Cocopeat

Cocopeat, or coco as it is commonly called is made from texturised coconut husk, called coconut coir. It is sold either in loose form ready to use, or as compressed bricks that require hydration before use. Compressed coco often requires flushing with water as well, to remove salts and other impurities that may be present.

The medium itself has very good characteristics for use in hydroponics. Being a loose coarse mix it has a lot of air filled porosity - meaning that plant roots will be well supplied with oxygen when planted into cocopeat, which staves off root rot and also increases root growth and general plant well-being. Cocopeat also holds a lot of water meaning watering of the plant can be done at less frequent intervals.

The main advantages of using cocopeat as a medium are it's oxygen and water retaining abilities. This high degree of water retention makes it the medium of choice for any type of dripper system, and it is the best medium to use for the tropf blumats. The main disadvantages of the medium are the fact that most people tend to overwater when using cocopeat because even though the surface can appear bone dry, deep inside your pot the coco is still damp. The other disadvantage is that coco tends to attract scaridfly more that for instance, clay, so if you live in an area that has a proliferation of insects, etc, this may not be the medium for you.

Suitability of use

Propagation

Dripper systems

Tropf Blumat systems

The Hydroponic Warehouse
Shop 3, 73 Pickering Street, Enoggera
Brisbane QLD Australia
(Opposite Enoggera Bowls Club.)
Phone: +61 (07) 3354 1588 Fax: +61 (07) 3354 3622