Categoriescocopeat coir organic soil-less soil-less media

Coconut coir or coco coir is nowadays a popular choice for growing plants. It has certainly replaced peat moss as a growing medium in many cases and rightly so. Coir has several advantages over peat moss which we will discuss in this article.

This is a follow-up article from our earlier ones on soil-less growing media and Peat moss. If you haven’t read them yet, go visit the articles first.

What is Coco Coir?

Coir, (pronounced COY-er) is extracted from coconuts. It is basically a natural fiber extract from a coconut husk of the inner shell of the coconut.

Coir is used for all sorts of products, from doormats to hanging baskets. One of the most undervalued uses of coir which is becoming increasingly popular is as a potting mix and organic soil amendment.

The coir we use in gardening and agriculture is more like a substance. It is made from the pith found between the fibers.

The Composition of Coir: What Coco Coir is Made of?

Coco Coir contains a good amount of cellulose and lignin. As mushrooms thrive on Cellulose, coir is a very good substrate to cultivate Mushrooms.

Is Coco Coir acidic?

Coir generally has a pH level in the range of 6-6.5. which is a very good pH level for plant growth in most of the cases.

How to make coconut coir?

The English word “coir” comes from the Tamil and Malayalam word “kayaru”, which mean cord, to be twisted.

In a coconut, the place between the hard inner shell and the outer coat is called the husk. It is the place from where we extract coir.

These fibers make up about a third of the coconut husk, The rest, called peat, pith, or coco dust.

Coconut Fibers or Coir Fibers:

Coir Fiber can be of two types:

White fiber and

Brown fiber.

When the fibers are extracted from the green coconuts it is called white fibers. One of the amazing features of white fibers is that they are resistant to saltwater.

Due to this, industries such as manufacturing rope, mats, and fishing nets use white coconut fibers a lot.

Brown fibers are extracted from the fully matured coconuts. It is a key ingredient in making doormats, brushes, and mattresses. These fibers are also a good solution to insulation and packaging.

The process of taking out the husk of the fruit is known as De-husking.

Coir Peat:

Once we extract the coconut fibers, we are left with coconut Coir, (or coir) or Coco peat (cocopeat). It is the second part of the husk that covers most of the portion.

Coir was earlier thought of as a waste product, but now this is more of an alternative to peat moss in Gardening.

People call this peat by various names. Coco coir, coco pith, coco peat, cocopeat, coco dust, soil, or only coir are broadly the same thing. For simplicity, I will represent this by the single word “coir”.

Coir provides a suitable substrate for horticultural use. It is widely used as a soil-less potting media. As coir is high in sodium and potassium, it sometimes contains excess salt.

So before using as a growth medium, this excess salt needs to be treated. To do this, it is first washed, and then screened and graded into various granularity and density.

Is Coco Coir Good for plants?

Coco coir is an excellent medium for growing plants because it is very light in weight and can hold a lot of water. As a seed-starter, coir is excellent.

Why Coconut Coir is Used in Gardening?

Coir is a very good growing medium for plants. It can be a good component of a high-quality potting mix.

Most of the potting mixes available in the market still use peat moss as the base component. if you make your own potting soil, you can replace peat moss with a greener alternative the coir.

Using coco coir for seed starting is a great choice because of its organic and sterile nature.

You can use coco dust to amend garden soil quality. Coir has an amazing water retention capacity. They can absorb more water than peat and is far easier to re-wet. Mixing coir with soil works great because:

Coir improves soil aeration and moisture retention. It loosens the texture of clay soil and improves drainage. And, it allows the sandy soil to hold on to water longer.

Coir is resistant to bacterial and fungal growth. It provides a lot of new opportunities to the potting mix suppliers, seedling nurseries, Hydroponic growers and greenhouse growers.

Can coco peat replace soil?

Yes, coco coir can be used as a replacement for soil especially for urban homes where space constraints force people to look for alternative material.

Coir is very lightweight and can hold water very efficiently.

You can never overwater coir as it has very good drainage.

Coir is excellent for starting seeds.

Having said that you cannot use a 100% coir to grow plants. It lacks basic plant nutrients so mixing coir with other mediums and compost is essential for growing plants.

How to use coconut coir for gardening

Coir is an excellent soil enhancer. In gardening, you can use coconut coir to make excellent potting mix and to improve the soil quality in your garden.

But rarely you will find coco coir in ready to use format. After getting the coir you have to first prepare it for plants.

How to prepare coco peat for plants:

Coco coir is generally sold in compressed blocks. The good thing about this is that it’s easy to transport and store but you can not use this coir block directly in gardening. You have to first prepare the coco peat for plants by soaking it in water and convert it into a loamy texture.

First place a coir brick in a large container. The brick can increase about 5-6 times in volume; make sure your container is large enough to hold it. Then add enough water on the brick.

Wait for some time so that the coir brick can absorb the water. The time varies from brand to brand.

Next, you can mix the material with your hands or cultivator to fluff the loose coir. This coir is now ready to use for growing plant.

A standard 5 kg coir brick (about 12.5 x 12.5 8 in. or 32 x 32 x 20 cm) will be able to make approximately 60 liters of coir.

Is Coco Coir Organic?

Coco coir is organic. It is extracted from coconut plants. No chemicals are present in the coir and it is naturally weed-free.

This coir is biodegradable but it bio-degrades slowly, more slowly than regular peat moss and other organic matters. Coir doesn’t smell foul. As a soil amendment, it also adds organic matter to your soil.

What Are The Different types of Coco Coir?

Coir can be of two types:

sterilized coco coir and

unsterilized coco coir.

How to Sterilize Coco Coir:

There are two ways to sterilize the coco coir:

Using hydrogen peroxide and Using chlorine bleach

Sterilizing with hydrogen peroxide:

Use 2ml of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide per liter of water. Once the mixture is ready, soak the coir into the mixture for 4-5 hours. After that rinse the coir thoroughly with clean water. Now your coir is fully sterilized.

Sterilizing with Chlorine bleach:

If you don’t want to use hydrogen peroxide you can use, a chlorine bleach to sterilize your coir. Use 5% bleach and mix it with water. For 1 kg of bleach, you will need 5 liters of water.

Soak the coir for 4-5 hours. Then remove the coir and rinse it (till the smell is gone totally) with clean water.

In sterilized coir peat, the fungi Trichoderma is not present due to sterilization.

Trichoderma works in symbiosis with plant roots. It protects plants from harmful pathogenic fungi such as Pythium. This is why people nowadays are shifting from using sterilized to unsterilized coir.

What are the Advantages of Using Coir over Sphagnum Peat Moss?

Although many firms in the peat industry are trying to harvest and manage peat bogs in a responsible, sustainable rate, demand is so high, it is safe to say peat is more of a non-renewable source. Coconut coir is not only a natural, organic product, but unlike peat moss a renewable one.

Coir is hydrophilic. Unlike peat moss, it can quickly re-absorb water even when completely dry. Coco peat is porous you cannot over-water it easily.

Coir is slow to decompose and lasts longer in the soil.

It is both sterile and free of weed seeds.

The coir pH is far less acidic (5.8 – 6.8 range) than that of the peat moss (3.5 – 4.5 range).

Coco coir Improves aeration and moisture retention qualities of the soil.

Coir also provides resistance to pythium and other root diseases.

Disadvantages Of Using Coir:

The downside of using coir is that coir has a very little amount of calcium or any other nutrients. Sometimes they are rich in potassium and a few micronutrients.

Coir tends to compact, you might have witnessed this by yourself if you have handled a coir brick before.

Because it retains water, there is a chance of salt build-up.

Depending upon your location coir can be a more expensive than sphagnum peat moss.

Does cocopeat have nutrients? Can we grow plants only in coco peat?

You should not use coir as a sole growing media for growing plants. The nutrient content in coir is very low. If you insist on growing solely on coir, add some nutrient solutions as per the need of the specific plants.

Coir from countries like India and Sri Lanka contains several and micro plant nutrients including a large quantity of potassium. This potassium interferes with the magnesium availability of the soil.

Generally, coir has a deficiency of Calcium and Magnesium. To remove this problem add a good amount of dolomite to your coir. The Dolomites contain both calcium and magnesium and can be a solution to the problem.

Can cocopeat be composted?

Coir is made from coconut husk and it is a biodegradable product. But it degenerates very slowly. But this should not stop you from using coir in compost.



Don’t use coir as a main composting ingredient but to supplement the ingredients. Add composting ingredients in layers alternating with a 1-inch layer of coco coir.

Coir is a good absorbent. So it will absorb the nutrient-filled extract when the ingredients start to decompose. Coir is also a good deodoriser. So it will purify if there is any foul smell that results from composting.



The fungus Trichoderma present in coco coir produces enzymes that will also fasten your composting process.

How to Reconstitute a Coir Brick:

Before reconstituting a coir brick please read the label. It generally informs you how much water you need to convert the coir brick into a loamy usable form. Add water per the label’s instructions.

Help it reconstitute. The outer portion of the coco coir brick will first start to soften. Break and crumble the soften portion it will speed up the process. Don’t worry if it seems like all you have is a muddy mess. If you expose the entire brick, it will absorb the water.

Once the whole brick has crumbled, you can use the coir for growing plants. It will remain loose, even when dry, and will last for years.

Other Uses of Coco Coir:

Apart from agricultural usage, you can use dry coir as an oil absorbent especially on slippery floors. It has a very good absorbing ability. People also use it to absorb animal wastes.