I'm a little late chiming in here about the coco coir, but I had a terrible experience with some this year. Like many others, I started purchasing coir a few years ago from a seller on DG...it was great stuff. When he went out of business last year, I found a small amount that I purchased locally (Coco-Tek brand) that was also really good. This year, I purchased a different brand (Sun Leaves) that was the worst stuff imaginable. Of the 4 bales I purchased, 2 wouldn't even break down in water without massive amounts of time and effort. When I finally planted some new EBs and planters with it, everything either died or failed to grow. I finally realized it was probably due to the salt content, so was able to rinse my EB as well as I could--literally just flooded them with water for about 20 minutes at at time, and repeated several times. Well, the boxes did a little better, but I plan on dumping the coir in those planters before next season. I just couldn't believe the difference in the brands.
ANother friend of mine had a similar experience when she switched from one brand to another. It definitely makes a difference!!!
