Tuesday, June 17, 2014

CoirGreen™ Coco Peat as a viable alternative to Peat Moss



For decades gardeners have recognized the benefits of adding peat moss to potting soil. Peat moss lightens the soil, allows air to enter and generally improves soil structure. However, these benefits come at a price.

Peat bogs are areas of great natural beauty, containing  plants and wildlife, some of which are unique to these environments. They are home to thousands of insects including butterflies, dragonflies and spiders. Nearly a thousand different flowering plants grow in these, including carnivorous plants such as the Great Sundew as well as mosses, fungi and lichens. Nevertheless, this environment is slowly being destroyed to satisfy the greed of man.

Wetland ecologists say that peat moss is being harvested at unsustainable rates. Over 10 million cubic yards of peat moss are harvested each year from bogs in Canada, plus another million or so from bogs in the northern United States. Peat moss comes from slow growing rotting plants and it typically takes 1000 years for a bog to add one yard to its depth. Destroying peat bogs contributes to global warming as well. Peat bogs cover just 3% of the world’s surface but they store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined. Some ecologists say that “Destroying peat bogs is even more disastrous than destroying the Amazonian rainforest!”

The environmental costs of harvesting peat moss is huge. Fuel is needed to dig drainage ditches, harrow the peat, vacuum and then bale it. This adds up to a lot of greenhouse gasses in order to create an organic soil improver. Even the peat industry, while stating that peatlands can be managed at sustainable levels, acknowledge that alternatives to peat moss must be developed in order to meet environmental concerns of consumers.

CoirGreen™ coco peat is a viable alternative to peat moss. Unlike peat moss, coir is a waste product of the coconut harvest and is always available. In the past coir was left to accumulate in large piles. Nevertheless it did not take long for horticulturists to recognize the benefits of coir.

Apart from being an environmentally friendly product, CoirGreen™ coco peat has been proven to hold moisture well, wet more easily than peat, drain well, decompose more slowly and withstand compression better. Plus coir dust does not have the small sticks and possible seeds that peat has.

Peat Moss is an acidic substance which makes it difficult for plants to grow. CoirGreen coco peat, on the other hand, has a neutral pH level which facilitates healthy plant growth. The acidic nature of peat moss makes it possible for fungi and other plant-based diseases to take root  However, coconut coir is free of bacteria, plant disease, fungi, weeds, and pathogens and thus provides the same benefits of peat moss without damaging the environment.

The advantages of using CoirGreen Coco Peat can be summarized as below

       100% natural, organic and biodegradable
       An eco-friendly renewable resource
       A perfect multi purpose growing medium
       Has high aeration (air porosity)
       Absorbs water easily but not too much
       Ensures a strong and healthy root system
       A very stable product that can be used for many years without decomposition affecting its physical make-up

For more details on our natural, environmentally friendly coir products, their usages and how CoirGreen™ work, please visit – http://www.coirgreen.com or simply email us at info(AT)coirgreen.com