CocoCoir Availability???

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wmmeyer

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I was trying to find a local source for this (to avoid paying shipping on it) and checked in the garden shop at the local Lowe's. Didn't see any so I asked an employee if they carried it. The guy told me they've had to take it off the market cuz dogs will eat it and it kills the dogs.

I assuming this is purely a case of the guy having no idea in the world what he was talking about, but I got to wondering. Has anyone else heard anything about this? Just for FYI, I let my dog smell some and he definitely didn't show any signs of trying to eat it.
 
Considering dogs are deathly allergic to chocolate it makes sence. Chocolate comes from the cocoa bean and isnt this stuff the shells of the bean? I never put 2 and 2 together and realized that possibiblity but I think the guy knows what he is talking about. Its probobly just more corporate stores would carry it. Look around for a pure garden shop. Its around somewhere because people still use it.
 
I thought the cococoir came from the hulls of coconuts?

I didn't have any trouble getting it from the "local" grow shop, except its a 60 mile trip to get there, or else pay shipping. Just would have been nice if wallyworld carried it. They got tons of Miracle-Gro, seems like they could stock a few bricks of coir.
 
I might be thinking of something else, You are most likley right. My bad.
 
yeah u guys are crossing stories. cocoa mulch will kill dogs, but coco will not. coco coir is from coconut husks. i use the compressed bricks used for reptile bedding. $7 for 3 bricks & it goes along way. one brick is under 5g after expanded. it is not coir it is pith which is finer so it holds water longer. dont know what your app is but i love it. i use it in all my outdoor pots also. coco is awesome. thx mass.
 
check ur local hydrostores, ive never had any luck finding it at lowes/ walmart. hey doc, are you saying its also available via pet stores? do you know if the pet stores coir goes through the same flushing process as agricultural coir to rid of the excess salts?
 
:yeahthat:. I was just at the local hydro store today and they had it.
 
CoolAsAFan said:
check ur local hydrostores, ive never had any luck finding it at lowes/ walmart. hey doc, are you saying its also available via pet stores? do you know if the pet stores coir goes through the same flushing process as agricultural coir to rid of the excess salts?

yes pet stores carry it & its made by zoo med. ive done two runs w/ it, outdoor yard plants, potted plants, house plants show no ill effects. i flush it twice then use. it is pith not coir so retains water. in that aspect it acts like soil.

There is much confusion and misunderstanding regarding Coco. You will find that virtually all Coco is referred to as "Coco Coir". When, in fact, Coir is but just one of the different GRADES of Coco available. Coco is manufactured into three major catagories, or grades. Essentially, these grades are a catagorization of the "coarseness" of the various grades of Coco. They are as follows in order from the finest to the most coarse:
  • PYTH - This is the finest grade of Coco. Pyth is harvested from the softer tissue just inside the shell or husk that is pulverized into a fine particulate. It resembles light brown, dried coffee gounds. The finer particles provide a solid substrate for the plant's root system but lack in the rapid drainage of it's more coarse forms. Using just Pyth solely as your medium is NOT recommend because of it's tendency to retain so much moisture but can be blended with other grades to add some body to the blend. Some manufacturers like Earth Juice and to some degree Botanicare use a fair amount of Pyth in what they call Coco Coir. Again, this grade is not Coir but we'll get to the next!
  • COIR/FIBER - Coir is a longer fiber harvest from the outer layers of the shell or husk and is often chopped into shorter fragments. The fabled "Profit Disks" were made from this portion of the Coconut. While Coir still holds a good amount of moisture after watering or flooding, it's drainage is significantly better than Pyth. Coir can also be found in very long strands often referred to as "Coco Fiber" and is commonly found in nurseries and craft stores. The longest strands make a good liner for the bottom of pots which you can fill on top of with finer cut Coir or Croutons for an excellent medium.
  • HUSKS (aka "Croutons") - The coarsest grade of Coco are the Husks which have also been referred to as "Croutons". Several growers here at the Bay can tell you of their success with Croutons. Made by fragmenting the shells or husks of the Coconut, Croutons are made up of chunks of shell and represent the fastest draining form of Coco available. Croutons are HIGHLY recommended for use in Ebb and Flow as well as DWC systems because they are absent of the finer particles that would tend to clog spray nozzles or pump motors. Croutons drain as well as Hydroton but do retain a perfect amount of moisture between floodings as compared to Hydroton. General Hydroponics recently discontinued their Coco Croutons and they have not been available. Until now, that is. More on that in a moment.
The following pic illustrates the various grades of Coco. However, Pyth is not shown.

RioCoco_Grades.jpg




Which Coco is best for me?

Deciding on which grade of Coco or which brand can be quite confusing. For many, this is a trial and error excercise until they find the best grade for their grows. However, some generalizations can surely be made.

For Container Style growing, either Coco Coir or a blend of the various grades would suite you quite well. In containers, a nice blend of longer fiber Coir with a small amount of Pyth blended in would give your roots good aeration and they Pyth would help to retain a bit more moisture so that watering every two to four days would be appropriate.

While Coco Coir with Pyth in it MUST BE pre-washed, we recommend that ALL COCO PRODUCTS BE THOROUGHLY FLUSHED with pH'd water to rid any impurities.

For Hydroponic and Aeroponic growers, Husks or Croutons are the way to go for sure. Again, being absent of the finer particulates (after a good pre-rinsing, of course), they are the PERFECT medium for recirculating systems. As Husks are available in a couple of different sizes, you can experiment to see which size works best for you. In either case, both sizes retain enough moisture that you can reduce your amount of flood cycles and save on nutrients! Roots just explode in growth due to the amount of oxygen available in a Crouton medium and they grow easily through the net pot. The growth rate will astound the most seasoned of growers!

In the end, it's a matter of grow style. If you container grow, a finer mix will do you fine just as long as it's still light, airy and pourous. In Hydro, the larger chunks of the Husks/Croutons will get the job done and give you better tasting, better smelling harvests than Hydroton ever has for you. Try it once and you'll never go back.
 

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