My CHC (coconut husk chips) and dyna-rock II came today.
I just thought you guys would like to know how good they are as potting mediums.
I took a bunch of the chc out to soak in a bucket of water and it expanded by more than half and when I squeezed a chip, it compacted like a sponge and when I dropped it back into the water, it expanded again. It's really moisture retentive which is great if you don't have an irrigation system or if you're not growing in a greenhouse. The article I read about chc at ladyslipper.com said that the orchid's roots will reach towards the moisure in the chips which promotes healthy growth. Also, it breaks down alot slower than bark mediums.
The only bad thing about the chc is the salt content. You either have to soak it alot or leech out the salt with calcium nitrate and epsolm salts. Where can I find calcium nitrate???? Health food store???
I also tested the dyna-rock II. The rocks are pretty light, I'm not sure what that really matters though. I took one rock and dropped it into a cup of water and it started soaking up water immediately. You could actually hear it working.
The chc hasn't soaked enough to be used but I might get around to it and pot up my orchids tomorrow. I'll post again with how that went.
Potting Mediums
Pic: Day three in a humidity deficient home and still moist.
