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  • From: "David Loring" <dloring3@cox.net>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Re: Coir
  • Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 12:33:28 -0800

Thanks for the reply. I'm working with coir as a substrate for growing
Trichoderma sp. and it is working well. You can see some examples on my web
page http://members.cox.net/se_asia_project/index.htm

I think this is why coir is working so well though peatmoss grows similarly,
but as you indicated, I also see various other fungi growing (I don't yet
know what they are) on the peat that I don't see on the coir.

Dave

David A. Loring, Project Leader
Southeast Asia Project
Dietrick Institute for Applied Insect Ecology
dloring3@cox.net ph (760) 489-9438
----- Original Message -----
From: "Charlie Shultz" <aquaponics@hotmail.com>
To: <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 10:20 AM
Subject: [permaculture] Re: Coir


> Greetings from Sunny St. Croix,
>
> First an introduction: I am Charlie Shultz and I currently reside in St.
> Croix, USVI, located SE of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. I work for an
> Agricultural Experiment Station on "Aquaponics". Aquaponics is the
> combination of fish farming, "Aquaculture", and Hydroponic plant
production
> with the fish effluent. The two terms put together derives, "Aquaponics".
> Also referred to as BioPonics. For more information you can see our
website
> at:
>
> rps.uvi.edu/AES/Aquaculture/aqua.html
>
> >From there you will also find a link to our annual summer workshop on
> Aquaponics and Tilapia Aquaculture. Please email me personally with any
> questions or comments.
>
> Our experience with coir has been wonderful. We used to use a peat media
> mix to start seedlings in our greenhouse. When the seedlings were
> transferred to the outdoor hydroponic systems, especially in the hot
summer
> months, we would see an outbreak of the fungus Phythium which turns the
> plant roots to mush. Soon the plant withers and dies. We were told that
a
> peat medium can harbor the phythium fungus. This is the same fungus that
> causes damping off in young seedlings. Currently we have switched to a
mix
> of coir (Coconut fiber) and vermiculite. This mix provides a great deal
of
> oxygen for the seedlings while holding an approprite amount of moisture.
> While peat will replenish itself after thousands of years, the quantities
> harvested globally will not sustain the demand. Looking at alternatives,
> especially ones coming as a byproduct of another industry, will lighten
the
> load on the peat harvesting.
>
> Another media I am currently testing is locally washed up sea grass. I
have
> always mulched with this seaweed, but now I am trying it as a media in a
> drip-irrigated system for sweet pepper plants. I rinse once, fill the
bags,
> and then start the drippers. While sodium may become an issue, I am
> "rooting" for the substrate to provide many micronutrients besides sodium.
>
> After a long hiatus from this list, I finally resubscribed and have
enjoyed
> the dialog so far. Hope I can provide some valuable information for some
of
> you.
>
> Yours,
> Charlie Shultz
> UVI, St. Croix
>
>
>
>
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  • Re: [permaculture] Re: Coir, David Loring, 03/04/2003

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