On this St. Patrick's Day maybe you were wished the luck of the Irish. Maybe you dined on a typical Irish meal like a shepherd's pie. Did you wear your "kiss me, I'm Irish" pin?
My thoughts move away from green and into the soil realm. Specifically, enrichment to soil and a medium that will favor seed starting interests me. Unable to get to work in the flower beds, I stare beyond the bird feeders with huge hopes as winter spirals down. Chameleon Mica Powder
A few weeks ago while potting up paperwhite narcissus, two circular cakes of coco coir were included in the planting project. The directions were to add water. These cakes expanded to fill a 2-quart container. A moist and airy, rich and dark heap emerged.
This medium brought curiosity. The yard compost and this coir have many of the same characteristics. Both have spongy texture, expanding air spaces and the capability to hold moisture. Backyard, garden-created compost breaks down rapidly in the soil. This brings a need to reapply more each growing season. Coco coir will last in the soil for years.
What is coir? It is the husk and inner shell of a coconut. Everything between the shell and the outer coat is coir. These two layers were discarded as useless for a long time. To become useful in soil, both elements must be soaked in water until they are softened and loosened, which removes the coir. Extensive steps include months of drying. The coir is then formed into bales, chopped only to face even more processing.
In reading about this coco coir I learned it has a high lignin content. Lignin is a substance that along with cellulose forms the main makeup of woody tissue. Lignin does not break down readily. In the soil, lignin is the secret to coir's longevity. Its life span ranges from five-10 years. Coir out performs peat moss, vermiculite and perlite as a soil amendment.
And further, coir is a disease-free growing medium that retains moisture yet never becomes wet or soggy. That makes it nearly perfect for seed starting. Coir is free of weed seeds, diseases and pathogens. Coir has other virtues including its ability to hold seven times its weight in water, it cannot be compacted, fosters root development and won't waterlog. Most insects will not settle into the coir.
Using coir in our gardens could be a good move when you consider peat moss comes from peat bogs that will one day be exhausted. Coir is a renewable resource, repurposed from coconuts.
In the meantime it is my hope seed staring efforts in the garage will succeed because of the coco coir coming my way.
Resin Mica Pigment Powder Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, an accredited master gardener, a flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth grade teacher.