Coir & Aeration

Plants need several key ingredients such as sunlight, moisture and oxygen over a certain period of time for optimal growth. The process of photosynthesis producing oxygen is clearly visible from the green parts of the plants leaves & stems. However, as roots require oxygen for healthy growth simultaneous to the rest of the plant, it absorbs nutrients and oxygen from the surrounding environment due to limitations in photosynthesis occurring at root level. This is directly linked with aeration

Aeration

Aeration denotes bringing in air into a specific material. Aeration increases as air levels rise due to more macro and micro air pores (spaces) are created in the plants root zone. This allows plants to breathe in more oxygen through the roots, and provides faster drainage restricting the time plants remain in water.

Higher oxygen availability at root zone cause a noticeable impact on plant health, growth and harvest.

Benefits of good aeration

1. Faster drainage allows roots to breathe more conveniently after watering whilst encouraging air from the immediate surroundings to get drawn into the growing media as water drains away.
2. Higher air levels at root zone stimulates beneficial organism growth and biological reactions to occur. Meanwhile lack of air at the roots contribute to slow and lower growth of the plant as well as a poor harvest, further acting as an entry point for crop diseases like root rot.

How can Coco Coir help to improve aeration?

Adding coco coir fiber to other grow mediums allows to create air pockets and provide natural aeration as coir texture cause plants to absorb oxygen conveniently. Coco coir’s mixture used with other mediums aid roots ability to hold and release water as at when needed. Over 60% of the right coir particle sizes ranging from 6mm-12mm are needed for optimum air porosity in a plant to grow healthily. A grow medium that allows to achieve an aeration level above 90% is considered as the best grow media due to optimum aeration provided for a plant’s root system.

Use of quality Coir

Quality of the coir ensures successful plant growth. Poor quality coir consists of unwanted particles and foreign materials that require several washing and sieving methods to clean. Impurities in the base would dampen and prevent healthy growth of a plant.