Many of us are home growers. Beautiful potted plants not only create an indescribable atmosphere of comfort in the apartment, but also allow you to relax after a long day at work. After all, vegetation contributes to air humidification, which is very important in urban conditions.
Of course, growing flowers and other ornamental crops is a rather difficult task, and therefore beginners often make numerous mistakes. Especially often all these miscalculations are connected with the ground, the importance of choosing which many beginners either do not know at all, or simply ignore this circumstance. As a result, the flowers get sick for a long time, shed their leaves and die.
Many problems can be avoided simply by using coco coir. What it is and how to apply it - you will find all this in our article.
What is it and how to use it?
What is this? It's simple: this is the trade name for coconut shells, crushed to fibers and pressed into briquettes. Each such "brick" after soaking itin pure water it yields up to eight liters of fiber that can be used to grow plants.
Of course, it is not recommended to use this primer in its pure form, since different mixtures, which include additional additives, showed the best results. As such, ordinary agroperlite or vermiculite is most often used. To make such a soil mixture, we take 15 parts of coconut fiber and five parts by weight of your chosen additive.
Experimenting with the amount of vermiculite, you can choose the optimal amount, which will guarantee excellent moisture capacity of the resulting soil. Do not forget also about agroperlite, because it showed itself better in the regulation of soil moisture.
Isn't plain earth better?
The common belief about the need for land when growing potted plants is a profound misconception. Soil pH levels can fluctuate unpredictably, oxygen levels leave a lot to be desired, and extremely harmful parasites can be found even in expensive bagged soil. And this is not the whole list of existing shortcomings…
Even a special drug, for example, "Baikal-M1", gives a very short-term effect, and therefore the treatment must be constantly repeated. Fortunately, today there is already a coco substrate. He reached our country relatively recently, but immediately earned the deep recognition of all experienced gardeners and plant growers.
Where can I get it?
Even if you do not believe in its effectiveness, just try to plant an experimental batch in the substrate. We guarantee that after that you will forget about ordinary land. Fortunately, today you can buy it in almost any specialized store for gardeners. As a rule, coco substrate is sold in the retail network under the guise of coir fibers. It is distributed in compact briquettes that can be stored indefinitely.
What are the benefits of this substrate?
All of the above would be unfounded if we did not provide some additional information to support our words.
- Coconut substrate is a natural material that does not harm plants in any way.
- It can hold seven times more moisture than it weighs.
- Pathogenic microflora does not survive in it.
- The pH value is close to neutral, which is optimal for most types of indoor plants.
- This material is ideal for hydroponic growing herbs.
- Unlike artificial soils, coco substrate (which we describe below) does not interfere with the development of the root system.
- If you wash and disinfect it, you can reuse the material.
How to use it?
First, carefully stack the fiber layers on top of each other. Additives should be spread as evenly as possible, as otherwise it will not be possible to achieve optimal wetting of the soil substrate. fiber throughSprinkle each layer lightly with room temperature water.
We recommend using no more than 500 ml of water per pot. If desired, mineral fertilizers can be dissolved in it. In no case should you forget about the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot, as excess moisture will not lead to anything good. Despite the excellent moisture capacity of the substrate, plants still need frequent watering. We recommend keeping the humidity within 50%.
Before planting flowers, be sure to check the pH level with a regular litmus paper, which can be bought at a pharmacy or gardening store. If the value will be significantly different from the recommended value for this plant, use buffer or acidifier solutions, the ingredients for which are obtained from the same garden store.
Ornamental snail owners…
However, the benefits of this amazing material are not limited to its suitability for growing flowers and hydroponic crops! For example, a coco substrate for snails is used. More precisely, for their cultivation.
It is known that when keeping amphibians, the substrate often becomes the main problem: pebbles and sand can injure the delicate tissues of mollusks, and most natural materials quickly become a real hotbed of mold and fungus, which are deadly not only for snails, but also for reptiles and amphibians.
Why is coconut fiber good for snails?
The fact is that young snails oftenchange the sink. During this period, they burrow into the ground, thus protecting themselves from predators. In addition, in natural conditions it saves them from drying out. Scientists have also proven that snails eat soil to improve the digestion process. Egg laying is also carried out deep in the ground. Thus, the amount and thickness of the substrate should be selected taking into account the size of the snails themselves.
So, the coconut substrate for Achatina needs to be laid as thickly as possible.
How often should fiber be changed?
The substrate needs to be replaced as it gets dirty. The degree of moisture should be such that when squeezing it in a fist, water flows. The advantage of the coco substrate is that after contamination it can be washed in running water and boiled. It is believed that the soil should be completely changed once a month.
Coconut fiber reviews
And how do ordinary consumers evaluate the coco substrate? Reviews are almost always purely positive: as a rule, people highly appreciate the possibility of reusing it, and also note the compactness of the substrate briquettes in which it is sold in stores.
Snail lovers also say that coconut fiber soil practically does not rot, is able to absorb a huge amount of liquid and adsorb unpleasant odors. People who are passionate about terrariums note that in coconut fiber, the percentage of hatching of juvenile snails is several times higher.
This is due to the good penetration of air into it, with the ability of the fiberkeep the optimal amount of moisture, which does not allow the eggs to dry out. In addition, this substrate (as we have already said) has received wide recognition from animal lovers for its resistance to decay.
That's what coco substrate is. The instructions for its use, which we have given in this article, will surely help you grow incredibly beautiful indoor flowers or keep decorative snails and other inhabitants of the terrarium.
