As a novice to growing bulbs (a neo-geophyteophile?) I hesitate to offer anything resembling 'advice'. However, I am propagating plants of all kinds, including many bulbs, on a large scale at the moment and I am conducting an informal experiment comparing coir and peat as growing media. This isn't a scientific experiment with proper controls, merely an attempt to establish anecdotally whether coir is better, worse or about the same as peat as a medium in which to raise healthy plants in plastic pots. The tentative conclusion is that coir is at least as good and in some cases better than peat. It slumps less in the pot over time, it holds water better, without remaining sodden (something to do with air- filled porosity, I'm told) and it is easy to re-wet. Most importantly, the plants are healthy and in some cases appear to have better root growth than in peat. The main potential disadvantage is that micronutrients, especially iron and manganese, become locked up over time unless your water supply has a pH lower than about 6.5. My water supply is alkaline so I acidify it with nitric acid (citric acid also works). Here in the UK peat is a big environmental issue and so there is a marketing advantage to nurseries that use alternatives. I've sourced my coir very carefully from a reliable importer. The quality varies enormously and I'm guessing that the problems that Thomas experienced were related to the batch not the coir itself. Horticultural coir, when properly made, is inert, has a very low nutrient content (except a bit of K) and definitely doesn't promote fungal growth. Incidentally, these days I sow almost all my seeds (except some slow germinators) in pure coir, with great success. I have had negligible problems with damping-off in this medium and find that seedlings are easy to prick out of such a light compost. These are early days for my 'experiment' and I'd love to hear the thoughts of more experienced growers.