Coco coir, Peat moss and Rockwool, what is the best growing medium?
Different properties of Coco Peat, Peat Moss and Rockwool have different impacts on plant growth. These growing medias make up not only a large part of the cost but also a large part of waste. This blog will help you to find the optimal solution for your plants.
Peat moss
Mining peat moss is tremendously destructive for the environment. Peat bogs (or peatlands) are formed over thousands of years and regenerate very slowly. They store around a third of all soil carbon, which got locked up inside them after the plant structure of mosses turned into peat. These bogs are likely to have captured more carbon dioxide than all the world’s rainforests. When they are disturbed, big quantities of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, significantly contributing to greenhouse emissions.
Water is drained away from a bog to extract peat moss, which dries the bog out and it eventually dies. After that, all surface vegetation is removed, and the surface layer is dried in the sun. The dry layer on top is then harvested and sold all over the world. Peatlands are crucial and fragile ecosystems that are seriously disturbed by peat moss extraction. They are not only home to many unique plant species and wildlife, but also nature’s water purifiers and flood preventers.
Peat moss will not be used in agriculture in the future. The UK government is to completely ban use of peat among amateur gardeners by 2024 and we believe that many other countries will follow, and ban will come into effect for professional agriculture too.
Rockwool
Rockwool is one of the most popular growing media, but it comes with major environmental concerns. Production of rockwool creates irreversible chemical bonds, which makes it extremely durable. Even if broken down into individual fiber strains, rockwool is not biodegradable and will probably never decompose. Huge amounts of used rockwool are disposed of into landfills every year, creating an ecological problem for many countries.
Similarly, to microplastics, it is eventually harmful to the health of both humans and animals. Some studies reported that rockwool is the most harmful growing media to human health. Furthermore, production of rockwool is very energy-intensive, making the carbon footprint of the industry very large.
Coco Coir
Coconut coir is often regarded as one of the most sustainable growing media out there. It is manufactured from coconut husk, which is thrown away after taking the coco nuts. Coconut industry does not cause deforestation like, for example, palm oil cultivation. Water for coconut growth and washing of the raw material comes mainly from natural precipitation, and drying of coir is done in the open air in the sun without using other energy sources.
Dry coconut coir is also commonly compressed into blocks and slabs, which expand 3-5 times upon addition of water. This allows transportation of large volumes of growing media in just a fraction of the space, therefore reducing its carbon footprint. However, transportation to some locations can be costly since coconut coir production is mostly limited to just a few countries, mainly Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Philippine, and Brazil.
