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Coco Peat Briquettes

I just got a brick of the Coco Peat. Its not Coco fiber, although it does contain some fiber. It has a very nice consistency and looks similar to sphagnum peat. Is this stuff safe to use? I'm planning to plant some nepenthes in this. Anybody use this stuff?
 
If I recall it is semi composted coconut husk fiber. It should be safe to use. I would mix it with some ingredients to open it up a bit. Like perlite or something.
Tony
 
Oooh! Oooh! Be careful! Sri Lanka exports a lot of this stuff in compressed form. Sometimes it is dried right on the beach before being compressed and is full of salt which can kill some sensitive plants. Other times it's from an inland coconut plantation and is quite safe. There's no way to know except by measuring the electrical conductivity (EC) using a meter that I guess is readily obtainable in the US.
 
The packaging says its imported but packed locally. I guess that doesn't really help me does it
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Would i be able to taste the salt if I were to say, lick it?
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This stuff looks great, and extremely cheap (picked it up at the 99 cent store). I would love to be able to use it.
 
If it tastes salty, you'r plants will be in big trouble!

If you run water through it, you should find that you get a black sort of tea which contains all sorts of chemicals, such as tannins etc. It may or may not contain common salt. If you can buy or borrow an EC meter, I can tell you how to do a simple (squeeze) test that should give you a pretty reliable result.

We use this stuff *all* the time, but I check the EC of each load before we buy it. It can vary even if taken from the same coconut plantation at different times of the year, due to fertilizers that are applied to the coconut trees. Not all the electrical conductivity is due to sodium chloride of course, but if the EC is very high then it probably comes from a coastal area and can still be used but should be washed first.

It looks great and lasts longer than peat and I feel that it's use should be encouraged to help prevent over exploitation of peat bogs.

What plants are you intending to grow in it?
 
Oh and NOW people mention this, right AFTER I buy peat, lol!
 
If you live somewhere that has palm trees growing inland (like florida or hawaii), I'd highly recommend that you go coconut harvesting!!
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I just came back from my grandma's house, and I have 2 sacks full of dried up coconuts. The only bad thing is that you have to rip off the fiber from the husks by hand. I don't mind though, since I'm saving something like $100 by using this instead of sphagnum!

Jœl
 
Ok, so I did a taste test. It was a little bit salty. This stuff tastes nasty, don't try this at home
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Good thing I had mouthwash right next to me! I was planning to grow neps in this stuff, but I don't want to risk it. I think I'll wash the coco peat and use it as potting soil for regular houseplants.
Looks great, feels great, tastes nasty!
 
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