Home / Blog / What is Coco Coir?

What is Coco Coir?

If you have some familiarity with hydroponic growing, you know that growing media is used instead of soil.

You have likely heard of one popular type of growing medium called coco coir.

So what exactly is coco coir, and how is it used?

What are the pros and cons of coco coir?

What are the best crops to use coco coir with?

In this article we will cover answers to all of the above, and more!

Advantages of Cocopeat/Cocopith - SV Coir Exports
Source

What is coco coir?

Coco coir is simply the extracted husk fiber of a coconut. When used as a growing medium, coco coir is a suitable substitute for peat moss.

Product Spotlight: Flower and Garden Plus | Organics By Gosh
Source



How Is Coco Coir Made?

Coco coir is made by soaking part of a coconut in water for a long period of time. The piece of the coconut that is used is the "husk" or the fibrous middle area. Following the soaking process the husk is dried or "cured" for 6-12 months. This dried husk is then processed, sliced into thin chips or ground into tiny pieces, before it is usable for agricultural purposes.


Pros of Coco Coir:

- Environmentally friendly / sustainable
- Durable and sometimes even reusable
- Allows for growing medium pH range of 5.5 - 6.5 pH
- Holds about 1,000x more air then soil per unit volume

Hydroponic Strawberry Substrates
Source



Cons of Coco Coir:

- May need to be blended with a different grow media to get the best grow results
- Can have contaminants if not from reputable source
- Can be slightly too acidic for some types of plants outside the 5.5 - 6.5 pH range
- Can interfere with nitrogen update in plants



Crops Associated with Coco Coir:
Mushrooms are often associated with coco coir, more than other types of crops.

Interested to know more about Coco coir, other growing media, and hydoponics?

Download an extended guide by typing your e-mail in the form above, or click on the links below to view more posts!

Asia Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download the Free Sample Report

Mark-Horler

"For a target audience that is trying to understand the basics of vertical farming, this is a quality newsletter to subscribe to"

- James Pateras, CEO, Modular Farms Australia

North America Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download The Free Sample Report

Mark-Horler

"The North America Vertical Farming Companies Report 2023 aggregates many sources of public information on many different companies so that you don't have to do the research yourself, it's worth the money and saves a lot of time"

- John Ireland, CEO, NTP Technologies

Europe Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download the Free Sample Report

Helen Andrew Spare Harvest

"As a business development manager supporting the indoor agriculture, CEA, and food tech industries, I can say Urban Vine guides and their insider newsletter provide detailed information often difficult to find online."

- Irena Lundberg, CleanTech Invest Stockholm

Middle East Vertical Farming Companies: The 2023 Report

Download the Free Sample Report

Mark-Horler

"As a marketing professional in the indoor agriculture industry, Urban Vine's newsletters, reports and guides are an excellent resource for keeping up-to-date with news and developments in vertical farming."

- Steven Mitchell, Product Manager, Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) UK

All Indoor Farming Company Interviews

GrowDirector 2024

August 7, 2024

This interview details GrowDirector, an indoor farming technology company based in Israel. The interview is with Dima Chernobylski, CEO and Co-Founder of GrowDirector. To learn more about GrowDirector and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Pure Greens Container Farms

July 4, 2024

This interview details Pure Greens Container Farms, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Taisiya Jacobson, President & Co-Founder of Pure Greens Container Farms. To learn more about Pure Greens and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Bloemteknik

June 21, 2024

This interview details Bloemteknik, an indoor farming technology company based in the UK. The interview is with James Fleet, Co-Founder & CEO of Bloemteknik. To learn more about Bloemteknik and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Farmitank

May 31, 2024

This interview details Farmitank, a company based in Spain. The interview is with Cristian Nieves, R&D Department at Farmitank. To learn more about Farmitank and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

JHS Group

May 30, 2024

This interview details JHS Group, a company based in the United States. The interview is with Janet Tso-Shushan, CEO of JHS Group. To learn more about JHS Group and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

May 22, 2024

This interview details Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), a research organization based in Finland. The interview is with Saila Karhu, Research Professor at Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). To learn more about Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

The indoor growing pods at Canadore College

May 22, 2024

This interview details The indoor growing pods at Canadore College, an indoor farming company based in Canada. The interview is with Angela Proudfoot, Project Administrator Sustainable Food & Clean Water at Canadore College.

View Full Interview

NIAB

May 22, 2024

This interview details NIAB, a crop science organization based in the UK. The interview is with Ros Lloyd, Head of Communications at NIAB. To learn more about NIAB and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Ecocool GmbH

May 22, 2024

This interview details Ecocool GmbH, a packaging solutions provider based in Germany. The interview is with Florian Siedenburg, General Manager of Ecocool GmbH. To learn more about Ecocool GmbH and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview

Autonomous Greenhouse

May 22, 2024

This interview details Autonomous Greenhouse, an indoor farming technology company based in the Netherlands. The interview is with Silke Hemming, Head Scientific Research Team Greenhouse Technology at Wageningen University & Research. To learn more about Autonomous Greenhouse and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!

View Full Interview