Coco coir is a renewable organic material as you say which is about to give water retention and aeration to a plant mixture.

Peat was used in a similar manner but is not a renewable resource as coir is.

Composting a coir mixture or peat mixture makes a lot of sense as a way of recycling the materials and giving more advantages as the vehicle for the replication of growth promoting microbes such as Trichoderma fungi and Bacillus bacteria for instance.

As food needs intensify on shrinking tillable land resources the use of sheltered farming growing in containers and employing vertical production spaces are likely to grow in importance.

Done appropriately much of the issues with soil borne issues can be managed in these systems.

11 - ORGANIC SOILLESS MEDIA COMPONENTS

Author links open overlay panelMICHAELMAHERMUNOOPRASADMICHAELRAVIV

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Publisher Summary

This chapter deals with the organic materials used in soilless production: peat, coir, bark, wood products, and compost. It describes their physical and chemical properties and their effect on plant performance. It also discusses the composting process and reviews the biological stability of growing media and disease suppression. Peat has long been used as a component of potting mixes and has become the most widely used growing medium for containers as a complete growing medium by itself. However, the use of peat in horticulture has recently been questioned from an environmental standpoint, since peat is a non-renewable resource and since it plays a major role in atmospheric CO2 sequestration. Alternative organic substrates in organic--inorganic media mixes include waste organic by-products, such as wood industry wastes, urban wastes, cork, wood fibers, livestock manure composts, coconut wastes, etc. While some of these have been in use for a long time, others, such as coir and coconut wastes, have been tried more recently, sometimes with promising results. Alternative organic substrates that are well characterized and corrected by suitable blending with inorganic components make it possible to produce high-quality horticultural plants and contribute to the reduction of overexploitation of natural peat-lands. Chief among replacement materials has been bark and wood fiber from forestry and the wood industry. There is also increasing interest in coconut fiber (coir dust), green waste, and other plant and animal residues.

ORGANIC GARDENING, PLANT CARE

BY MARJORIE PERRELLI DAY

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Gardeners have been conditioning their soil with sphagnum peat moss for years, unknowingly contributing to carbon emissions by depleting some of the planet’s great carbon sinks. The peat bogs across the world do more to take carbon out of the air than the tropical rainforests. And they are being harvested at an unsustainable rate.

Sadly, most gardeners don't have a clue as to why they are using peat. In garden beds, peat moss retains moisture and aerates soil by making it "fluffier". New lawns are commonly seeded and covered with peat but it is ineffective for two reasons: the first hard rain washes the peat off the lawn. Second, Peat is acidic– most gardens and lawns in Westchester don't need more acidic soil.

Green-leaning gardeners use coconut coir (Kwai'-or) to replace unsustainable peat applications. Coir is a by-product of coconut harvesting. The shortest hull fibers and dust are compressed into bricks that expand when soaked in water. Coir performs similarly to peat, with less acidity. But like peat, it has little nutrients.

When reviewing the value of coir and peat, it seems both can easily be left out of the garden and lawn equation altogether.

THE REAL SMACK DOWN

The real smack down is Compost vs. Peat AND Coir. It's going to be an unfair fight because compost blows them both out of the garden.

For the lawn, finely screened, properly made compost is rich in organic matter, nutrients and beneficial microorganisms. Peat can’t compete. Gardens and lawns conditioned with organic compost in the spring and fall perform better in droughts, have healthier soil (ergo healthier plants) and better disease-resistance. If you make your own compost from kitchen and yard waste, it cuts down on garbage pickups.

Sorry peat. Sorry coir, compost wins.

There are two areas where coir wins over peat: seed starting and container plantings. Coir keeps the soil aerated and moist, while adding compost turns container soil into chunky rocks.

Final shot: Coir beats peat in containers and seed starting. Coir and peat both lose to compost for gardens and lawns.

Dear Jarred Lozano ,

Coir would be a great additive for compost because it mitigates unpleasant smells. Furthermore pests note get attracted for it. In wet status the amount of microorganism produced is high than dry state.