3 easy steps for you to make buffered cocopeat.
When I first started learning about hydroponics, the different concepts like buffering cocopeat and different types of cocopeat like “natural,” “low-EC,” “washed,” and “buffer” were hard to understand.
I’ll go over everything in detail here so you can buy cocopeat without confusion the next time, as well as why buffering of cocopeat is important.
Cocopeat is one of the best biodegradable and reusable growing mediums available.
It is used for a wide range of horticultural tasks, such as germination, mixing with soil, floriculture, and mushroom production. With its wide variety of uses, we need to study the properties of cocopeat so as to get the most out of it.
common properties of cocopeat.
1. The perfect PH for plants is present in cocopeat.
2. The high air-holding capacity of cocopeat promotes root development and respiration.
3. The natural anti-fungicidal properties found in cocopeat aid in reducing disease through growth media.
4. Cocopeat is completely biodegradable and reusable.
5. Cocopeat requires less frequent hydration and is simple to hydrate.
6. Cocopeat is completely eco-friendly.
chemical properties of cocopeat.
Most organic matter in nature has negatively charged surfaces, and cocopeat has negatively charged ions on its surface as well. As cocopeat is negatively charged, its surface attracts cations (positively charged ions).
Most coconut trees grow near the sea. This is especially true in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India, which are all in the south Asian subcontinent and have salty sea water. As a result of the naturally negatively charged coco surface and the high salt content of the water, the cocopeat in nature has high amounts of positively charged sodium and potassium attached to it. To fully grasp this concept, we must first understand the term “cation exchange capacity“.
The cation exchange capacity, or CEC, is the total amount of cations that a substance may accept or exchange. In other words, CEC will assist us in determining how much nutrition the media can hold before it begins to leave. The CEC of coco coir ranges from 45 to 100 meq/100 g (meq, or milli-equivalent, is used to measure the cation exchange capacity).
This means that although Coco might lock certain nutrients out, it can also hang onto others that are not properly removed from their natural origins, causing deficiencies in your plant. that can manifest in a variety of ways. So, we now understand the buffering process step by step and how we remove all potassium and sodium from all CEC sites.
What is low-EC cocopeat or washed cocopeat?
This is a label that you will often see when you buy the Cocopeat online, whether on Amazon or Flipkart.
Initially, the electrical conductivity level or salt content of naturally occurring cocopeat is between 2 and 6 mS/cm (the higher the number, the more salt it has), which is far too high for any growth medium. So as to reduce this high salt content, we need to first wash the cocopeat in soft water, as the high salt content is washed away in the water.
After this, what we get is low salt content cocopeat, also known as low EC cocopeat or washed cocopeat, which has an EC of 1 mS/cm, which is 100 to 300 times lower than naturally occurring cocopeat. In simple terms, “washed” cocopeat is cocopeat that has less sodium and potassium ions than in its natural form.
That is why, when purchasing cocopeat online, look for low-EC cocopeat or washed cocopeat. which has been washed before shipping to your doorstep.
What is buffering of cocopeat?
Even after washing the cocopeat, the sodium and potassium levels are reduced, but the cocopeat still holds some sodium and potassium salt because of its “cation exchange capacity,” or CEC. CEC is the substance that retains the ions even after the cocopeat has been washed. For all the ions to be freed from CEC sites, we need to remove the binding of sodium and potassium.
Despite the fact that it would not seem like much, it would indicate that every 100 g of media contains as much as 1.56 g of potassium. When compared to the 0.22 g (220 ppm) of potassium you would typically use in nutrients, this 1.56 g is significantly larger.
The only way to get rid of the sodium and potassium that remain in the coco coir fibres after washing is by buffering.
A “buffer” in general means the ability to moderate or lessen the impact of something. In this case, to remove the high concentration of sodium and potassium ions, which are positively charged, we add other positively charged ions for the exchange of sodium and potassium ions. So, we use calcium as an exchanger. The easily available calcium exchanger is calcium nitrate, which is one of the important plant nutrients.
How to Buffer Cocopeat?
When I searched for answers on Google, there were only a few sites that described the exact process, and the process was described for a large scale; to use it on a small scale, I reduced the scale to 10 liters.
There are many ways to buffer, but the best way to buffer is with commonly available plant nutrients, such as calcium nitrate.
For clarity, we will use the example of a 1-kg compressed block.
Step 1: Hydrate 1 kg of natural or unprocessed cocoblock with 10–15 litres of water, wash it properly with running water, and let it drain. Repeat this process until the EC is less than 1 mS/cm. As the cocopeat is washed, the 1 kg block would have expanded to 10–15 kg (1 kg dry weight and 10 to 15 litres of water to hydrate).
If your cocopeat is washed or has a low EC, you can skip this part 1.
Step 2: Now prepare the calcium nitrate solution by adding 70 g of calcium nitrate to 10 litres of water. Stir well, and let the calcium nitrate dissolve completely. Then the cocopeat is immersed in a calcium nitrate solution for 1–3 days, allowing all sodium and potassium ions to be leached out or exchanged with the calcium nitrate solution .
Step 3: After 2 to 3 days, drain the excess water and let it dry.
Step 4: Yula, your cocopeat is ready for use, with all CEC sodium and potassium cations replaced by calcium. The new buffered cocopeat is ready to accept new nutrients and the rooting system for nutrient exchange.
I hope this clears your mind regarding the different types of cocopeat available out there. and the need to buffer, as well as the steps needed to buffer cocopeat.
The advantage of buffered cocopeat is that from day one we can unleash the full potential of growing media, which is difficult to do if the cocopeat is not buffered. hope this article helps you to identify and pick different types of cocopeat according to your needs.
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