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New to growing your own tomatoes? This is the forum to learn the successful techniques used by seasoned tomato growers. Questions are welcome, too.

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Old March 19, 2018   #16
FourOaks
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nyrfan View Post
I only used about a quart or so of the expanded coir & put the rest in a bag for later use, starting in about 2 weeks.

Since it's already quite moist I'd rather not rinse it & would prefer to dry it out if I could.

The reason I asked, most of the CoCo products are full of salt. Just something to consider. Aside from that, and the price, it is a fine grow medium. Im reusing mine for another year.
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Old March 19, 2018   #17
nyrfan
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Quote:
most of the CoCo products are full of salt.
Thanks for the tip!

I'll be sure to rinse just before using next time.
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Old March 19, 2018   #18
Greatgardens
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Or you can buy pre-washed coir from a good supplier. If it doesn't say anything about pre-washed, I'd avoid it.
-GG
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Old March 19, 2018   #19
nyrfan
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Is Burpee's coir pre-washed? That's the brand I bought a brick of.

P.S. - Home Depot in my town has the bricks for $2.99 each. On the Burpee site they are $8.99 for 1 & $6.99 each for 2 or more.
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Old March 20, 2018   #20
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I'm pretty sure that I read it was, but to be sure, I just wrote to them. I'll post what they say. I've used the Burpee bricks and also their coir pellets, but I prefer the bagged material. But only because I find it easier to work with than the bricks -- pellets are pretty expensive.

-GG

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Old March 20, 2018   #21
clkeiper
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I use coarse vermiculite if I am adding it to the mix. but I prefer perlite.
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Old March 23, 2018   #22
Greatgardens
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nyrfan View Post
Is Burpee's coir pre-washed? That's the brand I bought a brick of.

P.S. - Home Depot in my town has the bricks for $2.99 each. On the Burpee site they are $8.99 for 1 & $6.99 each for 2 or more.
I recd. an answer from Burpee, and they indicate all their coir products are pre-washed, dried, and screened to size.
GG
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Old March 23, 2018   #23
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Numerous people reporting success with several coir mixtures on here. I bought two bags of Burpee's coir product in a rtu bagand it packs down and stays very wet for me. I've cut it with everything I had on hand with no luck. I've had good results with coir based Wondersoil, germinates peppers like a dream. Love there are no fungus gnats! I started herbs in the wondersoil and they are growing huge. Barely any germination in the Burpee. It feels very course not silky compared to Wondersoil.The bag was just a few cents more than the brick. Hope it works better for you, but have a back up plan!

- Lisa
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Old March 23, 2018   #24
nyrfan
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Thanks Greatgardens. Your effort is appreciated.
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Old March 23, 2018   #25
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This year I tried vermiculite. Didnt do the job I expected. Didnt lighten the soilless mix, The partiuclate size was too small and packed too much IMO when wet, and then when dried out . Adding a significant amount of perlite did not fix the situation.

Im seeing too much dampening off. Even in sterilied mixes that I sterilized my self. Not saying it is the vermiculite itself, it is the mix as a whole, all the fibers are too small for good drainage.
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