Coir

pumpkinz

Hi all, i had to unlurk today and join up to share what i've learned...

Today being beautiful here for a change i decided to repot my dahlias,lupins etc and to my absolute surprise every single dahlia tuber that was planted in coir/compost mix and coir alone was in 100% perfect health and to top it off not a single grub,maggot or vine weevil among them.

Now every year for this past 8/9 i've had miserable luck with potted plants as over winter i leave everything outdoors up against the walls of the house (too poor for a greenhouse) and every spring it's a battle with vine weevils.

Last year being "thrifty" i began using coconut coir from poundland in a mix of 4 handfuls of coir to 2 multi purpose compost,i feed liquid feed once a week so the lack of nutrition in the coir wasn't a problem.It's great for holding water so it gave me a bit of wiggle room during the hot summer days too (always a bonus)

But the best part was slugs and snails didn't like crawling through it so my seedlings and smalls plants had a great year (for the first time ever my lupins are already strong plants) Anyhoo  i thought i should share and hope someone else can benifit

Jimmy Crawford

Coir is great stuff for seedlings. The added bonus is that it slow releases nutrients as it breaks down. Wonderful soil improver. This is what I dug in around my holly bushes when I put them in as a rough 3.1 mix with horticultural grit. Slugs and snails really don't like it. Those areas are shell free.