I did add a little garden tone. I was just too lazy to hunt for the Osmocote type fert.

The directions for that block of coir said to add 5 quarts of water. The young lady who sold it to me cautioned me to only use a gallon or it would be too wet. I used a gallon, but the coir in the bottom of my bin was still really wet so I added a little potting mix to absorb the excess water. I hope it works out OK.

Karen

sure it will be fine... a gallon usually does it for that size... but I always do them in advance so if I mess up and put too much water.. it has time to dry out some

I'm never that efficient or organized. I found the material nice and fluffy and easy to work with. I wish I'd bought more while I was there.

Karen

still new to me... just covering for an oopsie

Thank you for all the recommendations and feedback. Looks like it is a good product if with the proper preparations.

if it makes you feel any better the two sets of begonia seeds I sowed.. they are microscopic as well... but this is the first time I had any germinate 3rd time was the charm... so I was happy to see something tiny & green in there

I bet something like nasturtiums would do excellent in it, since it is recommended not to use fertilizer

I WS'ed some nasties in it.. 2 different ones... soon see

don't know what cultivar they are.. the one pack that germinated already only said Nasturtium Tropaeolum... they were from a swap

I won't pass judgement on it until I see how well or how poorly the cuttings and plants do in it. It sure is nice to work with, though, and it seems like it wouldn't compress down or harden like potting mixes can. I wish I'd gotten more of it while I was there. It was certainly cheap enough.

Karen

Hmmm.... still reserving judgment here. Those cuttings I did Mar 29 are too wet. I'm taking the humidity dome off for a while each day, they wilt badly, I put it back on... I obviously needed more perlite in the mix, or potting soil, or something. I'm definitely better at cuttings with potting mix. I'm sure there's a learning curve, and I haven't passed the curve yet. Don't think these cuttings are going to take. I've never had a batch of coleus cuttings fail in potting mix/perlite.

Linda and Allison, can you give me an idea of what % of coir, potting mix, perlite, or whatever you use in your mix?

I can see how the coir might have an advantage in containers outside in summer- it sure holds a lot of moisture.

Karen

Sorry, Karen-- I don't have any experience using coir indoors with seedlings or cuttings. So far, I've only used it in outdoor containers and Earth Boxes, and I've used it without any additives (other than fertilizer, of course). Hopefully someone else can weigh in here to help you.

If I was going to try to adjust this for better drainage, I'd probably add about 1/4 to 1/3 perlite.

Keep us posted on your progress, please.

I don't really know the percentage I used.. kind of just dumped some perlite in and mixed it up .. it wasn't much though

I'm going to stick with the Premier Promix-BX since you don't need to add anything to it other than fertilizer.

if I could get it... and at a good price... I would too

In my outside growbox type set up, I have mixed about 25% potting soil with the coir and I feel it is all staying too wet. I'm concerned about loosing what I have in there. If anything is still alive this weekend I will take my plants out and mix in pearlite. I can't make any changes until then.

My things are staying too wet in the coir, too. None of those are doing as well as stuff in potting soil. I haven't watered them much at all, but I guess I have trouble telling when the coir needs water.

I'm much safer with potting mix!

Karen

the stuff I have turns a lighter color when it's dry.. but looks like it's just dry on top... might still be moist underneath.. think I need more pearlite next year

I couldn have used that (more perlite) too, Allison. I killed a six inch pot of beautiful coleus with it. When I potted in up from a 4" pot to the 6" I used coir. I was about dead of root rot and stem rot when I fed it to the compost yesterday.

That's not to say that it isn't good stuff, but I don't know how to use it. I don't want to lose my plants, seeds, and cuttings, and I have so much luck with potting mix, that I think I'll stick to the potting mix. I sure would be easier to bring home a few bricks of coir than those huge bags of potting mix though!

Karen

the storage sold me as well.. even mixed in with potting mix later on when it's time to fill the containers.. won me over for sure

So I re-seeded the fibrous begonias in regular Promix BX and they are big & beautiful. I guess the cocoa coir stuff has it's place and is probably great for specific plants/environments. I certainly did not have success. Also, it sounds like most mix other ingredients to it. I prefer to open the bag and add water, so not the product for me.