[PBS] coir mats

John Bryan johnbryan@worldnet.att.net
Fri, 11 Jul 2003 09:26:12 PDT
Robert:

May I suggest you contact an orchid grower or the orchid society in your
area, they should know where to obtain coir. Cheers, John E. Bryan

ROBERT PARKER wrote:
> 
> Hail to thee, blithe spirits......! (especially Arnold and Kelly)
> 
> At a nursery the other day, I acquired a coir hanging basket liner, with the
> intent of cutting it up to fit into 4" square plastic pots on the bottom , to
> contain the potting soil from coming out of all those holes that manufacturers
> seem to think are needed for drainage.  In the old days, I used sphagnum moss
> crammed into the pots and it worked very well.  I can't always find bags of sm
> nowadays, so I hit upon the use of SHOP TOWELS.  These are rolls of thick
> blue paper towels available at Albertson's and most Hardware stores.  I cut
> each in quarters, fold to fit in each square 4" pot, then fill with mix , then plant.
> It lasts long enough till repotting or transplanting time, and is certainly very
> economical.
> 
> The sphagnum moss was ideal, especially when one could find rolls of compressed
> moss to use in hanging baskets.  Some of it always lasted at repotting and could
> be used again.  Also roots could be dislodged from it with minimal damage.  Prior
> to this I used wire screening cut-to-fit in the bottom of the pots, but at repotting
> time root damage was excessive.
> 
> My current method is dictated by the amount of things to be potted up.  Since
> becoming a PBS member, and being a staunch supporter of the BX offerings -
> (WHAT an understatement!) I now purchase pots by the case, SUPERSOIL by the
> ten bag lots, sand by the six bag lots (they're so HEAVY!) and I now suffer from
> carpel tunnel syndrome from all the labels and lists that must be made.  I owe all
> of this to that warlock Jim Waddick, who suggested to me that I purchase a
> computer, from which I learned about PBS, and through the loving and benign help
> (or is it wicked and malign - since it has become almost an obsession) of Cathy
> Craig and Mary Sue Ittner, among others, to try planting things I never tried before.
> Today is totally different from the way things were when I started.  Working with
> 40 to 50 pots at a clip, I no sooner finish a session, when another BX offering pops
> up - sometimes three in one month! when I must needs (or is that needs must?)
> start again.
> 
>  In a way, I sometimes laugh out loud when I consider that I started purchasing from
> the BX mostly to help out the organization which I assumed was small and struggling to
> make it - WHO KNEW!  that it would become the behemoth it threatens to be!
> 
> To get back to the subject:  What I am presently looking for is a source for coir
> compressed squares say 4" square, which can be popped into a pot prior to filling
> it with potting soil.  Working with large quantities at a time (such as a commercial
> nursery does) there may be an outlet for such an item - it would save a lot of time,
> a commodity of which some of us are in short supply.  I did explore the websites
> provide by Kelly (I think) and the http://vgrove.com/wholesale.htm  site offers something
> called pot covers with no further details.  Maybe I should consider the chips?
> Any info will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Also, a source of square 4" pots with NO BOTTOM HOLES - only four slits on the
> sides  like Farrand Jardiniere pots (no longer being made, Farrand informs me) would
> also be appreciated.
> 
> ROBERT   PBS  10038
> 
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