Coco coir is made from the residual of the extraction of long fiber from the chaff of coconuts . Peat moss is a all in layer under survive sphagnum moss growing on top of peat bog in North America , Ireland , Scotland and northern Europe . Peat moss is a traditional soilless develop medium . Coco coir , which looks like peat moss but does not contain sticks or twigs , has become democratic soilless uprise medium in late decades .

Basics

Fibers extracted from coco shells have long been used to make mats , brushes , twine , filter , and stuffing for mattresses and upholstery . The descent process yielded curt - fiber dust call pilth , the basis of coco coir , which was considered waste until the 1980s .

The cell of sphagnum moss can hold up to 20 times their weight in piss so the plant can survive juiceless conditions . The bushed , decay layer under the hold out surface of sphagnum moss in a bog or fen is called peat moss or peat .

Origins

Sri Lanka , which harvests 2.6 million coconut tree annually , is the largest manufacturer of coco coir , followed by the Philippines and India . Efforts are under way to base a coco coir industry in Mexico .

Most North American peat moss comes from 40,000 acres of Canadian peat moss bogs ; it also comes from fens , Marsh and wetlands in Alaska , Florida , Michigan , Minnesota and 13 other country . It has long been harvested from peat bog in Ireland and Scotland .

Disadvantages

Coco coir may be contaminated with fauna manure , a job in India where cow roam freely . Fresh water is used to extract fibre fromripe Cocos nucifera ; if the cocoanut are not in full ripe , they are processed with brine , which can do supernumerary salinity in the coco coir . Coir is more expensive than peat moss in the U.S. because of the cost of ship it from Asia . Using coir may ask edit back on potassium in fertilizers and add up N .

Peat moss is acidic with a pH of 3.5 to 4 . Some industrial plant like that level of acidity , but if your works do n’t like it , you may have to add together limestone to raise the pH. Peat moss sometimes contains bacteria and fungal spores that can contaminate plants . Peat moss attract snails that show no stake in coir .

Advantages

The pith from which coco coir is made contains high quantity of lignin and cellulose that foreclose it from decomposing and shrinking . It entertain more water than peat moss , but does n’t contain it as long . Coir has a pH of 5.8 to 6.8 so limestone is less often require to adjust the acidity .

Peat moss is say to imbue up to 20 fourth dimension its own weightiness in water , which it releases slowly . If you have to apply plants unattended for some time , they ’ll likely survive on the water stored in peat moss . While being acidic may be a disadvantage to raising some plant , it is an advantage if you use strike water supply that is alkaline , which tap water often is . Peat moss is less expensive than coco coir .

Purchasing Considerations

Coir from dark-green coconut is white or light brown in colour . To avert possible problem with salinity , buy dark browned coir that comes from fully ripened coconut .

Light Within colored peat moss is younger and has more large pores ; it hold up air well than older peat moss , which is darker in color .

Environmental Issues

There are few environmental issue with coco coir , although critics note that putting land and resourcefulness in developing nation into the product of coconuts to acquire fiber as a growing spiritualist for the developed world takes land away from the vital output of food . In some places , people go without eating while nation is used to grow coconut .

Much of Europe ’s peat has been used to fuel power plants , and peat moss has long been a favorite of European gardeners . A peat peat bog may take 10,000 years to develop . British gardeners are say to utilise 2 million three-dimensional meter ( 2,632,000 cubic yards ) of Irish peat a year , touch on wildlife habitats and the conditions . Environmentalists and others are concerned that unregulated denudation of sphagnum bogs in North America will make similar problem to the instinctive environment .

References

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