Get to know Cocopeat Hydroponic Planting Media

Hydroponics is a technology in agricultural cultivation where this cultivation does not require land as land but uses water.

Understanding Cocopeat Hydroponics

Cocopeat is an organic medium. Cocopeat itself is another name for coconut fiber powder. For Indonesian people, coconut fiber is very easy to find and our people are also familiar with the use of coconut fiber as a planting medium.

Because it is in powder form, to get cocopeat you need to grind the coconut fiber. By using cocopeat planting media, water can be retained and contains quite a lot of chemical elements. Cocopeat has an acidity level of between 5.0 – 6.8 so it is adaptive to be used as a medium for any plant. In its use, in general, cocopeat hydroponic media is mixed first with other materials such as burnt husks in a ratio of 50:50 which aims to facilitate the aeration process.

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Advantages of Cocopeat Media

Because of its advantages, cocopeat is widely used by Indonesian people. The following are some of the advantages of cocopeat:

• It is an organic medium.
• Can hold water well.
• The oxygen content reaches 50%.
• Contains a lot of phosphorus.
• pH value.

Weaknesses of Cocopeat Media

Despite its advantages, of course cocopeat media has weaknesses too. The following are some of the weaknesses of cocopeat media:

1. Cocopeat media contains high levels of chlorine so it is not good for plants if this chlorine element reacts with water.
2. Because its water absorption capacity is very high, it can cause plant roots to rot, so its use must be mixed with other media.
3. Cocopeat media contains tannin compounds which can inhibit plant growth.

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Cocopeat Media Variations

Cocopeat media has different shapes, because it comes from coconut fiber so it can be shaped according to needs. Generally, cocopeat is packaged in bulk packaging and comes in various shapes, such as disc plates, planks and blocks. Before being formed, the process of making cocopeat goes through washing, heating and filtering before it is formed into various shapes.

Tips for Using Cocopeat Hydroponic Media

• Cocopeat is washed first with clean water to remove chemical elements that might inhibit plant growth.
• Cocopeat must be mixed with other media as described above. It is actually possible to use cocopeat without mixing it with other media, but the results will not be optimal.
• If you use a hydroponic netpot, the cocopeat media is not suitable because the material will be washed away with other nutrients.

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Using cocopeat as a planting medium is actually very good because its contents are really needed by plants. However, you still have to pay attention to the weaknesses of cocopeat media so that you can adjust it to your needs.