Hydroponic gardeners use coir as a growing medium in place of soil. In traditional horticulture, coir is used as a substitute for peat moss.

Coir, another name for Coco Peat, is simply the fibers removed from the outer shell of a coconut. As it is 100% natural and biodegradable, it is popular with both organic and hydroponic gardeners. The vast majority of Coco peat comes from Asia, in particular India and Sri Lanka but countries in the Caribbean and Mexico also produce coir.

One of the main reasons that Coco peat is popular amongst gardening enthusiasts is that it is resistant to bacterial and fungal growth. An interesting fact about the Coco peat that comes from Mexico is that it is populated with a beneficial fungus which acts as a biological control against pathological fungi.

Coco peat has several characteristics which make it popular with both the hydroponic and traditional gardener:

• Retains water and is able to store 8 - 9 times its weight in water.

• Has a pH of 5.2-6.8 which makes it potentially acidic. Hydroponic gardeners should be careful to adjust pH as required when using Coco peat.

• Renewable and according to literature can be reused for up to four years.

• Stores and releases nutrients for extended periods of time.

• Great oxygenation properties which assist in root development.

Coco peat typically comes in two formats, loose or compressed. The compressed form is more common due to the fact that it is easier to ship and takes up less space. It is typically shipped as bricks which can be broken into smaller pieces and then re-hydrated.

In hydroponic systems, coco peat is typically mixed, at a ratio of 50/50, with pumice or coarse perlite to provide some drainage. This type of medium is recommended for intermediate to advanced hydroponic gardeners due to the fact that the saline effect will vary from one brand of Coco peat to another. During the hydration stage, the runoff should be checked to see how much dissolved solids are being introduced into the system.

By: Charlene Rennick

Chamomile is an attractive addition to any garden.  It is a tiny, shrub-like plant that sprouts an abundance of delicate white and yellow blossoms similar to a daisy.  Its tendril-like leaves are soft and feathery.  Chamomile is a good candidate for early germination in hydroponic gardens.  It can be moved outdoors when the weather is warmer and harvested as needed. Chamomile has been cultivated for its medicinal properties since the beginning of the first millennium. 

More on Chamomile: Nature’s Dreamcatcher

By: Charlene Rennick

Seed vaults protect ecosystems by preserving stored species of seeds.  An ecosystem consists of a combination of interactions between all beings, living and nonliving, in a given physical environment.  Each organism has a role to play; it has both an effect on the other life forms and is acted upon by the other organisms in its environment.  The ecosystem works because each individual organism is inter-dependent upon the others for its survival.  Removing one life form from the order disorganizes and compromises the entire system’s continued existence.

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By: Charlene Rennick

The debate continues for dedicated heirloom seed saving hobbyists and serious collectors with private or public seed vaults: is there a definitive point in time at which a seed can be identified as an heirloom?

More on Heirloom Seeds: Defining Authentic

By: Charlene Rennick

The success secret of preserving a seed is making sure that the climate and growth cycle experienced during the maturation of the seed is reproduced during the storage of the seed. To do this, the geographical origin of the parent plant must be determined ahead of time.   

Co-ordinate the Indigenous Climate with the Storage Environment

If the seed is from a tropical fruit grown closer to the equator, the storage area should be dry but warm.  This kind of seed will not survive a dormant period or freezing to preserve it because it does not have that kind of temperature or growing cycle in its natural environment.  Conversely, if the seed has been produced by a parent plant from a northern climate, it will lend itself to drying and freezing as a storage method because it is used to a shorter growth cycle followed by a colder, dry, dormant period.

Seeds are merely the casing for plant DNA which breaks down over time, even in ideal storage conditions.  Occasional sowing is necessary to keep the seeds fresh, the DNA viable, and the plant updated to the ever-changing environmental variables it will experience when it is eventually planted in the ground.

Recalcitrant and Orthodox Seed Storage

For the purpose of storage, there are two different kinds of seeds: orthodox and recalcitrant.  Orthodox seeds can remain inactive for years in a cool, dry storage condition while recalcitrant seeds can be damaged by drying and freezing procedures; they don’t store well at all.  Mango, avocado, cocoa, rubber tree, litchi are some examples of seeds that do not withstand freezing and drying. 

Large-scale and Home Hobby Seed Saving

Ideally, orthodox seeds should be allowed to dry.  For home hobby use, this is most successful in a well-ventilated, cool environment followed by wrapping in newsprint (unprinted) or a plain paper bag.  Moisture and mildew are destructive to seeds.  Once they are dried, they can be frozen in their paper inside an air-tight container or within a sealed jar.  If you are using them the spring following the drying season, paper bags should suffice to protect them. If the seed storage is a large operation, seeds are dried to a moisture content of less than 6% and stored in freezers at minus 18 degrees Celsius. (wikipedia). 

By: Charlene Rennick

Seed saving is the practice of propagating new plants from the previous generation using its seeds.  Traditionally, this is the method used by agriculturalists to reproduce crops in the field from one year to the next.  Recently, seed saving has declined as a means of cultivation due to the prominence of cloning and hybridizing plants.

More on Seed Saving Safeguards Species

If you are new to hydroponic gardening, basil is a very easy and
rewarding herb to grow. I have grown it with great success in both
our little Aerogarden as well as our ebb and flow system. It just
seems to proliferate.

More on Try Basil in your Hydroponics Garden for Ease and Versatility

By: Charlene Rennick

Heirloom plants are named as such because they can literally be passed down from one family member to the next generation in the form of seeds.  The seeds are saved at harvest time, allowed to dry over the winter and re-sown in the spring earth.  Heirloom seeds are unique because they are not the result of commercial engineering or cloning; they are created by a natural process of random pollination. 

More on What is an Heirloom Seed?

I recently went to a local hydroponics store to purchase some
nutrient for my garden. While I was there, I noticed a bottle with
what looked like calcium on the bottom amongst the various nutrient
solutions. I talked to the owner about it and he mentioned that
some of his concentrated nutrient feeds come as two parts and that
they cannot be mixed directly with each other while in concentrated
form. If the concentrates are mixed directly, the nutrients
precipitate out as a solid.

More on Be Sure to Dilute Nutrient Concentrates Before Mixing Them Together

By: Charlene Rennick

Green roofs are gaining new ground in higher places.  In some areas, over 2 million square feet of gardens have been anchored onto the top of city buildings.  Many of these living green roof tops can be found in Europe, Asia and Canada. 

More on Raising the Green Roof