the coco coir you need to do it, you could end up hurting yourself and your plants in the end by not choosing the right options.
COCO COIR BRICKS
You have probably seen coco bricks at your local grow store, after all the packaging is pretty easy to recognize, it’s a brick. But not all coco coir bricks are created equally, and we mean that literally.
When shipped raw, coco bricks are highly variable, and typically never the same. There may be random EC/PH fluctuations per brick, other bricks might need to be to processed again and you also have the task of rehydrating the coco before being able to use it.
With the risk of variation between bricks, buying coco coir bricks in bulk can be risky if you don’t have the proper tools to re-process them if necessary.
UNBUFFERED COCO
Unbuffered coco coir is basically coco that is natural. That doesn’t sound like a bad thing right? Except some the nutrients that come naturally in coco aren’t great for growing plants, and they need to be buffered before you can use it.
In other words, unbuffered coco fiber has not been released from its high sodium, chloride, and potassium charge. That high potassium charge does not mix good with other fertilizers which can cause lockout and other problems.
You may save a couple bucks with a bag of unbuffered coco, but the costs will come back when you need to buy the proper supplements to buffer it before use.
GROUND COCO
The downside to commercially available coco coir is that if you don’t get in the forms already mentioned, it may come ground up. This is a standard for a lot of coco producers, but it has some downsides.
The main pitfall of ground coco is that the process of mechanically pulverizing coco decreases the oxygen and moisture holding capacity of the medium, which needs to be accounted for with additional components to get those properties back. AmGrowS Premium potting soils contain coco coir that isn’t pulverized, but gently broken down to maintain its long fibrous qualities, moisture holding capacity and oxygen content.
In addition to this process, we also include perlite to complete our Premium blends. This helps to aerate the soil even more while still maintaining incredible moisture holding capabilities.
Avoid the hassle of buying coco coir from an untrustworthy dealer across the ocean, having to buffer your own coco or break down the bricks, and grab a bag of AmGrowS Premium Potting Soils.
