Dropping Science - An interesting coco vs. peat study

[SpicySativa]

What up guys? I just read this article on my commute this morning, and I figured I'd share it with you guys.

http://www.usu.edu/cpl/PDF/CoconutCoirPaper.pdf

Enjoy!

P.S.- I didn't see any mention of pre-flushing/rinsing the coco, and I noticed they added lime to correct the pH of the peat, but no lime was added to the coco (author stated the pH was within range). Lime supplies cal (and mag, if dolomitic) in addition to buffering pH, so this is possibly an extra variable they didn't control for...

 

[greenmatter]

interesting paper!

it should start a very interesting debate

 

[SpicySativa]

Nothin wrong with a little (civilized) debate.

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

There's not much to debate. The studies are listed at the bottom of the link.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Just the first page in, gotta take a minute to say thank you. I like getting confirmation and/or dispute resolution. This is confirming high K content and low Ca content of coirs, which has been one of the main assertions I was taught early on--that care with going too high with K must be taken if using coir, as well as ensuring absolutely sufficient Ca is available.

 

[growinthehills]

The study said it Coir sucks!

Haha
Just messing didn't read the whole thing just the summary at the end...

 

[quinoa64]

Well, it certainly sucks for growing corn!

Pretty interesting read, and it *is* making me think about trying a peat mix in the future. But it's not really fair to say that the study proves anything more than that coir sucks when it's treated the same as peat mix. If really wanted to grow healthy corn in coir, you'd get together with a bunch of similarly minded folks on the internet and figure out the best way to do it!

 

[Rjrom90]

all those plants in coco look cal/mag deficient. all the cocos used were cheap brands with no pre-rinse or cal/mag supplemented. study seems biased.

 

[SpicySativa]

all those plants in coco look cal/mag deficient. all the cocos used were cheap brands with no pre-rinse or cal/mag supplemented. study seems biased.

Just the point I made in my first post. Maybe not the most reliable study, but it's food for thought, anyway.

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

The reliable studies would be the literature cited part at the bottom.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

The problem is that there are no 'standards' which coir is measured or evaluated. You have at least 5 production sources - Sri Lanka ain't Thailand which ain't Mexico and on and on.

Adding in the plethora of consumer-based products (compressed bricks), salinity issues, etc. and it's easy to understand why the coir industry stepped on their dicks with commercial nurseries - lack of any standards that you have with Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss.

Loose-pack coir products from Sri Lanka is a source used at legitimate nurseries - Sunshine Just Coir is such a product, Teuful Nurseries Sri Lanka Coir is another. Even then you have brown coir and white coir versions to consider using.

CC

 

[SeaMaiden]

all those plants in coco look cal/mag deficient. all the cocos used were cheap brands with no pre-rinse or cal/mag supplemented. study seems biased.

They used ag coirs treated as any grower would. Measured EC and everything. The study says that Ca must be supplemented, and my experience agrees with that.

Would you explain what a 'cal/mag' deficiency looks like? I know what a Ca- looks like, and I know what a Mg- looks like, but I don't know what a cal/mag deficiency looks like.

 

[Rjrom90]

stunted/yellow plants.

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

I noticed they added lime to correct the pH of the peat, but no lime was added to the coco (author stated the pH was within range). Lime supplies cal (and mag, if dolomitic) in addition to buffering pH, so this is possibly an extra variable they didn't control for...

all those plants in coco look cal/mag deficient. all the cocos used were cheap brands with no pre-rinse or cal/mag supplemented. study seems biased.

"MATERIALS AND METHODS- TRIAL 2

A second trial was conducted to compare coconut coir from both Mexico and Sri Lanka. The coir from Mexico was the same as used in the previous trial. The Sri Lankan coir brands were Grow Coir, Canna, and Sun Leaves. Media was mixed using a 1 to 1 ratio, by volume, of substrate and perlite. Corn and broccoli were selected for this trial because of the poor development of these species in the previous trial. Two levels of calcium sulphate (0.5 and 1.5 g/L) were added to the coir treatments to increase the calcium availability to the plants. Because of the low electrical conductivity of the Sri Lanka based coir brands only one replication was used for each treatment of calcium sulphate. Two replications were used for each calcium sulphate treatment in the Mexican coir brands. Sphagnum peat/perlite (1:1) was the control. All coir brands had a control without calcium sulfate. ..."

 

[VerdantGreen]

i didnt get on well with using coco as an ingredient in a soil mix like i would peat...

but it seems to work well as a hydro type medium.

 

[SeaMaiden]

I've never used it in conjunction with 'soil', either, but neither have I used peat unless it's already part of a pre-made soil. Neither have I used CaSO4 as the source of Ca in my coir cultivation, though I have a big bag on hand for my OD use (heavy clay soils outside).

 

[greenmatter]

IME coco (at least the bricks) is a very inconsistent product. i compared the run off from bricks that i had just hydrated and the numbers were all over the place. coco is a good grow media IMHO but i won't pay $30 + for a bag.

one of the organic heavies pointed out that peat comes from the ground and coco grows in a tree 20 feet in the air ............ it kind of makes sense that peat an plants get along better

 

[SpicySativa]

"MATERIALS AND METHODS- TRIAL 2

A second trial was conducted to compare coconut coir from both Mexico and Sri Lanka. The coir from Mexico was the same as used in the previous trial. The Sri Lankan coir brands were Grow Coir, Canna, and Sun Leaves. Media was mixed using a 1 to 1 ratio, by volume, of substrate and perlite. Corn and broccoli were selected for this trial because of the poor development of these species in the previous trial. Two levels of calcium sulphate (0.5 and 1.5 g/L) were added to the coir treatments to increase the calcium availability to the plants. Because of the low electrical conductivity of the Sri Lanka based coir brands only one replication was used for each treatment of calcium sulphate. Two replications were used for each calcium sulphate treatment in the Mexican coir brands. Sphagnum peat/perlite (1:1) was the control. All coir brands had a control without calcium sulfate. ..."

Good catch... I "read" this paper on my tiny little iPhone screen and I admit I skimmed a few parts...

Thanks for clarifying that for us.

 

[CulturedHeathen]

I find that coco adds fantastic "body" to soil mixes. I have grown with straight coco and salt-based nutrients for years and have had results (weight-wise) that are unattainable with organic, soil-based grows. I have recently started back up with the organics and am mixing ~20% good quality (Canna or B`Cuzz) coir with Black Gold OG as the base. I have never had happier plants. With coco in the mix, the soil hydrates much more readily and the plants show no signs of deficiencies/toxicities. I will use Coco in part or in whole for the remainder of my growing career. I also like that it is a sustainable by-product and not a finite resource.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I guess that ol' deforestation issue isn't a consideration on the coir deal, right? Not to mention the wasteland created with fungicides, pesticides and herbicides used to produce coconuts.