I've used coir before with mixed results. The stuff I used was staight coir with nothing added. On it's own it dried out way too fast for me. I mixed it with vermiculite and had much better success. I also used it directly on the garden to mix in a clay bed when it was first dug. It's great for loosening the sticky clay.
Is the stuff you bought specifically for seed raising? I'd be interested to try that as most commercial seed raising mixes contain real peat and I don't like using it (not sustainable and all that).

Yes, its specific for seed raising and contains a slow release fertiliser. It is reasonably fine to handle although a bit different to sandy mixes. I am quite impressed - Bunnings had it on special for $2 a block and the nursery wanted heaps more. It hasn't dried out and all I did today was give the punnets a light misting with the hose which they probably didn't need. It is from Brunnings.

Cheers
Linda

I love the coir cosmic, it sounds like you got a real bargain on those blocks and I usually pay almost $3 each for the small blocks and they make less than a bucket with water. The only large blocks Ive seen looked pretty chunky and were sold as mulch so I'll have to keep an eye out for these ones youre talking about. After Ive used it for seeds I throw mine into a bucket and then use it later as bedding for my worm farm.

I have used it too. I love the stuff as a cheap renewable peat for potting mixes or soil amendment. I just bought one of those seed raising blocks too Linda, yet to try it out though.
It's good stuff in my opinion. Has anyone seen the coir with neem pressings? It's FANTASTIC for transforming sandy soils to make them take water and hold it. Not cheap though, and difficult to come by.

I'm very pleased with the results so far. What I like is that the surface doesn't dry out and dessicate the seeds. Trancegemini, I've seen the bigger packs sold as mulch - this one was 1 kg and you add 7 litres ( about a bucketful) of water to it and fluff it up - need to make sure its all wetted. It made up to 2/3 of my wheelbarrow. I didn't compress it into the punnets, just patted it down. I only bought 3 blocks but even that should last for seeds. I am not sure how long it would take to break down as a mulch ( I think the mulch is coarser) but if it helps clay soil I've got just the place for it! Jamus, what is the advantage of neem in the mix? Wouldn't it act as a steriliser?

Cheers
Linda

Coir with neem....wonder what part of the tree? I seem to remember that the residue after pressing the seeds makes an organic fertiliser. Be good to know more. Haven't seen that here. I put a ute load of neem prunings though a commercial mulcher for $20 hoping to trial it as a termite deterrent mulch. Results: inconclusive.

My latest wild idea is to ask the same guy to put through a load of dry coconuts; they are of course considered a waste product here. I don't want to husk them so the shells would be included. He mightn't agree to do it.

Apparently the neem is a by-product of the commerial extraction of neem oil in India. It has insecticidal propreties as you know but is also supposed to help water penetrate, like a detergent, and has some effect on the soil biomass, maybe killing off some organisms to the benefit of others? I'm not sure of the details but it would be interesting to find out. In any case, it transformed my herb garden... I'll definitely be buying it again.

I'm inspired to track down some more blocks of compressed coir. We don't have Bunnings here, only Mitre 10 and they're expensive. Perhaps my next trip to the big smoke!

It does sound good. Might give it a go. Thanks for the tip, Cosmic!

Here's a picture - only one very light misting otherwise no further attention.
{{gwi:2114387}}Linda

Lovely. Wish I could think of something to start from seed right now. :)

Most winter veg should be started now. We put in four different beets and two sorts of carrots - they have all germinated and popped through the ground. I punnet sowed lettuce, purple broccolli, winter leeks, Pak Choy, Silver beet, Chard and Kale. Bob is labouring to get the bed ready for them as I speak! He's got weeks before I plant them out, so I suspect he is plotting something nefarious to do in the next couple of weeks to avoid building the chookhouse. I'll sow flowers as they seed - asiatic poppies are just coming into flower, Nigella seeding and got some real calendulas not those stinky things, ready for the chooks. You'll think of something - curly kale and calendula is loved by chooks and gives you good yolks.

I'll get this garden established one day!

Linda