Coco Coir as Soil Amendment and Growth Medium

I have an opportunity to get a LOT of coco coir - like as many bales as I can stuff into the car and tie to the top of it. I know that it's a dreamy substance for containers, but would it be as good as an ammendment for soil? I know it's organic (always a plus), but does anyone know how it will work in a non-container garden?

I'm looking for stuff like if it will compact so quickly that it's not worth it, or if worms hate it (I have a lot of worms and love the little guys). Are there any veggies that you have had bad luck with, or any that were especially happy. Anything at all that might help.

I have been trying my hand at containers and failing with startling regularity (other than the first time which was pretty successful - and no, I have no idea why things are different this time), so I'm pretty much giving up on them for now, and focusing on the beds. But if there is no reason not to use the coir in the beds, I'm definitely in.

I have found coir in chunky and fine - the chunky is good to use as mulch, the finer stuff can be mixed with your soil. One thing to be careful of: make sure your coir is not salty. If it is, you will have to rinse it several times.

Earthworms will eventually eat the coir, but in my opinion that is not a bad thing. Coir does not compact if kept hydrated. I have used coir for several years as a substitute for peat when growing african violets, and more recently outdoors growing veggies in raised beds. Just mix it with your choice of potting soil, garden soil, compost, earthworm castings, manure, perlite, vermiculite any or all of these, until you have a wonderful light, fluffy mix. Add fertilizer, maybe some lime if your situation warrants it, and your plants will grow happily.

To make a long story short, I know of a gardening place that is going out of business and the person in charge is letting me have as much as I can take away. According to him, it's not salty (should I taste it? Don't laugh. I've done dumber stuff than taste growth media.), as it was pre-rinsed. It's a favor for a favor kind of deal (else I would gladly share).

It sounds like I may have REALLY lucked out. Having never used the stuff before, it sounds like it would be kind of like hay, in that it might need a bit of breaking up, and definitely will want to be kept damp. That should not be an issue.

Other than the mixing with what I have (Hay, leaves, grass clippings, veggie leftovers, shredded cardboard and newspaper), do you have any other advice?

Hastur - you will need to soak the coir in lots of water. It will be very, very dry when you get it. I assume you have some soil to go with all of the above - I've not had good luck using coir without some kind of soil.

Soak the coir: Check - I have some fairly large tubs I can do so in before adding it to the garden. Not to mention I should be able to let a soaker hose go for a while on the stuff, right?

I actually have not really used soil that much in the garden, believe it or not. I usually grab some Moo-Nure to use as soil (hummus and manure mix) and will use it to fill a hole if I need to plant a plant, or to cover stuff like peas and beans (they are nice and large and can easily grow into hay bales if you just cover them). I have used a bit of it to create a bit of something to plant radish seeds on, but not too thick - maybe 1/2" or so?

Most of the stuff I've grown has gone positively nuts when it got the roots out of the soil. However, since coir is something I have never used before, I will definitely add some soil on top to start any seeds I want to get going. Thank you!

You might want to also ask in the Self-Contained Box Garden forum; a lot of folks there are using coconut coir.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/boxgardens/all/

Hastur - your large tubs should work perfectly, that's what I use to soak coir. I let my tubs fill with rain-water, but regular tap water will work just as well.