coco peat - How do you use it?

[Webos]

GDay all.
I'm putting together a soil mix and want to add coco peat (coir). How do I prepare it before adding it to my mix?

[senseijames]

G'day Webos, I have been using it for this seasons potting, just soak it in a large bucket of warm water (outside temp around midday ) , the amount of water depends on how large the block of cocoa peat is, do you know what size the block is IE: the finished amount that it supposed to make EG: 6 ltrs, 10 lts, 12 ltrs, 20 ltrs, 50 - 60 ltrs, ??, leave it in the water until it has totally soaked and collapses, you can keep adding water as necessary, while breaking it up, then just squeeze out the excess water and store it in a sealed container, not too tightly sealed.
James

[Webos]

Thanks Sensei,
So are you saying that in your soil mix, you would measure your coco peat ratio wet?

[Pup]

I use the house brick size blocks soaked in 4 and half litres of water the drained and used as needed. At that ratio it is not wet as such it is more fibrous.

When left to dry it is just the same. It rewts easy.

Cheers Pup

[rowan]

I am getting good results by filling pots half way or more with the fibre and topping it off with good potting soil. Trees seem to grow well. This means less weight when posting trees as I can take off much of the soil and the fibre is very light.

[senseijames]

Thanks Sensei,
So are you saying that in your soil mix, you would measure your coco peat ratio wet?

No mate, after you squeeze out the excess moisture, and let it stand for a couple of days, it is moist but no water runs out, thats when I mix it, you might find that the remains in the bottom of the container does have water in it though.
James

[roborthudson]

Hi,
You can prepare a mixture of soil and coco peat and adding water to it, and then mix this mixture of soil. Cocopeat increases the fertility of soil and boost plant growth. It also has the water holding capacity.

[Bougy Fan]

Test - where is everybody

[Graeme]

I'm here!!!

[Bougy Fan]

No one had posted for nearly 4 hours - guess everyone was out weeding and trimming

[Graeme]

Was goingt to say, "Could have been MKR?", but that was last night

[Joel]

Hi,
You can prepare a mixture of soil and coco peat and adding water to it, and then mix this mixture of soil. Cocopeat increases the fertility of soil and boost plant growth. It also has the water holding capacity.

Hi roborthudson,

Just a quick correction; Cocopeat doesn't increase the fertility of the soil. It is actually very poor of nutrients. It does have good water holding capacity though.

Joel

[Andrew Legg]

I soak it in 50/50 Red Bull/paint stripper to separate it. Then I smoke it in a broken bottle top. Not sure how to use it in soil mix though.

[Paul W]

by Bougy Fan
No one had posted for nearly 4 hours - guess everyone was out weeding and trimming

They must be keen weeding at 9.30 at night,No I think we had another meltdown as I put a couple of posts on and like Bretts they have gone into cyberspace.

[fireworks]

I soak the coco peat in a large tub of water. Included in the water is some Organic Life. I soak for about a week then drain and use a small amount when I make up my mix. It helps to retain water.