My Coconut Fiber Pellets arrived this week! Let me just go ahead and tell you that I totally messed up the reference to these things in previous posts. I think I called them "Cocoa Cocoa Hull Pellets" What the hell is that? I think I was thinking of cocoa cocoa mulch? Maybe? Hell I don't know. Anyway, I'll be using these to start my seeds indoors in a little while if I can figure out how to use them. I think I need to do something with them and water but I don't exactly know what, yet. I believe only one seed goes in each one and I'm hoping that I'll be able to start one seed in these, then transfer them to a larger container without having to re-pot the seedlings. This appeals to my inner lazy gardener ;)These came from a great company in California called Peaceful Valley. They have all sorts of great things for the organic gardener. According to Peaceful Valley, and the blogger who first turned me on to these, they are sustainable and environmentally friendly (though having these shipped all the way from California to Illinois is not environmentally friendly.) Apparently using Peat is bad news. I can't remember exactly why and I also can't find the blog of said person who turned me on to these. It's something about creating an edible landscape and its about a couple who moved from the big city in California to a farm where they are trying to grow their own food. Anybody???
So that's that!
Sounds like Farm Girl Fare
ReplyDeletehttp://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com
BTW...if you want to learn about peat use in the US you can read or listen to one of my old podcast episodes on the topic. It's not as bad as everyone says. Just use in moderation and for the right reasons.
I use these for seed starting, Gina. You'll add warm water to them and they'll swell so you have a seed starting medium. However, I put mine in peat pots. Then of course, you can just plop those right into the ground when they're ready. You'll need to put these in something, whether it's newspaper pots, peat pots, or in plastic trays, because they'll fall apart if they don't have something to contain them.
ReplyDeleteHi Gina,
ReplyDeleteI personally don't like using Coco coir because I end up with little flies everywhere. If you're going to start seeds I'd suggest using regular potting mix because this stuff is hard to moisten if you let it dry out completely.
But the next time you want to order this instead take a trip to PetCo where you can buy it in a large brick for a few bucks. You just soak it in warm water and it expands and become usable. They sell the bricks for substrate for vivariums.
I took all of my coco pellets that came with my Amaryllis kits last year and added it to my large planters. I had to many that I only needed one bag of potting soil for the large pots.
Hey Gina,
ReplyDeleteI love love love love love Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, and probably get nearly 90% of my things from them now - their selection is beyond amazing. Plus they're only about an hour up the road from me. The folks there are so nice too! Great choice!
Hi,
ReplyDeletethey work great but coir likes to retain sodium so remember to flush your pots once in a while.
Coco Coir is different to Peat pellets as it is inert, you get flies with peat, not with coco.