Coir pots - an observation
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
This year I thought I'd start off my tomatoes and peppers in coir pots, the idea being that when the roots start showing through, you pot the whole thing on. It worked extremely well with the tomatoes, but the peppers have been quite stunted - I kept looking for signs of roots breaking through, without success. A few days ago I gave them a really good soaking and potted them on anyway. I think they may be starting to put on a bit of growth at last, but they'll be late. Any views on this problem? Could it be because pepper roots don't grow as strongly as tomato roots or because the roots don't like exposure to the air? (This experience apart, I'm a fan of coir, and use it regularly as part of my potting mix.)
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oldherbaceous
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Dear Ken, thats a very interesting thought about the Peppers roots not wanting to grow out of the coir pots.
Maybe next year you could put one of the coir pots inside a bigger pot of compost to see what happens.
Maybe next year you could put one of the coir pots inside a bigger pot of compost to see what happens.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
Hi Ken,
COIR needs an entirely new watering strategy and to me is not the best of mediums to work with. It is very hard to keep moist and the tendency leads to the over watering of plants. Tomato roots obviously are strong enough to penetrate the pot but it seems that Pepper's roots are not.
I would be inclined to try and keep the COIR pot damp from without thus avoiding over watering of the plants within.
Most Peat based mediums have a wetting agent added which when the peat dries out allows the peat to take up water more readily COIR does not.
I do not see the merit of OH's suggestion because you might just as well sow in the pot and throw the COIR pot away!
JB.
COIR needs an entirely new watering strategy and to me is not the best of mediums to work with. It is very hard to keep moist and the tendency leads to the over watering of plants. Tomato roots obviously are strong enough to penetrate the pot but it seems that Pepper's roots are not.
I would be inclined to try and keep the COIR pot damp from without thus avoiding over watering of the plants within.
Most Peat based mediums have a wetting agent added which when the peat dries out allows the peat to take up water more readily COIR does not.
I do not see the merit of OH's suggestion because you might just as well sow in the pot and throw the COIR pot away!
JB.
[url]Thanks, both. I've used coir blocks for many years now. Originally I used the coir on its own, but had some reservaions about a suitable feeding regime. In recent years, I've used it mixed 50:50 with John Innes because, for me, the latter seems a bit heavy and inclined to cake. I know people say they find coir difficult from the watering point of view, but I'm very happy with the results I get (acknowleding that I'm gardening on a much smaller scale than Johnboy). These coir pots, though...I think we're agreed that they may be OK for some things, but not everything. All the best, Ken[/url]
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FelixLeiter
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I gave up using peat pots, coir pots, whalehide or pots moulded from newspaper years ago. I find that most of the moisture is wicked out of the compost, but air pruning is also a very real problem, which is what I can suppose is going on with ken's pepper plants. Considering the principle with the pots is that root disturbance is eliminated, I have found them to be of no discernible benefit. For years I started sweetcorn off in Jiffy 7s. They always did fairly well, but a few individuals never really got going after being planted out. When I raised them in ordinary plastic pots, I had (and continue to have) 100% establishment. We need to be sensible of the fact that with a peat pot, many of the roots which penetrate the wall of the pot dry off and die. They often grow into their neighbour's pot and end up broken. Buying disposable pots is an annual expense, whereas some of my pots I've had for over 25 years.
I find grow tubes for sweet peas to be of no benefit. And they're expensive. The old maxim is that sweet peas do not like their roots to be disturbed. This is not true: they are like wire. I have been growing for exhibition for years, seven seedlings to a 7" pot which I prise apart at planting time without them missing a beat.
I find grow tubes for sweet peas to be of no benefit. And they're expensive. The old maxim is that sweet peas do not like their roots to be disturbed. This is not true: they are like wire. I have been growing for exhibition for years, seven seedlings to a 7" pot which I prise apart at planting time without them missing a beat.
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oldherbaceous
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The reason i suggested trying the coir pot inside a pot of compost was, this would keep the coir pot moist and also stop air pruning.I thought this would enable one to see if the coir pots are actually hindering the growth in anyway, if used in the normal way with the roots not penetrating the coir pot..
And if this was the case, in might pay not to use them for peppers.
And if this was the case, in might pay not to use them for peppers.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
I agree with your reasoning, OldH, but I think the point is now proved, at least to my satisfaction. At the time of writing the original post, I had potted on the coir pots and peppers into bigger pots. The plants are now coming on quite well, though still behind where they should be. So I won't be using coir pots for peppers again, and possibly not for other crops, too, in view of other comments here!