Coir Bricks Going to try Suggestions

I am going to try using coir in place of the peat moss. Are there any tricks or things I should be aware of? How is it different from the peat moss?

IMO where peat moss holds water and gets soggy, water moves through the coir. It doesn't become anerobic the way peat can if there is too much water so obviously there is more air present in the coir. Excess water drains quickly from coir where the peat just hangs on to it and encourages root rot. The coir retains water on it's surface rather than in the fibers. Jessamine

Jessamine is right on the money.
Also no damping off to worry about even it the coir is kept very wet.
After hydrating the bricks I use an old sheer curtain and rinse well with hot water another 2-3 times just to make sure there are no excess salts.
Use it straight or mixed with small perlite for propagation (4 pts coir/1pt perlite) and mixed with potting soil and perlite for houseplants (5 pts coir, 3 pts potting soil and 2 pts perlite).

Thanks to both of you Jessamine and caron. I just have a couple more questions.

I have been using a one-third each mixture of perlite, vermiculite and peat. I was planning on just replacing the peat with coir. But you are saying go with almost all coir? What about on top of the seeds? I have been using a thin layer of perlite. Use the coir instead?

The perlite I have been using is not particularly small, comes in 4 cu. ft. bags. It has been working fine, but you are saying there is a smaller version. Where do you get that? None of the regular places I visit seem to have anything but the large bags or the very small bags.

I'd skip the vermiculite. Holds too much water imo. Straight coir works fine especially for cuttings but really like just a bit of perlite for seed starting. I like going with more coir in the mix as opposed to peat. Go ahead and use the coir on top of the seeds. I've never had a problem doing this.

I find smaller perlite at the nurseries here. It seems that the commercial brands, Schutlz, MG, have switched to a larger size this past year. I don't particularly like it. It's not as cheap as the commercially bagged material but not prohibitive. One nursery will just bag as much as I need (instaed of buying lots of smaller bags), and charge accordingly.

You can reuse your mix or the coir. I re-sterilize mine in the nuker. Don't toss it after you pot up!!

If you use a fine layer of vermiculite that has been milled fine and apply it with a medium seive, it might do fine. I just wouldn't take all that trouble. Maybe I'm just lazy. I think I will go with a shaker (very large holes for putting hot peppers on pizza) filled with dried coir if I am going to spend that kind of money. Jessamine

im using coir in kitty litter pails with my palms and cordyling plants.
i have about 3 inche of perlite in the bottom of the pails and
drain hole in each , there all hooked together for the drain to the
water/nute resevoir , then a pump , pumps the water/nutes back to
the plants via drippers in each pail .. this is done every 30 minutes
with a hour inbetween.

another pic

one small brick expanded just enough to use in the 3 pails

Sparky,

And is that Aluminum foil on your bricks to reflect light back on to your plants?

~* Robin

Robin , actually that is a emergency blanket from walmart
(found in the camping stuff ) basicly its myler and yes its
to reflect the stray lighting back to the plants . 1/2 of my room
and cealing is covered with it. I have like 4 , 4 foot shop lights and
one 400 watt HPS grow light in the room and one 110 watt Hight Output
4 foot fluorescent light.

The brick look is from the way the blanket is folded in the package.
the stuff is reallllyyyyyyyy fun to work with .... LOL ... rips easy.

Sparky,

That's really a good idea! I've never thought about that kind of use for the mylar like that. I keep some with the emergency kit in the car. I've seen some on a clearance sale at kmart.... wonder if there's any left on sale.... hmmm... I'm looking for a cheap way to bounce and reflect light in a long dim hall passage, saving electricity.

~* Robin

I buy mirror finish mylar at the art supply store. It lasts a long time. I hang it facing the insides of my growing racks and aim the lights toward the mylar rather than the plants. The plants closest to the mylar grow so much larger than the ones in the middle I have to shift trays so growth is more even. I haven't got a light meter to check it but i think it must double the available light in all the right frequencies. Jessamine

So far the plants grow pretty straight and not too leggy with just two of the Home Depot shop lights with 40 W cool white bulbs. Any more light and it gets too hot. One of the palaces has white walls and the other doesn't. Trays get moved around everytime I water, but it doesn't seem to matter.