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Coco Peat – Instructions & Usages
Small fibres/coir are compressed and moulded into different shapes to make them into hard bricks. The size and shape of these marketing bricks may vary to meet the different requirements. They are in dry and compressed form to supply a large amount of coco peat in less area. It should be hydrated with water so that they expand many times more than its volume to provide a loose virgin coco peat in powder form. This process of hydrating is known as reconstitution.
Reconstitution of coco brick
Place the coco brick in a large tray or tub. Now slowly add water by turning the brick. Ensure you are
hydrating the brick from all sides.
Coir bricks can grow up to 15 times the size of their original form.
Now let the brick sit for 5-6 minutes.
Loosen the expanded coco peat and continue adding water to the remaining dry brick. Continue the
process until the whole brick got expanded.
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How to use coco peat in gardening ?
a) For container gardening:Prepare your own potting mix by mixing soil, compost, and coco peat in equal proportions. Or 35% coco peat, 40-45% soil and 20 - 25% compost. You can also mix coco peat with compost alone until it reaches a 1:1 ratio. But adding it with both soil and compost is recommended to avoid nutrient leaching as compost is rich in nutrients.
b) In gardens:Coco peat can be incorporated into the soil by slightly ploughing the planting area in your garden. This improves the soil structure and adds organic matter to the soil.
c) For germination:
Coco peat alone can be used to germinate seeds in the germination trays. It can be otherwise called a seed starting mix.
d) Bedding material:
It can be used as bedding material/substrate in activities like vermicomposting, mushroom cultivation etc.
e) For mulching:
Coco peat is also a great mulching material that prevents water loss from the soil or any material. It can be spread as a layer on land, potted plants (upon soil), compost heaps to reduce the moisture losses from them.
f) In hydroponics:
To use the coco peat in hydroponics, it should be washed properly. Wash the coir with continuous running water to get rid of chemicals or salts if present. After that you can use it in hydroponics by mixing it with clay pebbles and fertilizers to ensure the better growth of plants.
