Coco peat is extracted from fresh coconut husks after the fiber has been removed. Cocopeat is the material that lies in between the fiber strands holding it together. Apart from cocopeat, peat moss and rock wool are very prominently used as growing media across the world.
Peat Moss is extracted from forests by mining the compost material that is naturally available in the environment in countries like Lithuania and Canada. To make peat moss usable as growing media, it is first mined, then cleaned and packed. The mining activities to extract peat moss greatly affect the environment and its ecosystem. A lot of experts and environmental enthusiasts refrain and avoid using peat moss as growing media due to this reason. The best alternative to peat moss is coco peat. Cocopeat is a renewable source of peat moss.
The pH value of growing media is very important for the healthy growth of plants. Plants grow best when the pH is near 7 (neutral) or slightly above 7 (alkaline). The challenge with peat moss is that it is acidic by nature with a pH value below 5 and as rectification, lime is added to it to increase the pH value. As a result of this method, the pH value of peat moss is not the same each time and is extremely inconsistent. Due to which it requires an expert to monitor and manage this process. This may lead to additional overhead costs for the growers and an increase in the time required.
Contradictory to peat moss, cocopeat has a very consistent pH value which ranges between 6 and 7. This makes cocopeat a very good growing media suitable for plants. Because of this naturally consistent property, cocopeat has become the preferred choice of most home gardeners because of its easy usage. Home gardeners can simply use cocopeat as growing media without having to adjust its pH content.
Given above are some more details of the difference.
We, at Trellis Horticulture, believe that cocopeat will soon become the most preferred choice for all growers across the world because of its convenience and environmentally friendly properties. The world is moving towards sustainable options and cocopeat is organic and sustainable.
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