How to prepare Cocopeat nursery growing medium? Here, we will show you the best method to prepare and use cocopeat as a growing medium for the nursery. Let’s start!
Preparation
Prepare a few things we mentioned below:
- 2 large containers,
- Cocopeat block,
- Shovel or any tool for mixing,
- Water,
- Organic compost.
You only need enough cocopeat block to create a growing medium for the nursery, so you don’t need the whole package. It usually expands 10 times its initial size.
Tap water is a good choice for water. Make sure it doesn’t contain any heavy metals or dangerous substances. However, you can also use warm water for a faster expansion process. Once you have them all, it is time to make a growing medium from cocopeat for the nursery.
How to Prepare Cocopeat
You need to follow several steps, which are:
1. Expansion
Put the cocopeat into one of the large containers. Then, add water to it. Add enough amounts of water to make the cocopeat block soaked completely.
Wait for 10-20 minutes until it fully expands. You can add more water to accelerate the process.
2. Rinsing
Once it is expanded, you can add flowing water to start the rinsing process. This step is a critical factor in the Cocopeat nursery growing medium. The purpose is to remove excess salt from the cocopeat.
You might use the low EC cocopeat. It has a low salt content. However, it is still too high for nursery plants. Therefore, rinsing is necessary to create a stable and safe planting medium.
3. Shredding
Shred the soaked and fully-expanded cocopeat block into soil form. You can use a hand or tool for this step. Before moving the cocopeat to another container, squeeze it to remove excess water. Then, move it to the other large container we prepared before.
4. Mixing
Add organic compost to the shredded cocopeat in the container. Mix it with a tool or hand. As for the ratio, it should be 1:1 of compost and cocopeat.
Let it settle down for a few minutes. Then, you can use this mixture as a growing medium for the nursery. Move it in the container. However, make sure the container is clean to avoid fungi infection.
Final Words
Prepare everything to get the optimal Cocopeat nursery growing medium. That will also be beneficial for your nursery. You get one of the best planting mediums for any plant, which could be the best substitution for regular soil. Try it now!