Back to the Roots Organic Coir, 51 Quart Expanding Soil, Great for Seeds and Potting

This is the best planting medium I've found, and this item is fairly priced and rehydrates into a bag of soil that is as big as the largest bag that you can get at a home improvement store. The rehydrated medium is very fine and works well for planting seeds or transplanting seedlings. Whereas potting soil these days contains a lot of large twigs and bark, this is a consistent fine "soil" that makes it easier for planting very small seeds that cannot be set very deep.This will be my new go-to medium for starting seeds and seedlings. I've even mixed it with potting soil to increase the nutrients for my seedlings.

Seems like good coir, low in fibers mostly good quality food and a great price! May just be my nose but it seems to have a really weak coir smell compared to some other bricks I have tried, but maybe it's just washed well in comparison. Water hose thats been in the sun will expand /hydrate it within a couple minutes. Cost is pretty much equal to peat which is awesome. Imagine it's great for growing mediums and even fungi medium( pasteurized of course) Plants love this stuff, best to add perlite at the least, and if you are not using synthetic nutrients add worm castings/ fine compost as well for potting mix.

Best soil I’ve used so far, everything grows! I have been experimenting with a variety of soils. This was easy to store and move around before opening. I have used it in ground, planters of all sizes and above ground planter all with one brick. I had a lot left over so I placed it around some of my established plants as well.I had seen some videos on how it expands and guess I didn’t realize how much soil there really was. I opened it and tried to tear off chunks to put in the above garden bed so I could water and expand but this wasn’t efficient 😂 That’s my own fault. I recommend using a large container like a tote as in some of the videos as it’s very compact. It was hard to tear pieces off. It was hard for me to know how much water to put in the chucks as well. That was my bad though.The soil drains very nicely the best I’ve seen. We have clay like soil and usually when I mix in other soils it’s hard as a rock after a few days this was not. This maintains its texture for a lengthy time. The color looks amazing.Highly recommend.

recently purchased this potting mix, and overall, I’m quite satisfied. The soil feels light, airy, and well-draining, which made planting very easy. My plants seem to be thriving so far, and the mix retains moisture without feeling too soggy.However, about a week after planting, I noticed some small mushrooms popping up in the pot. While it initially worried me, I learned that this is common with organic-rich soil mixes. The mushrooms are harmless and indicate the presence of healthy microorganisms. I just removed them and adjusted my watering routine to avoid overwatering.Pros:• Light, airy texture• Holds moisture well without becoming compact• Perfect for indoor and outdoor plantsCons:• Mushrooms may appear due to the organic material• Requires careful moisture management to avoid fungal growth

I used several bricks of coco coir to add organic matter to a 10x12sqft garden plot that was previously hard, compacted Arizona clay soil and sand. It works beautifully with our soil- coco coir soaks up moisture but releases it slowly, and by doing this, it also soaks up tons of excess minerals and locks them up, which I am confident will help prevent caliche buildup. Tilling the first few inches and mixing with a rough 1:1 coir-to-clay ratio, then covering with a top layer of a denser, 1:2 coir-to-clay mixture, resulted in firm beds that are a little spongy when compressed down by hand, which is exactly what I wanted for starting seeds in situ.This stuff is fantastic- it works exactly how you expect it to, and you can just drench it with your hose, so hot water is not required, it’s just slightly faster. I was able to hydrate a whole brick in about 20 minutes this way. It is an excellent soil amendment, especially if excess minerals or fertilizer are a concern. It also works somewhat as a mulch, and I regularly dust a thin layer on top of my plant beds to ensure their roots remain fully covered. I go through it extremely quickly whenever I need fresh soil, so if you have plans beyond a few pots, having one or two extra bricks will not hurt, and you can store it indefinitely until you need it.I will note here that using this alone will be sufficient for some plants, but you should have a source or clay, sand, or some other inorganic substrate to blend with coco coir most of the time. It is not prone to rotting quickly, but like any organic matter it will begin to decay once moist. In my experience (I’ve planted a few separate greenhouses and plots with it) it tends to pick up the odors already coming from your garden. This is probably because the coir becomes a host to the bacteria and fungi that are currently living around you, so keep that in mind if you’re concerned about odor- it actually smells kind of fresh and woody when first hydrated, but that will change after a few days or weeks once it’s been colonized by local bacteria and fungi. If the odor becomes a serious problem, it is likely you have a larger microbial issue with your garden, and it is not directly the coir, but it could potentially add to that problem. I would argue that, over time, it may improve your soil health, and by extension reduce unpleasant odors once a new microbial equilibrium is reached- but definitely test it in a small area or pot if you want to be sure. I have never had a major issue with odor that didn’t resolve itself after some amount of time, but allowing it to dry out will almost certainly be effective.Overall, it’s a low risk soil amendment, and I’ve never encountered any serious issues with it. If you’re new to gardening, it is extremely forgiving and easy to use, compact for storage, and can be used for pretty much any project. I’ve successfully used varying amounts in soil for tomatoes, herbs, plants native to the Sonoran desert, cacti, wildflowers, and roots.

Will never buy another BAG of soil again! Made a mix of 3-2-1. 3 parts coco coir, 2 parts mushroom compost and 1 part mixed with perlite and ventricular. Great product! 18 tomato plants, 6 peppers, 18 bush green beans,18 bush lima beans potato bag and half dozen other (multiple blocks) and EVERY plant and flourishing and producing! Buying more for next spring to expand garden as this is reusable, and can't wait! Love the product: easy to work with, fantastic results and store able in totes for future use! WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER BAG OF GAREN SOIL OR POTTING SOIL!