Practical Tips To Convert Coconut Coir Into Planting Media

Illustration of Making Coconut Coir into Planting Media (Gary Barnes/Pexels)

JAKARTA - There are many types of planting media that you can use for planting. One of them is coconut fiber or cocopeat. According to the Balcony Garden Web page, Thursday, October 28, coconut husk as a planting medium is believed to increase water retention and porosity of the growing media, absorb water better than other organic growing media, increase soil productivity, and reduce root disease.

In addition, you can easily make planting media from coconut coir at home, making it more economical. You only need tools and materials such as coconut, pliers, containers, bowl, stirrers, and water. After the tools and materials are ready, let's move on to how to make them.

Prepare the coconut coir

The first step you need to do is prepare the coconut coir. Good coconut coir can be obtained from old coconut. To take it, use pliers or a coconut coir pulling tool to separate the coconut coir layer from the shell.

Water and cut the coconut coir

After getting the coconut coir, you need to divide the coir into several pieces and cut them into small pieces. To make this process easier, moisten the coir with water.

Dry and grind the coconut coir

Because the next process is to smooth the coconut coir that has been cut into small pieces using a blender, the wet coconut coir needs to be dried first to make it easier to grind. After drying, put the coconut fiber into the blender machine and then blend until completely smooth or can also be pounded manually.

Strain the coconut coir

For a smoother texture, discard any chunks of coir or coir that can't be mashed. You can do this by hand or using a strainer.

Mix the coir with water and MOL

The process of making planting media from coconut coir next is to mix the mashed coconut coir with MOL (Local Microorganisms), then soak it in water for one day. Meanwhile, the MOL used is a mixture of 1 liter of water, 100 ml of rice washing water, and 50 ml of rabbit urine.

After all the ingredients are well mixed, you also need to cover it with a container and store it in the shade for one day. If you have, you can filter it again to reduce the soaking water and the drained cocopeat can be used directly for planting media or help the seeding process.