We all want our gardens to be the best they can, so what we choose to grow plants in is an important consideration.
While many people choose stuff like potting soil, more and more green-fingered gardeners are becoming aware of coco peat.
This product has plenty of benefits in that it’s renewable and you don’t have to use a huge volume so a little goes a long way.
Plus, many gardeners have commented on how quickly coco peat absorbs water and the reasonable capacity to hold a fair quantity of liquids means that there is less chance of over watering or under watering our plants.
Transform your backyard: There are some drawbacks to using coco peat and they can often be the straw that broke the camel’s back. So let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons you should stay away from coco peat.
What Is Coco Peat?
When it comes to growing anything, most people will go for some kind of potting mix.
It has lots of nutrients, is clean, and is readily available!
But it has it’s down sides in particular when you consider that it does not drain well, and because of the way it is harvested, it is not the most eco-friendly.
Coco peat is nothing like your traditional potting mix, it comes from the pith of coconut, yes, coconut!
This is anti-fungal material which is great for starting seeds, but it has a ton of other uses.
Often, you will see coco peat used to make things like:
- brushes
- rope
- mats
- and much more…
When you purchase coco peat for growing, you will typically purchase it in a block.
Keep In Mind: This block must be soaked with water for it to break apart and it is very common to use with raising plants like orchids and ferns.
Disadvantages of Coco Peat
Okay, so there are some positives to coco peat, but the negatives can definitely be a big enough deal to scare you away from using it.
So as we move on to using coco peat instead of soil, you should just keep in mind these negatives.
1. You May End Up with Something Inferior
Coco peat has completely exploded in popularity over the year, and typically with high consumer demand for a product, comes the added pressure for an increased supply.
Unfortunately, this has led to many suppliers supplying extremely poor quality coco peat, which simply doesn’t outweigh the benefits of the good stuff and won’t help anything you are trying to grow with it.
However, it can be very hard to tell the good from the bad, and this is why so many unsuspecting vendors have fallen into the trap of sourcing their coco peat from unreliable suppliers.
2. It’s Prone to Creep
When you use coco peat, one of the biggest issues is that you have to be good and quick.
If you’re not using it up in a few months after production, you’ll notice that it will start to creep.
And with you wetting the coco peat, this isn’t the easiest thing.
3. Plant Support Isn’t Great
Coco peat has a reputation for being very porous, and as a result it does have a drawback; the material alone doesn’t give enough mechanical strength to support the weight of most, if not all, of the plants you are trying to grow.
Solely as a standalone reason to not use coco peat, that is not enough. But when you’re comparing the support of your plant if it was mixed with then other products, it certainly makes thing hard.
4. It’s Too Salty
We talked a lot about finding good quality coco peat and one of the reasons is because it will have a lower salt content.
Excess salt will restrict plant roots from easily taking water and often plants will have the potential nutrients but because of all the excess salts in the water, they can’t take in what they need, and will not grow.
Did You Know? The reason for this is many suppliers rinse any salt water coco peat in salt water instead of freshwater and this is why you should research before choosing this product.
5. It’s Not Cheap
When there is a demand spike for a product, it is safe to say that the price goes up and that is very much true in the case of coco peat.
Coco peat has been mentioned all over the internet, and many people have reported seeing coco peat for very low prices and so the prices for this product has increased.
Additionally, coco peat is not the easiest item to find, which means that you will probably spend more time searching for coco peat than you will caring for your plants, and no one has time for that.
6. It Doesn’t Have Any Nutrients
One of the biggest advantages of using potting soil is that it is full of nutrients that support plant growth.
With coco peat, it isn’t so easy.
Sure you can just add fertilizer for your plants, but that feels like extra work for many busy gardeners who want to use a product that is all-in-one like potting soil.
As we mentioned above, coco peat will retain whatever nutrients you add which means your plants will be getting less than they need.
Conclusion
Coco peat is a good option for growing medium for people who are looking for an option that is environmentally friendly and something they can use over and over.
However, while it has its positives, it has negatives that you really need to think through before determining it is the best option for growing plants.
First off, this product is not widely available and wherever you find it, the price is significantly more.
Secondly, coco peat might not have as high of a nutrient content as your plants need, and there is a possibility that it contains high salt levels.
All of this means that the plants may not do as well in coco peat as you could if you were growing in potting soil.