has anybody tried using cocotek as a growing medium?

[geffcardo]

i got it at a hydroponic store and i wanted to try experimenting it to my butterwort instead of using peat moss

 

[swords]

Is it Coir or coconut husk fibers without any fertilizers added? If it's just Coir then yes you can use it as a replacement for peat moss I bought a huge bale of the stuff off ebay a while ago and have been using it going on 3 years next spring! Some acid loving plants might enjoy a mix of some peat moss in the coir to make it more acidic but in general it works good, hard to wet well without overwetting though, just like peat. I am a big fan of LFS on most stuff (add some shredded cypress mulch to add drainage on bigger pots) cos peat and coir can both go foul after a while compared to plants in LFS which can go years without becoming nasty.

 

[geffcardo]

its coir.
thanks swords, cuz i was pretty worried.
i got the size of a brick of it. when i soaked it, it expanded like crazy!!! i only needed it fit an 8 inch pot, but since i soaked the whole brick, i had A LOT left over. SO i decided to repot my adelae too.
So now i have an adeleae, my original butterwort, and about 8 leaf pullings of butterworts in coco coir and space rocks. Oh yea, and enough coco coir soil to feed half the town's plants

 

[swords]

LOL Didn't you know how much it would expand? I bought that bale and were I to wet it all at once it would probably expand and fill a kiddie pool!

You can also get Coir bricks sold as "Bed A Beast" at Petsmart and Petco in the reptile dept.

 

[rattler]

DO NOT USE IT BY ITSELF!

it breaks down rapidly into sludge quickly, as in a couple months, if it is used by itself in a pot or in a heavy mix that does not allow air to move in the media readily.......however mixed with orchid bark or other large lumpy media it can work fine...

 

[swords]

Yup, it's just like peat to me, I'm not a big fan of the stuff. LFS is better.

 

[rattler]

peat may go bad.....coir WILL go bad if used by itself......does work decent for starting nep seeds but i transplant them out of it as soon as they get a couple pairs of leaves....

 

[swords]

Alone it behaves the same as peat for me. I've been using the coir & shredded cypress mulch 50/50 for 3 years in my anole tank and it's still doing fine. My Ant plants however have only been in their pots of all coir for a year or so and look as if they ought to be moved as the soil is getting an old peat look about it.

 

[rattler]

the key in your anole tank is the cypress mulch and im sure your ant plants havent been kept soaking wet 24-7.......used with normal house plants where it gets to dry out some or mixed with something like bark and it works fine......use it as pure peat with CPs where it is soaked constantly it turns to nasty sludge quick....

 

[geffcardo]

i knew it would expand but i didnt know how to break little pieces of it off so i threw the whole thing in one of those big tubs
im using it with perlite. all of my plants are in the coco and prelite cuz i had so much soil left over lol
i even did some leaf pullings on the pings
what are the soils recommended for sundews and pings?

 

[swords]

Most people use peat/sand or peat/perlite in a 50/50 blend but I've been using peat/cherrystone turkey grit for my few dews and pings. The grit being a tad larger keeps the peat more open and allows it to breathe. Perlite seems to attract algae, just like peat generally does but I'm interested to see if a more open peat mix won't foul as quickly. I consider a year in peat without needing to repot as being "successful". I really don't like peat. Basically if I want to be safe I pot most CPs in Long Fibered Sphagnum Moss.

This from Lowes:

 

[geffcardo]

just long fibered sphagnum moss?

 

[swords]

For pots 4" and smaller I generally use plain shredded LFS for dews (not pygmies) and pings and baby Neps. My Cephalotus and Sarr purpurea are also in plain LFS. On bigger pots 6"+ it's a good idea to put orchid bark or shredded cypress mulch in it to open it up so it doesn't compact over time. I like LFS best because if it doesn't get infected with algae it can last a couple, of years.