Maximum Yield USA October 2017 | Page 94

cycl tips & tricks PUT THE PLANT IN THE COCONUT: HOW TO USE COIR FOR GROWING by Barbara H. Shaw COIR IS COMMONLY USED IN GROWING MEDIA. HERE’S A BIT MORE ABOUT WHERE IT COMES FROM AND HOW TO USE IT IN YOUR GROW SPACE. C oir is a natural product made from the inner fiber of the thick husk that surrounds a coconut. It’s rot-resistant, durable, and lightweight. These characteristics perfectly serve the species, Cocos nucifera, because they help coconut trees find new habitats by allowing the giant seeds float across the sea to distant beaches. Most imported coir comes from the southern coast of India and from nearby Sri Lanka, where it’s a by-product of harvesting coconuts for food and fiber. Inexpensive and sold in compacted bricks, coir is used to make products like thick doormats, brushes, rope, upholstery-stuffing, and planting baskets. It is also increasing popular as a soil amendment. Coir has some nice advantages as a soil amendment. (In soil mixes, use up to 40 per cent coir fiber.) It lasts longer, and it’s naturally free of bacteria, plant disease, fungal spores, weeds, seeds, and pathogens. Coir has great water-holding capacity too. It holds 30 per cent more water and is easier to rewet than peat moss. In addition, it creates airspace and allows better drainage in formerly compacted soils. In loose, sandy soils, it holds nutrients to prevent them washing out. 92 grow cycle