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Is coir compost really the way forward ?
Winston_The_Gravity_Man
Posts: 263
Either wittingly or unwittingly, ever since we started frowning on the use of peat for domestic, agricultural, and commercial use, we've carried on abetting in the destruction of European peat bogs.
Quite rightly we've been striving to save our little remaining acreage of UK peat bogs because we've come to realise that the destruction of their habitat has led to a lot of plants and insects becoming endangered, and saving them is very much more important in the great scheme of things than having a pretty rockery.
The reduction in extraction from UK peat bogs was offset for several years by increased importation from other places, most notably Eastern Europe. We passed on our problems. Thanks to new laws, the goodwill of governments and people, and concern (consternation even) over the amount of CO2 that is released when these vast 'carbon sinks' are dug up, commercial extraction has slowed significantly. Also what's helped is the closure of power stations that burned vast amounts of peat.
However, none of that really helps when your thalictrum is dying of thirst, your dahlias are dehydrating, or your gazanias are gasping. So what's to be done ?
I've browsed through the GW forum and it seems that if you are lucky enough to manage to buy an economical good quality peat-free compost ... one that isn't full of bark, stones, weird fungus spores, shredded metal and plastic, and weed seeds ... then you should hasten to buy a lottery ticket ! It looks like the manufacturers of these mockeries don't intend to up their quality control game soon, so is there an alternative ?
Using 'home-grown' compost isn't, obviously, a viable solution because the majority of gardeners don't have room or sufficient green stuff to compost down, or even the inclination.
So, what about coir ? I gulped when I saw the price of it (B & Q online it's twenty quid for six bricks to make 54 litres) but if it gives better results than the rubbish that's complained about on here then maybe it's worth a shot ?
Any hints on using coir ? Geoff Hamilton did lots of experimenting with it and achieved excellent results after realising that it couldn't be used like peat. Apparently coir drains too fast when watered from the top taking nutrients with it ; he found that mixing-in slow release fertiliser and watering from the bottom produced results equivalent to, and generally better than, growing in 'normal' peat compost. But has anyone tried this method of growing and found it wanting ?
Is coir compost really the way forward ?
Quite rightly we've been striving to save our little remaining acreage of UK peat bogs because we've come to realise that the destruction of their habitat has led to a lot of plants and insects becoming endangered, and saving them is very much more important in the great scheme of things than having a pretty rockery.
The reduction in extraction from UK peat bogs was offset for several years by increased importation from other places, most notably Eastern Europe. We passed on our problems. Thanks to new laws, the goodwill of governments and people, and concern (consternation even) over the amount of CO2 that is released when these vast 'carbon sinks' are dug up, commercial extraction has slowed significantly. Also what's helped is the closure of power stations that burned vast amounts of peat.
However, none of that really helps when your thalictrum is dying of thirst, your dahlias are dehydrating, or your gazanias are gasping. So what's to be done ?
I've browsed through the GW forum and it seems that if you are lucky enough to manage to buy an economical good quality peat-free compost ... one that isn't full of bark, stones, weird fungus spores, shredded metal and plastic, and weed seeds ... then you should hasten to buy a lottery ticket ! It looks like the manufacturers of these mockeries don't intend to up their quality control game soon, so is there an alternative ?
Using 'home-grown' compost isn't, obviously, a viable solution because the majority of gardeners don't have room or sufficient green stuff to compost down, or even the inclination.
So, what about coir ? I gulped when I saw the price of it (B & Q online it's twenty quid for six bricks to make 54 litres) but if it gives better results than the rubbish that's complained about on here then maybe it's worth a shot ?
Any hints on using coir ? Geoff Hamilton did lots of experimenting with it and achieved excellent results after realising that it couldn't be used like peat. Apparently coir drains too fast when watered from the top taking nutrients with it ; he found that mixing-in slow release fertiliser and watering from the bottom produced results equivalent to, and generally better than, growing in 'normal' peat compost. But has anyone tried this method of growing and found it wanting ?
Is coir compost really the way forward ?
When there's always biscuits in the tin, where's the fun in biscuits ?
1
Posts
you may like to read this and see what you think.
https://www.gardenmyths.com/coir-ecofriendly-substitute-peat-moss/
I don't think it is the answer to peat use tho - it doesn't work the same IME and apart from anything else, coir has it's own eco unfriendly traits.
Much as gardeners want to grow different plants it surely must be time to really look at the overall effect and make changes- if it doesn't grow naturally in your particular site/climate just grow something which will. Not a popular idea I suppose but gardeners could lead the way in a different approach maybe ?
Sorry @Winston_The_Gravity_Man not really terribly helpful
@KT53, take a look at @Lyn 's very interesting link, above. Looks like the peat we've been using travels half way around the world from Canada and Russia anyway ....and it weighs a lot more than coir !
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
There's a bigger picture here which should also really be considered, coir creates employment in third world rural communities, especially for women.
"Coconut husks are cultivated in 93 countries, with India being the largest...."
"While the world is seeking solutions to the rising pollution and the havoc created by deforestation. The coir industry is the answer to sustainable development. What is now needed is a change in our mindset in favour of accepting an alternative strategy for sustainable Eco-development."
Quoted from the Indian Gov website:
https://msme.gov.in/coir-crucial-component-eco-sustainability#:~:text=Coir is a sufficiently Eco,product of the coconut industry.
Interesting report from our Gov on impact of proposed ban of the sale of peat:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-impact-of-a-proposed-ban-of-the-sale-of-horticultural-peat-in-england-on-the-effective-operation-of-the-uk-internal-market/impact-of-a-proposed-ban-of-the-sale-of-horticultural-peat-in-england
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
When houses used to have decent sized gardens and a lot of people grew their own veg, what did they use for compost? It wouldn't have been peat, or coir, or anything imported or expensive, so it's reasonable to assume anything home made is perfectly adequate.
I don't really compost now, but I always just mixed spare soil with vegetable and garden waste. 👍
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I hope we never have to get any of it from Thailand. Those poor monkeys.🥲
Are we discussing how good it is for growing, and what we add to it or the ethical side of it? @Winston_The_Gravity_Man ?