You'll have to order in large quantities to get a discounted (from retail) price. You'll get a decent per bale price if you place a large bulk order.

I can't warm up to coir. I've been sent all kinds of samples in recent years and have given different products a good trial, but haven't been sold. So you like it as a mulch? How large were the chunks?

Since Coir must be imported, from where coconuts grow, the amount of nonrenewable energy needed just to do that would limit how low the price could go. Then add in the amount of non renewable energy needed to get it from the seaport to the store where you might buy it and you might get an idea of why the stuff is usually so expensive.
There should be locally produced mulch material that is better and cheaper then Coir.

Rhizo, the chunks were 2 1/2 to 3 inches MAX, but mostly 1" and smaller. I am guessing my cheaply priced bqales of the stuff was a fluke that will not likely happen again.

Rhizo and Kimmser, I liked the coir because it seemed tougher than the usual wood chip mulch available here in my area. It was also $2.00 per compressed 14" bale. It expanded when wetted down to 2.5 cubic ft. I think if I could get large 2 inch plus wood chips I can forget about the coconut coir. Unless I can find a CHEAP source of Coconut coir, it would be better to use wood chips and shredded fall leaves.

I suggest you check out the big box pet stores. Petco and PetsMart both sell the compressed Coir bricks and it goes on sale fairly frequently. The sell it under lizard/ reptile supplies.

I have seen them at Petsmart before, but the packages are of small amounts at inflated prices. If I can find them at $2.00 a compressed square, which after water saturation is at least 50% more in volume, possibly more, then I will gladly buy them.

they also sell large bricks/bales at hydroponic stores...that is if you are lucky enough to have one close by.....

Well Greenthumbs, I am in a small town with no such places nearby. I had seen rockwool in a big lots, the same one where I bought the compressed coconut coir. They get what they get and may never get it again. I will be hunting for it again this coming spring. You can find the planter liners made from coconut coir many places, but the baled stuff has palm tree fibers, coconut husks etc. I can get wood mulch anywhere, I guess there is no sense worrying about using this particular mulch.

For mulch you can use pine barks. Wood chips, IMO, is not a good choice for the veggies garden. It invites a lot of insects(pill bugs, termites, ants ..) plus absorbs fertilizers.

Another good mulch that I know of is pine needle (aka pine straw).

Seysonn, I mostly mulch ornamentals. I love pine needles, but the good pine straw/needles are in the southern states. I had used some of our local needles under shade trees. I used fall leaves in a thick layer, and covered with pine needles to avoid the wind blowing the leaves away. I ran out of pine needles 2/3 of the way done. It is still unfinished. Our pines have less durable needles. At my local big box store, Cypress mulch is $2.68 a 2cf bag, the cheapest mulch around here. I try to get free wood chips from a close by compost facility when available. Food garden areas get rabbit poo and fall leaves Shredded leaves. I bought some pine straw in Florida 2 yrs ago when on vacation, and the needles are thick and stick around longer, some are still under my trees. I guess the ones that rott away quick help the soil, but not the wallet.

my best use of coir is where i plant up my bananas..they seem to like it..and so i can use alot..my best source is
US orchid supply out of oxnard,CA.. its the shipping that kills.. :( sigh..they always have the best price per 11# block..u being in PA..shipping would probably be even more for u..:( maybe check some east coast orchid supply companies..
good luck...

As far as orchid supply, I looked briefly at the web search answers and I think I would be better off buying pine bark mulch at a local big box store. I have put the coconut coir that I did get cheap, on my new raised bed, and the rest around my Musa bananas. I may be moving some palms into the new raised bed, that is, if they survive this winter where they are now. I am doubtful of finding coconut coir cheap enough to buy lots of it and ship here, but I will look some more. The Pine bark mulch already here is likely much cheaper than getting coir shipped, although it isn't really cheap here it is about $3.50- $3.75 for a 2cf. bag. Much cheaper than any other pine bark in bags here, small bags, which are pricey for a tiny bag, labeled as Orchid medium. Unless Big Lots gets a new load in $2.00 a bale again, I will use other mulches for the palms. I still have 2 bales of the coconut mulch that I haven't used yet.

I am very much a newcomer to gardening so am quite ignorant but eager to learn.

As I am unable to buy peat bark to use as mulch as it is unavailable in Grenada, many people including myself have been using bagasse (by product of sugar cane used for making rum) which has been composted as mulch. However, it is not very readily available and also very expensive.

I can get fresh coconut husk from the vendors who sell coconut water and put it through a shredder.

My question is: would this make a good mulch? Would I need to compost it? Would like as much information as possible please.

I would use the coconut husk as mulch if I were in your situation. I think it would be ok uncomposted as long as it is on the soil surface when fresh. It is what I posted about and had used when I had bought it in compressed bales. I hope I can find it again here.

If you are someplace where coconuts grow it makes sense to use them as mulch. What does not make sense is shipping the stuff halfway around the world, using non renewable resources to get it from where it is to someone in Virginia.

I wouldn't purchase the coir unless it was already shipped here and is $2.00 a bale, that expands to 4 cu ft. As was my first load bought.

Hi Poaky1,

Did you ever find a cheap source for the coconut coir? Was your bail the 11# block that they talk about?

Waterstar, Not sure what an #11 bale is. I recently ordered about 6-8 bales, which I think are around I foot and 6inches wide when dry and compressed. You add water and it is 2 cubic feet when the water makes it expand. I would have never ordered it, but I had some gift cards from Christmas, which my mom gave me. I held on to them for several months, and chose to use them for the mulch. This was from AMAZON. The fact that the mulch is kinda thick chunks, and if you put a good bit on, it lasts a couple years. I used some last year, and it is still good. The store where I got my first bales/cubes from a local store, doesn't have it this year, at least not yet. They have something similar at Petsmart for lizard bedding, but it is small pieces, small packages and expensive. Waterstore, if you are in SC, I would GUESS that you are closer to the source, and maybe cheaper? Well, I guess even though SC is southern, coconut palms don't live in SC, anyway, or do they?. You are lucky that Pine straw is available to you cheaply. I use fall leaves and top with pine straw for mulch under my trees. The pine straw I get locally for free is a thin needled variety, which I have to collect at the leaf dump. If I could buy it somewhere I would be happy to have it available all the time, with mine you have to collect it when it is there, after it's gone too bad, until next year.

Waterstar, I just looked on ebay for the coconut coir mulch, and saw some 11 lb bale of coconut "product". The stuff I used is in big chunks. The stuff you mentioned is possibly a more finely chopped coconut waste material. The mulch bales I ordered and found locally (both) were big chunks of coconut husk and fibers.

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Depending on where you are located, and what amount you need, I've found that Environmental Green Products in Ashland,OR,97520, 541-301-2632 has the best bulk coir on the West Coast. They get it shipped in 40 and 80 yd containers, shrinkwrapped in 2 ton bundles I think. Their website shows the washing process in India and Sri Lanka before shipping. It can be picked up there but like I said, IN BULK. We go down from Seattle area for 5 tons/trip

Hi everyone, I just recently got 8 shrink wrapped bales 2.5 cu ft when put in water. The brand name is Mega Mulch. It was free shipping from Amazon.com for about $120.00. That would be expensive if the mulch lasted one year, but this stuff lasts 2-3 years when applied about 3 inches thick. I like that of course, in areas with some standing water when it rains alot it may last 2 years. I did get a bargain this spring on pine bark mulch $1.50 a 2cu ft bag at Wal-mart. It was old, and some waterlogged bags, but it used to be $2.99 a bag, it helped me get some mulching done cheaply, I bought them out except for about 5 bags that I was too late to get. The stuff in pet stores is usually too fine for mulch, and sold in small compressed bricks, the Mega mulch is compressed but bigger bales about 4-5 inches thich and about 14-15 inches wide. My Big lots never got in any more of these bales that were $2.00 a bale.

My situation is a bit different from most. I am in costa rica with access to large amounts of free coconut husks right off the shell. The folks who make juice just dump the shells in landfills and would be happy if i could take them instead. Not sure how they process it into the blocks or bales you have. The unprocessed husks have stringy fibres that look nothing like that. Even if you chop em up, which is not easy, they look nothing alike. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas. I am not sure what device i would need for processing. Or if perhaps i could use them in the garden as they are.

Well, maybe you could use an ax or machete? If that is too hard, letting them decompose where you want a garden eventually, is what I would do. I am guessing your climate is warm and moist, Good for decomposing?

Believe it or not - and I don't know why I should be surprised - there are sites online that outline how coir is made from raw coconuts. You can find anything online!!

Here is one link:How coir is made but there are several others as well YouTube videos illustrating the process. Just Google "how to make coir" or "coir pith".

I had,since getting the cheap $2.00 bales mentioned above, ordered about 6 bales online from Amazon. I had gotten some gift cards for some occasion, and used them for the mulch bales of coir. It lasts longer than wood chips. The bales have one drawback, but, it is worth the effort, for 2 years coverage vs 6 months to 1 year for wood. The drawback is that you need to soak the squares of compacted coir. They expand after soaking, to me it seems they expand to 4 times their packaged size. I soak in a wheelbarrow, then scoop it out and put into my wagon, let it dry a day or so, then hook to the tractor and go use it wherever. Drews, if you can get a cheap chipper for wood branches etc. that would be ideal. I am not sure if you can get those in Costa Rica. Sorry for my ignorance, but, I don't know how developed it is. You may have lots of farm equiptment places, I don't know.

Why do you think that the need to soak this product in water is a drawback? Would you rather pay the cost of shipping water?

That coir lasts, as a mulch, for 2 years versus 1 year for wood chips says that the Soil Food Web is not able to convert that, or maybe does not want to convert that, into something plants can use, or maybe that the coir has no nutrients that plants can use.

kimmq is kimmsr

Kimmq or kimmsr, The soaking is a drawback is just because you must soak the material vs just spreading out over the soil surface straight from the bag. Most of the trees that I have planted, and that I have chosen to form into small "villages" is just the partial land surfaces are not landsurfaces in our mountains.

Sorry,I had been drinking when I posted the last post above. I meant I make little islands of mulched plants among the grass. The coir does decompose, but it takes about 2 years, and the larger chunks are still there. kimmq, I am using the coir in a small area in most cases, so the majority of the trees roots aren't getting mulched, just that nearest the trunk. I know to keep it about 5-6 inches from the bark. I do use wood mulch under some trees that I shade garden under. The soaking thing isn't a big deal, but it has to stand in the water for a day or 2, and you can just spread a package at a time (unless you have a huge water filled container) vs just spreading the mulch and getting it done. It is pretty expensive and must be shipped to me, unless there is a store that just happens to have some locally.