Learn How to Use Coconut Coir Products in the Garden

01.07.2023 - 13:51 / gardenerspath.com / Nan Schiller

Coir is the fibrous husk and pithy dust that makes up the outer layer of a ripe coconut. Most of us don’t see this part because it’s removed before the fruits arrive in grocery stores, but it is widely available – as a soilless growing medium.

Per the Cambridge Dictionary, the correct pronunciation is “coy-er,” but folks generally call it “core.”

Most comes from India and Sri Lanka, where the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, grows plentifully.

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Let’s find out how it’s processed, what products we can buy, and the pros and cons of using it in our gardening.

Since ancient days, the sturdiest coconut fibers have been used to fashion articles like baskets, mats, ropes, and bedding.

The remaining smaller fibers and pithy dust were once thrown away, but today are used to make a host of horticultural products including loose peat, seed starter discs, dehydrated bricks, mulch chips, planter liners, molded pots, and climbing poles.

Products have names like “coco peat,” “coco chips,” and “coco poles.”

Quality varies due to the differing processing methods, length of pre-production storage, and human handling the husks undergo before reaching the marketplace.

Here’s the gist of the manufacturing process:

Fruit may be picked ripe or unripe, after which it is removed from the husk and sent off to market.

Meanwhile, the husks undergo a process called “retting,” in which they are soaked in either fresh or salt water. After that, the longest, first-quality fibers are extracted, and the remaining small fibers and pith are collected and allowed to partially decompose.

When