Growing plants with coco peat: dos and don’ts

Coco peat bricks are great to work with. Not only is coco peat a sustainable resource and an ideal medium for growing and cultivating your crops, it is also easy to use.

Here’s our list of helpful ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ when it comes to using coco peat.

Do:

• Do add enough water so that the coco peat bricks are saturated (to add water, break the bricks and put them into a large bucket)
• Let them soak in the water, so that they absorb the water and loosen up. Stir and fluff them up after about 10 – 15 minutes. If the coco peat is still too dry, add more water.
• Mix it into the soil if using coco peat in the garden. This helps improve the soil’s water retention and aeration capacity as well as helping to reduce the risk of soil fungus and root disease. Do remember to mix it at a 25/75 ratio. You can also use this as mulch to help the soil retain the moisture and reduce unwanted weed growth.
• You can also use it as a potting medium. Add reconstituted bricks to the planters and leave a space of one inch below the rim of the planter. Place your seedling in the centre. Add fertilizer and soil.
• Add coco peat until it fills only ¼ of the pot.
• Add coco peat under soil to retain moisture.
• Make sure that you check the pH of the soil from time to time and correct it if required.
  With coco peat you do not need to manage pH as much as you do with other growth mediums. But you cannot completely ignore this either.

Don’t:

• Do not overly fertilise your plants. When using coco peat it means that the plant is growing in a healthy medium. Adding additional nutrients which are over the recommended limit will destroy the plant.
• Avoid adding too much water. Coco peat has a high water retention capacity. It can retain moisture and keep the roots of the plant from drying out. When too much water is added, the potting mix can become waterlogged, affecting the plants.

There are many benefits to using coco peat. CoirProducts.co.uk coco peat bricks are 100% natural and biodegradable. We’ve got three different sizes you can choose from. You can order yours today via our online store: