This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink. Its designed as a bedding
for reptiles and amphibians, its soft and holds moisture very well. Dark
brown and very rich in texture, not at all abrasive. In fact its VERY much
like peat moss. It was also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I used my soil
test kit and tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0 both
times. Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed starter. At least to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and cons?

There is at lest two potting soils I know of that have that same stuff in them,
and I've head good reports of it's useage by Dahlia growers.


--
In This Universe The Night was Falling,The Shadows were lenghtening
towards an east that would not know another dawn.
But elsewhere the Stars were still young and the light of morning lingered: and
along the path he once had followed, Man would one day go again.

Arthur C. Clarke "The City & The Stars"

SIAR
www.starlords.org

Bishop's Car Fund
http://www.bishopcarfund.Netfirms.com/

"Mike Stevenson" wrote in message
...
This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink. Its designed as a bedding
for reptiles and amphibians, its soft and holds moisture very well. Dark
brown and very rich in texture, not at all abrasive. In fact its VERY much
like peat moss. It was also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I used my soil
test kit and tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0 both
times. Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed starter. At least to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and cons?




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.493 / Virus Database: 292 - Release Date: 6/25/03

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 13:14:56 GMT, "Mike Stevenson"
wrote:

This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink. Its designed as a bedding
for reptiles and amphibians, its soft and holds moisture very well. Dark
brown and very rich in texture, not at all abrasive. In fact its VERY much
like peat moss. It was also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I used my soil
test kit and tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0 both
times. Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed starter. At least to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and cons?


I use coconut husk chips for potting orchids and it's necessary to
soak and rinse the chips several times to get rid of salt. Since
your coco peat was intended for bedding material, it may not have been
rinsed well. I'd suggest doing so and checking the rinse water with a
TDS meter if possible.

deg

The message
from Dewitt contains these words:

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 13:14:56 GMT, "Mike Stevenson"
wrote:

This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink.

(snip)
I use coconut husk chips for potting orchids and it's necessary to
soak and rinse the chips several times to get rid of salt. Since
your coco peat was intended for bedding material, it may not have been
rinsed well. I'd suggest doing so and checking the rinse water with a
TDS meter if possible.

It's called coir. When the soaked expanded brick of material dries out
in use, it can be very difficult to re-wet again.In the UK, suppliers
have been trying to market coir composts for some time but afaik, most
gardeners find it unsatisfactory for seed sowing.

Janet.

This is not my experience. I've found that dried out coir rewets easily,
exceptionally easily when compared to peat or peat products. It makes an
excellent component for many mixes. It dries out faster than peat, which is
good in many cases, but it also allows for better air circulation around the
roots, depending on the other components of your mix.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from Dewitt contains these words:

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 13:14:56 GMT, "Mike Stevenson"
wrote:

This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this.
I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to
be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of
material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink.

(snip)
I use coconut husk chips for potting orchids and it's necessary to
soak and rinse the chips several times to get rid of salt. Since
your coco peat was intended for bedding material, it may not have been
rinsed well. I'd suggest doing so and checking the rinse water with a
TDS meter if possible.

It's called coir. When the soaked expanded brick of material dries out
in use, it can be very difficult to re-wet again.In the UK, suppliers
have been trying to market coir composts for some time but afaik, most
gardeners find it unsatisfactory for seed sowing.

Janet.

I didn't see the original post, but Sam's brand at Walmart sells the product
which is called coir? Can't spell worth a lick. I've used it for established
plants, but didn't have good results starting seeds. Last year, I forget now
who, told us on rec.gardens about the high level of salinity caused by this
medium. He or she posted several links...maybe I still have them, let me go
look...

This isn't the website I saw a while back, but this is some interesting stuff:

http://www.greeneem.com/prod03.htm

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 06:58:23 -0700, "Starlord" wrote:

There is at lest two potting soils I know of that have that same stuff in them,
and I've head good reports of it's useage by Dahlia growers.

I've found the same thing. When I have used the coir I've mixed it with humus
(finished compost) and some lava or granite sand.


On Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:46:07 GMT, "V_coerulea" wrote:

This is not my experience. I've found that dried out coir rewets easily,
exceptionally easily when compared to peat or peat products. It makes an
excellent component for many mixes. It dries out faster than peat, which is
good in many cases, but it also allows for better air circulation around the
roots, depending on the other components of your mix.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from Dewitt contains these words:

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 13:14:56 GMT, "Mike Stevenson"
wrote:

This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this.
I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to
be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of
material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink.

(snip)
I use coconut husk chips for potting orchids and it's necessary to
soak and rinse the chips several times to get rid of salt. Since
your coco peat was intended for bedding material, it may not have been
rinsed well. I'd suggest doing so and checking the rinse water with a
TDS meter if possible.

It's called coir. When the soaked expanded brick of material dries out
in use, it can be very difficult to re-wet again.In the UK, suppliers
have been trying to market coir composts for some time but afaik, most
gardeners find it unsatisfactory for seed sowing.

Janet.

"Mike Stevenson" wrote in message
...
This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink. Its designed as a
bedding
for reptiles and amphibians, its soft and holds moisture very well. Dark
brown and very rich in texture, not at all abrasive. In fact its VERY much
like peat moss. It was also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I used my
soil
test kit and tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0 both
times. Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed starter. At least
to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and cons?



Well cool I wonder how large of a quantity I could get of this stuff. I am
going to try transplating my baby broccoli into small pots after they grow a
bit, with this as the medium. I didn't get enough of it to risk using it in
the garden, though it might be good to mix some in compost.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2003 14:09:30 GMT, "Mike Stevenson"
wrote:

Well cool I wonder how large of a quantity I could get of this stuff. I am
going to try transplating my baby broccoli into small pots after they grow a
bit, with this as the medium. I didn't get enough of it to risk using it in
the garden, though it might be good to mix some in compost.

Call Crystal Company is St. Louis at 1.80.845.4777. I get coconut
husk chips from them for planting orchids, but believe they also sell
coco peat. Or do a web search for coco peat and you'll find lots of
sources

deg

"Mike Stevenson" wrote in message t...
This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink. Its designed as a bedding
for reptiles and amphibians, its soft and holds moisture very well. Dark
brown and very rich in texture, not at all abrasive. In fact its VERY much
like peat moss. It was also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I used my soil
test kit and tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0 both
times. Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed starter. At least to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and cons?

So, um, what do you do with coconut fiber?

I use it as a back scratcher, myself. It works pretty well... and that
ain't the only thing it can scratch ....

-
theoneflasehaddock

(theoneflasehaddock) wrote in
om:

"Mike Stevenson" wrote in message
t...
This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my
frogs called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is
sopposed to be 100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb
brick that when soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes
this mass of material that can easily fill up your average kitchen
sink. Its designed as a bedding for reptiles and amphibians, its soft
and holds moisture very well. Dark brown and very rich in texture,
not at all abrasive. In fact its VERY much like peat moss. It was
also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I used my soil test kit and
tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0 both times.
Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed starter. At least to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and cons?

So, um, what do you do with coconut fiber?

I use it as a back scratcher, myself. It works pretty well... and that
ain't the only thing it can scratch ....

-
theoneflasehaddock

Orchids do well in coconut fiber. They also like to be watered with
coconut water.

yes, ccnut fiber is already sold by many hydroponic stores as a growth
medium...


"theoneflasehaddock" wrote in message
om...
"Mike Stevenson" wrote in message
t...
This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this. I
recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my frogs
called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is sopposed to be
100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small 2lb brick that when
soaked well in warm water for about an hour becomes this mass of
material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink. Its designed as a
bedding
for reptiles and amphibians, its soft and holds moisture very well. Dark
brown and very rich in texture, not at all abrasive. In fact its VERY
much
like peat moss. It was also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I used my
soil
test kit and tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0 both
times. Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed starter. At
least to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and cons?

So, um, what do you do with coconut fiber?

I use it as a back scratcher, myself. It works pretty well... and that
ain't the only thing it can scratch ....

-
theoneflasehaddock

It works really well for orchids.

"Sissy Slut Lily" wrote in
:

yes, ccnut fiber is already sold by many hydroponic stores as a growth
medium...


"theoneflasehaddock" wrote in message
om...
"Mike Stevenson" wrote in message
t...
This is pretty wild, I would like to hear some opinions about this.
I recently got something from a site I buy food and supplies for my
frogs called Repta-bedding (or something to that effect). It is
sopposed to be 100% pure coconut husk fibers. It comes in a small
2lb brick that when soaked well in warm water for about an hour
becomes this mass of
material
that can easily fill up your average kitchen sink. Its designed as
a
bedding
for reptiles and amphibians, its soft and holds moisture very well.
Dark brown and very rich in texture, not at all abrasive. In fact
its VERY
much
like peat moss. It was also very cheap. That gave me an idea. I
used my
soil
test kit and tested it for Ph. I did this twice, came back 6.5-7.0
both times. Sounds so far like an excellent medium as a seed
starter. At
least to
me. I plan to experiment with this some...

Anyone doing this? Any thoughts, conjectures about the pros and
cons?

So, um, what do you do with coconut fiber?

I use it as a back scratcher, myself. It works pretty well... and
that ain't the only thing it can scratch ....

-
theoneflasehaddock