Coco garden is an eco-friendly alternative to peat for growing vegetables. Its water and nutrient retention properties allow plants to access the essential vitamins they require for proper growth readily.
It offers excellent aeration and soil drainage; however, it should be used alongside a hydroponic system to avoid overwatering and root rot.
Aeration
Coco coir is an eco-friendly, sustainable plant-growing medium made from coconut husk fibers that offer many advantages over peat moss for plant cultivation. Coco coir’s high absorption rates, good root aeration properties, and durability make it suitable for hydroponics systems and accommodating various plant varieties.
For optimal coco garden success, the soil must have adequate aeration. Aeration involves increasing the pores in soil to allow more oxygen into plant roots – essential to avoid suffocation and help the roots absorb nutrients more efficiently. Coir also retains water well and prevents any growth of harmful fungi and organisms that could kill off your precious crops!
Coir fiber is biodegradable and more affordable than its peat counterpart, offering many possibilities for gardeners and seed starters. Coir can even be used in seed starters – making it the ideal solution for home growers!
Coir media offers many advantages over traditional soil, as it requires less frequent amendments and amendments. However, as it doesn’t contain fertilizers itself, you will need to supply your plants with their nutrients – for optimal results, it is recommended that hydroponic systems designed for this media type be used to prevent an excess salt build-up in coir beds.
Mother Earth Coco + Perlite Soilless Mix is an excellent example of a coco nutrient mix, featuring 70% coco coir and 30% perlite to improve aeration and drainage. It is ideal for indoor gardens as the substrate dries quickly, so you can feed plants more frequently; alternatively, Botanicare’s ReadyGro Moisture Formula Coco might be more suited if you prefer something that holds moisture longer.
Water Retention
Coco coir’s water retention properties make it an excellent growing medium for hydroponic gardens. Because coco coir retains water for extended periods, overwatering your plants won’t be an issue, and reducing amendment costs by not needing extra soil or compost is significantly decreased, saving both time and money in amendment costs.
Coco coir’s water retention properties help with nutrient uptake as it’s more porous than soil, giving your plants access to more of their nutrient solution, speeding growth, and improving plant health.
Coco coir’s low pH makes it more acidic than most soils, meaning you should regularly test its levels and adjust as necessary using dolomite lime. If using multiple crops with the same growing medium at once, rinse and buffer before each growing cycle for best results.
To hydrate coco coir, place the brick in a tub or bin large enough to hold several gallons of water and slowly add drops until the coir has absorbed all of it. After being correctly saturated, it should expand five or seven times its initial size before you fluff it with your hands or garden spade until it reaches an airy and soft consistency similar to soil.
After you have hydrated your coco coir, it is ready for use in your garden. Due to its high water retention capacity, however, regular irrigation of plants is still necessary; otherwise, their nutrients could be depleted from being so soggy all of the time. A tensiometer can help monitor its moisture level before feeding your plants for maximum efficiency.
Suppose your garden contains plenty of high-quality compost or worm castings. In that case, you may not need to buffer the coco coir at all – chances are, the soil already contains sufficient calcium and magnesium levels that won’t leave plants deficient in essential minerals like calcium and magnesium.
Soil Drainage
The growing medium is the material in which plants thrive, such as soil, clay, pebbles, coco coir, or water (hydroponics). Poor draining soil should be amended immediately to avoid problems like poor aeration and soggy, muddy conditions. Poor drainage also lowers oxygen levels in soil, which makes essential nutrients unavailable to plant roots – this issue can easily be remedied by adding organic matter or improving the permeability of the earth.
Add organic matter, like compost, peat moss, or coconut coir, to improve drainage in clay soil by layering raised beds for garden vegetables, compost or organic matter like compost or peat moss to break up its heavy texture and improve airflow to the plants. A layer of mulch may help extend water’s shelf life as it prevents its evaporation, while green manure cover crops help strengthen sandy or light soil by breaking up heavy structures that bind together.
An effective way to test soil drainage is by pouring water over its surface and timing how quickly the excess runs off. Soils with poor drainage rates of less than two inches per hour must be improved upon as soon as possible.
Coconut coir’s porous, airy structure helps it hold onto moisture more slowly than most ordinary garden soil, making it perfect for water-retaining seedlings and naturally anti-fungal. Unfortunately, coco soil does not hold onto nutrients as efficiently, meaning you may need to feed your plants more frequently if using coco soil.
Finely ground coir pith can more efficiently help tiny seeds germinate in containers or hydroponic systems. You can add it to any potting soil to improve aeration and drainage, use it in place of the earth when starting seeds or cuttings – or create your source starting mix! For larger plants, it can also be mixed with soil for increased aeration and drainage, helping roots take hold quickly on growing medium while taking in nutrients more efficiently.
Fertilization
Coir does not contain organic matter or nutrients found in soil, so sustainable growth requires nutrient-rich plant food. The solution must first be dissolved in water before being applied to the medium for plant absorption – a technique known as fertigation. For optimal results, CANNA Coco uses slow-release fertilizer with chelating agents that dissolve entirely when mixed with water; additionally, it also features special wetting agents to disperse its effects throughout its growing medium evenly.
For top-feed or ebb-and-flow hydroponic systems, loose coco should be mixed with perlite to reduce how much water it retains. Growers who prefer the consistency of coco chips may find them ideal in their setups as they provide similar advantages of coir — excellent nutrient retention and rapid drainage — without bulky pebbles or soil.
When growing in coco gardens, it is necessary to periodically flush or leach the medium with fresh water to prevent salt build-up in the root zone. How frequently this needs to be done depends on your setup size and frequency of nutrient applications.
Utilizing a tailored nutrient solution will ensure that soluble nutrients are released at an ideal ratio to your plants. Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect Sensi Grow soil amendment is explicitly designed for coco, offering plenty of calcium and magnesium while limiting potassium to prevent possible toxicity. General Hydroponics and Dyna Gro are other popular solutions, featuring organic surfactants to assist the nutrient solution penetrating cocoa clumps and being available for root absorption. No matter which nutrient brand you select, it is recommended that you begin by starting with low dosages and gradually increasing them until your plants have secured themselves on the medium. Once established, higher dosages can be introduced without risk.
