Plant Sciences Commons^™

A Comparison Of Coconut Coir And Sphagnum Peat As Soil-Less Media Components For Plant Growth, Jason Holman, Bruce Bugbee, Julie K. Chard

Hydroponics/Soilless Media

Coconut coir, a by-product of the coconut industry, has been promoted as an alternative to peat moss in soil-less media. Sphagnum peat moss has long been a standard component of soil-less media, but some people have expressed concern that it is a non-renewable resource. Although it does not appear that world peat resources will be in short supply for a very long time, coconut coir may have characteristics that make it a useful component of soil-less media mixes. Coir has been considered to promote excellent plant growth but there are few rigorous studies that have compared it with peat moss …