Posted by gotica on 2013-04-24 17:39:04 UTC and edited at 2020-02-10 02:46:12 UTC
PermalinkI finally got frustrated enough to establish one of the raised beds the other week, using a combination of enriched coir and compost.
I've sown Purple Haze carrots, brussels sprouts, purple broccoli, peas, turnips, english spinach and have transplanted two zucchini plants and two strawberry plants into the bed. The zucchini and strawberries are looking well pleased with themselves as I managed to transplant late on a cool day which was followed by gentle rains through the evening and the next day.
Perth weather has been lovely and crisp this last week. Lots of gentle rains meaning I haven't had to water, I've not been overheating and the littlest ninja has been having a better time of it all.
Now, I couldn't find much info on using coir for vegetable gardening. A lot of sites talk about using it as potting mix and in a way a raised bed is just a big pot :P So this will be partial experiment of sorts. While the coir is fibrous, it has a very nice light and loose texture which should be perfect for things like carrots and the more gentle seedlings to sprout but it can also be compacted into ridiculously small sizes. One block, not even a foot square expanded to 60 litres of 'soil'.
Can you call it soil?
I'm also chuffed that my parents were surprised at the size of my oregano plant/leaves. It is doing mighty fine ;)
This pot is at least 30cm across: Oregano and Italian Parsley
The raised bed before sowing and transplanting: Raised Bed with Square Foot Template
2 comments
Whoa, that's some impressive expansion. Where do you buy a coir block that size? Most of the ones I've seen are about the size of a brick and expand to fill most of a bucket.
My local Bunnings carry the 'potting mix' version and an orchid mix http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_brunnings-60l-easy-wetta-potting-mix-coir-block_P3023675.aspx?search=coir&searchType=any&searchSubType=products&page=2.
Because I know the Bunnings stores are fairly different over east compared to the WA stores, it's called Brunnings 60L Easy Wetta Potting Mix Coir Block (incase the link doesn't load).
I feel strange calling shredded coconut potting mix :P
The 1.2m x 1.2m x 0.2m bed takes about 300lt if I calculated it right, which is five blocks so if only working on a small bed the convenience of having to hoist maybe five or six kilos of blocks to where you need them is a boon. They definitely need the space of a wheelbarrow to soak in too.