The Grow Awards 2025 🏆
Chat
Recommended

NEW GROWER! Quick question about the medium i'm using! (coco brick of both peat and coir)

FunkyNutz
FunkyNutzstarted grow question 8 hours ago
Hey Growers, quick question! did research on the soil that i have/use and it's a mix of coco PEAT and coco COIR. What's the difference between the two when it comes to cannabis, didint hear anyone use peat, is it bad to use this soil? Bigger brick is pre fert, is the fert bad?
Solved
Week 3
likes
m0use
m0useanswered grow question 7 hours ago
So "coco peat" is loosely tossed around. Its either coco "coconut" Coir or Peatmoss and peatmoss has a lot of versions of its self based on when its harvested from young to old and they both have different grades or qualities of products. Coco or Coir is derived from the other shell of coconuts, their husks. Its a great medium IMO derived from the tropics, some don't like it. Peatmoss or Peat is derived from fresh water bogs, most of witch are in Canada I think. It has a high water holding capacity then Coir and needs more perlite mixed into the substrate to help off set this and ensure their is a good gas exchnage in the root zone. Coir is also sometimes call "green peat" as its said to be less destructive to the environment, but I think this was just clever marketing to sell a product and has no real truth to it and they piggybacked off of the huge peatmoss market that previously existed and its why there are so many similarities in its naming. Basics are Peat = 30-50% perlite mixed in, lower PH over time, high water holding capacity. coir = 20-30% perlite mixed in. neutral PH over time, good water holding capacity. Their are higher and lower quality grade of each product. The one main down side to Coir is that it need to be pretreated or it can cause issues. This pretreatment is called washing and buffering, some also age their product. The purpose to washing is to remove excess salts from the product as the area they grow in. by the sea is salty, legit table salt NaCl, the buffering process is to offset the cation exchange sites in the coir fiber its self. It holds onto a lot of Sodium Na and Potassium K, it release these when exposed to Calcium Ca and Magnesium Mg. Good brands of coir presoak their products in a CaMg solution to prevent this called buffering, but as the coir ages it will have more and more sites exposed that need re buffering. When growing at home just adding a bit of CaMg into the mix is fine with some runoff. with out this step the medium takes in a lot of the Ca and Mg you feed your plants and releases a bunch of K and Na it does not need thus causing issues. The products you have posted look to be all Coconut Coir I don't see peat moss as an ingredient. they use the wording "Coco Peat" as some people call coir "coconut peat" or "coco peat" but it is not Peatmoss it is Coir. I don't know the brands your personally using. and if they have been washed and or buffered. You can add in fertilizers to anything so unless they say they are washing and buffering it. assume it is not and go from there. Or email the company and ask them if they do that. Last bit is PH, Coir tends to have a neural PH or around 7, and Peatmoss tends to be a bit more acidic around 4-5, companies will normally buffer their peat moss to offset this but like coir as it ages more it will become more acidic over time. I find any time I grow with peatmoss in my style of growing I run into low PH issues and its why I like coir more. But some Peatmoss mixed into the medium is ok, just can't be the main ingredient for me. Others has great success with it though using it exclusively, especially in hydroponic style setups.
2 likes
Complain
Selected By The Grower
Ultraviolet
Ultravioletanswered grow question 4 hours ago
Peat is an organic soil type formed by the accumulation and partial decomposition of plant matter under waterlogged conditions, characterized by a high content of organic matter, typically above 75%. Normally high in carbon also. Around 40% of carbon sequestration from air through gas exchange of photosynthesis is used to feed microorganisms in soil. Helps to have carbon in soil. Usefull to know how much of the peat is organic, has to be at least 35% to be considered peat anywhere up to 75%. The more organic matter you got the higher meq cec soil will have. Soil will be better able to hold and store nutrients do make sure you only fert when you need to, don't just blanket feed every day because it feels good for no reason. It's just a medium like any other , higher a cec the less frequent watering it needs also. Good few pages in my diary with CECs if you would like to know more or do some research.
2 likes
Complain
Dr_Growitall
Dr_Growitallanswered grow question 5 hours ago
Hi, peat is finer and powery, coir is grainy or fibrous.
1 like
Complain
All_our_small_plants
All_our_small_plantsanswered grow question 7 hours ago
Hi here a little resum Coco Peat: Also known as coir peat. It's the result of the decomposition of coconut fibers. Has a high water retention capacity, making it ideal for use in plant cultivation and horticulture. It's pH-neutral to slightly acidic and has a good structure that provides support for roots and promotes aeration. Coconut Fiber: Also known as coir or coconut fibers. Derived from the outer husk of the coconut and consists of coarse, fibrous material. used in horticulture to stabilize and aerate soil. Has a longer lifespan and provides good drainage, making it ideal for combining with other substrates. When it comes to growing cannabis, both coco peat and coconut fiber can be used, each with its own benefits. Both are good for growing weed
2 likes
Complain