Coir compost (Kokos Kompost) + grit

    Hello Group,

    I would like to use coir compost + grit for potting Echinopsis hybrid. I also want to water my plant from below.

    Can anyone advise if 2/3 coir + 1/3 grit would make a good compost.

    Coir (Kokos) is very popular in USA for growing cactii. It is very easy to wet and rehydrate if dry.

    Some commercial cactus nurseries use coir (100%) for potting different cactus to achieve quick growth and good roots.

    I will wash coir with good quality water to remove salts before use.

    Please can anyone advise if there will be problems for Echinopsis?
    Are Echninopsis OK with high tannin content of coir? Will the pH be OK.

    All help is much appreciated.
    With regards
    Lee Alan (UK)

    Hi Lee Alan,
    as grower of Epies it's common to use Coir. This material is perfect for cultivating these plants. If you think about the origin of EHs and Trichos, i am would prefer soil witch is mineral based. Maybe you will have success with this coir, please let us know.


    best regards, Stefan

    Gruss, Stefan


    ___________________________________
    Der Kaktus ist der Igel des Pflanzenreichs....

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von stefan ()

    Hi Lee Alan,
    you might use about 20 percent of chopped coir in your mix, but the rest should be minerals as pumice and lava. Please note that coir dosn't contain digestible fertilisers, so an additional application of fertilisers is necessary from the beginning. So it's better to use normal potting-soil instead of coir in your cacti-substrate.
    The cacti, you can buy in garden-centers and spuermarkets, are mostly cultivated in pure peat, but the water-management in this substrate is very difficult for average customers. In my opinion, they grow the cacti in peat, because the buyers mostly do overwater them, so the cacti soon will rot and the customer must buy another one.
    Nevertheless, chopped coir, combined with about 70-80 percent of pumice, is a good substrate for growing cacti from seeds.

    Hi Stephan,
    Thank you for your answer and help. I can understand it is good to look at the orgins of EH and Trichos to get a good idea of what is best. I am looking for something that can be easy to duplicate every year for the future.


    Zitat von stefan

    Hi Lee Alan,
    If you think about the origin of EHs and Trichos, i am would prefer soil witch is mineral based. Maybe you will have success with this coir, please let us know.

    best regards, Stefan

    Hello Ernst,
    Thank you for your help and advice.
    I was interested to read your suggestion to keep coir to only 20% and use high mineral content. I think high mineral content is a good idea. Here in the UK it is difficult to get lava or pumice but I may be able to substitute with grit and perlite or other products.
    Yes I would feed to keep plants growing.

    It seems experienced growers do prefer traditional cacti potting soil.
    Perhaps I am going in the wrong direction!

    I understood commercial cacti growers use peat because they can very accurately control water content, and they grow plants warm for quick production. Soil is far too heavy for transport and lifting onto benches.
    There may be many reasons!

    Thank you for your information about seedling compost. It is complicated because I understand seedlings have different metabolism to adult cacti.
    With adaptation for seedling to grow damp and adult plants to grow in dry conditons in natural habitats.

    Thank you for your guidance and help.

    [quote='muddyliz','http://www.hybridenforum.de/fw5/forum/index.php?thread/&postID=9729#post9729']Hi Lee Alan,
    you might use about 20 percent of chopped coir in your mix, but the rest should be minerals as pumice and lava. Please note that coir dosn't contain digestible fertilisers, so an additional application of fertilisers is necessary from the beginning. So it's better to use normal potting-soil instead of coir in your cacti-substrate.