Introduction to Coco Grow Substrates

COCO PEAT

Coco peat comes as a byproduct of coco coir (fiber) manufacturing. This comprises with coco fiber particles and coco fiber fine dust.

We can remove the fine dust or keep it as the customer request when making grow bags. Most of the customers request us to remove the fine dust in order to keep the expansion volume high for the coco peat grow bags.

Coco Peat can be divided into four categories.

Low EC

This is obtained from husks which were soaked in a soaking tank for more than 3 months.

High EC

This is obtained from husks which were not soaked (from natural husk)

Washed coco peat

As the name implies coco peat is washed several times using water to reduce acidity.

Buffered coco peat

When coco peat is treated with calcium nitrate to reduce acidity by depositing irons while keeping the nutrients.

COCO PEAT DUST

Coco peat fine dust is the dust particles (Which looks like dirt) which is removed from the coco peat when sieved.

However, this can be mixed in 5kg blocks sometimes and used in horse bedding as well.

COCO CHIPS

Coco chips are made by cutting the coconut husk using a cutting machine. This can be categorized by the size of the chips. Different adjustments are used to cut in to different sizes. Same as Coco peat grades mentioned above, chips are also obtained as low EC, high EC, washed and buffered.

COCONUT FIBER

Coconut fiber is the main product obtained from coconut husk. This comes in several types such as bristol fiber, mattress fiber, mixed fiber and baby fiber.

When we make grow bags we make it using all of the above four types (3% of fiber) as per customers request from us.

Color of the Coco Peat

The color of the coco peat changes due to two factors which are, the age of the coconut husk and the method used to process the coconut husk.

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White color coco peat

Coconut husk before drying is in white color and it has a high EC level because of the high ion content in the coconut husk. The coco peat taken from these husks are in white color.

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Brown color coco peat

Coconut husk after drying changes the color to brown. Coco peat taken from these husks are brown in color and has a high EC level if the coco peat is not washed.

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Dark Brown/ Black coco peat

Coconut husk after drying and soaking in water turns into dark brown and as it ages to black in color. We soak the coconut husks in the water before processing for coconut fiber. This method is unique to Sri Lanka. The method reduces the ion content in the coconut husk because we keep the coconut husk in water for a long period. This is why Sri Lankan coco peat has low EC. As it ages it changes the color to black.

*EC : Electrical Conductivity
For more information please contact MassCoco Lanka. We are always happy to help you.

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We can advice you with regard to the options available including chemical and physical properties. We will present a proposal and where required we will help the customer to decide upon their requirements.

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