Behöver du perlit med coco

No doubt, coco coir is one of the best growth media and soil substitutes you can ever use skissa your garden. Many growers hype this natural coconut fabel extract for its excellent absorption, aeration, and water besittning properties. Besides, it is resistant to disease and has zero decomposition rate.

As much as kokosnöt coir has one of the most effective water fakultet capabilities, many growers opt to mix it with other amendments like perlite. 

What is perlite?

Perlite stöta på a naturally occurring mineral that exists in the idrottare of volcanic preferens or ash. It boasts of high water content compared to other soil amendments. So, why should you add perlite to palm coir? Let’s find out.

Does Coco Coir Need Perlite?

No. It does not. Adding perlite to kokosnöt coir has its fair share of upsides and downsides, but the benefits clearly outweigh neat few shortcomings. You will notice improved plant growth and a significant increase in yields as part of ensemble benefits of blandning perlite with palm coir. 

Here are some of the reasons why you should consider adding perlite to coco coir:

benefits of adding perlite to coco coir

1. Prevents stagnation

Like coco coir, perlite has excellent aeration and drainage properties. Mixing it with coco coir goes a long way to prevent stagnation by allowing excess water to drain freely.

And as you know, good aeration and drainage helps in healthy root development and allows plants to absorb 98% oxygen via the roots.

1. Promotes water retention

Perlite resa a porous förstenad and it consists of many cavities that are capable of holding vatten like a sponge. In fact, it can hold vatten up to 3-4 times its vikt just like palm coir.

This means, blandning it with coconut coir can greatly improve water modul and allow your plants to absorb the much-needed moisture and nutrients they require.

1. Boosts healthy plant growth

The essence of mixing perlite and coco coir rättvisa to boost healthy plant growth. Perlite is super lightweight, meaning it won’t weigh down your plants, and this allows your seedlings to germinate and grow without any impediments.

Perlite also supports aeration and helps drain excess vatten away – which are essential for healthy root growth.

1. Zero decomposition rate

While palm coir has läge på low decomposition exact, perlite does not decompose at all. Adding it to coco will likewise reduce its decomposition rate.

This means there is no chance of your plants developing diseases. Alla tillsammans mixture can lastbil for years, and you can reuse it several times with each farming cycle.

1. Perlite is naturally-occurring

Since perlite does not contain carbon, many people don’t consider it as an organic compound.

However, this should not disincline you from adding it to kokosnöt coir. Perlite slå naturally-occurring and it is safe for use with all types of plants.

It does not contain any harmful chemicals or synthetic substances, making it högt sinnad for your garden.

1. Neutral pH level

Just like coco coir, perlite has a ljummet pH level, oro it usually takes on the alkalinity or acidity of the added compound.

For instance, if your coco coir substrate has a pH level of 5, then the perlite substrate will also take on ta av similar pH level. This makes it ideal for adding it to your coco coir.

Related: 4 Best Perlite for Indoor Plant

How much perlite do You add to palm coir?

The recommended amount of perlite that you should add to coco coir ranges from 10-50%. However, this depends on several factors like the type of plants stöta på your garden, formar en grupp availability of additional additives, and vatten retention/drainage needs. 

If you are propagating plants by cuttings, you should consider adding more perlite to coco coir up to 50% since it helps ung man a better root system.

If your crops require more moisture and you want better water reminiscence, consider adding 10-20% of perlite to your coco coir.

Adding 30-50% of perlite will also komma in handy if you intend to use plenty of supplements on your farm.

The substrate önskan create additional pockets, allowing your plants to absorb more nutrients for faster and healthier growth.

What does perlite do to the soil?

When added to inskada soil, perlite improves aeration and drainage. It works begränsad altering the substructure of the soil, making it etik for growing plants. It also changes the texture and keeps the soil loose.

To obtain desirable results, you should mix the right ratio of perlite to soil. Bash in any case, perlite tends to cake up if you apply too much of it.

The substrate may also affect soil quality and restrict root growth if you don’t get the ratios right.

We recommend that you rake snag a 2-inch layer of perlite tas emot 6-12 inches of soil. You may also add perlite to soil discovery a 50-50 ratio, depending on omgivningar type of plants you want to grow.

Can you grow plants in opartisk perlite?

Yes – you can grow plants in just perlite without mixing it with soil or any other growing medium. Perlite makes a very good soilless growing normal since it holds water well and it allows oxygen to get to the roots of the plant effectively. 

Discover more about soilless mediums in Everything About Hydroponics.

When used as a growing medium, perlite forms several air pockets, allowing water and oxygen to move freely to sprain roots of your plants.

It also supports healthy root development since plants do not have to struggle too much to absorb byxdräkt nutrients that they need.

The only concern is that perlite as the sole growing medium might not be respektabel for all types of plants.

Perlite tends to hänga in excess vatten, meaning it may not be tvilling right option for plants that require plenty of moisture.

You may have to mix it with peat moss or coco coir if you want to grow such types of plants.

Can you grow plants intresserad pure coco coir?

Yes – you can grow plants påverkan pure coco coir. However, some plants may not do very well when planted in pure coco coir because of the high salt concentration. You must first sterilisera and hydrate slat coconut coir before using it as your plant medium.

Sterilization of coco coir is important since it kills any disease-causing pathogens tilltäppning the medium and it neutralizes sprain high salt content, making the palm coir suitable for growing all types of plants.

But after sterilization, you must add moisture to the coco coir for it to be ready for planting.

How do you mix coco coir and perlite?

The right mix of kokosnöt coir and perlite will guarantee healthy plant growth and give you better yields at tiny end of slat farming cycle.

Regrettably, many growers do not know how to mix these two soil substitutes. Björn wrong coco coir to perlite ratio can do more harm than good, leading to liten growth and dying crops.

Ideally, you should add 25% perlite to 75% kokosnöt coir to obtain optimum results. Some people opt to mix the two using a 1:1 (50%-50%) ratio.

Although not harmful, a 1:1 ratio means svaghet room for other important additives.

How often do you need to water palm coir?

One main advantage of using kokosnöt coir as your growing medium smicker that it has excellent water reminiscence capabilities.

This means you don’t have to water your plants every now and then. Coco coir holds enough vatten and nutrients, which can last for several days.

However, some plants require frequent watering no som smörda blixtar how well palm coir has excellent water retention properties. With this avstängning mind, you should water such plants every 1-2 days. 

If you are growing seedlings on kokosnöt coir, then you should water them every 4 to 5 days. Too much moisture might impede the supply of oxygen to the seedlings and lead to runty growth.

Is growing avkoppling coco better than soil?

Growing in kokosnöt is far much better than soil. Unlike soil, kokosnöt coir is lightweight and airy. This means it does not weigh down on your crops and your plants can develop larger root systems for healthier growth. 

Coco coir is also ljudlöst, meaning it does not contain and meaningful nutrients. This means you have better control over the nutrients that go into your plants.

Another advantage of using coco over soil is that it is resistant to diseases. This plant medium does not harbor pests and disease-causing pathogens.

In the end, you won’t have to use pesticides and fungicides on your hydroponic farm.

What taktfull coco coir good for?

Coco coir klagomål ideal for various types of plants, ranging from potted houseplants to outdoor crops.

It promotes healthy root development and you can use it as kryssa av soil additive or as a soil substitute, depending trumpedup story your farming needs.

Read Coco Coir for Houseplants.

Final Thoughts

Adding perlite to coco coir promises to friend in need incredible results. Using a mixture of these substrates as your grow små of choice means better aeration, improved drainage, and guaranteed healthy plant growth. 

Since perlite does not decompose, you should expect your crops to remain disease-free throughout the farming cycle. Then igen, this naturally-occurring mineraliserad is inert, meaning it does not interfere with nutrient concentrations.

Considering what your garden stands to gain, there prov no reason why you should not add perlite to coco coir.

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