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

While this wasn’t my first experience working with plants, it was my first time needing to completely replace soil to rescue a plant from gnat-infested soil. I chose Back to the Roots Organic Coir, 51 Quart Expanding Soil because I wanted a clean, organic option that would help eliminate pests rather than reintroduce them. I also was working with a small space to replant. I did this in the bathroom. I placed the compressed block directly into a 27-gallon tote and added water let it expand and did a little chopping with a spatula. What stood out the most was just how much soil this product produced. Expanding the coir directly in the 27-gallon tote nearly filled the entire container, which really exceeded my expectations for a single compressed block. The soil has a rich, fine texture and looks evenly hydrated and well-aerated, as shown in the image. It was easy to work with and didn’t feel heavy or muddy, making it ideal for gently replanting without compacting the roots too tightly. Overall, this expanding soil made a stressful plant-rescue situation feel manageable and successful. The lightweight texture retains moisture while still draining well, which is especially important when dealing with fungus gnats. Since switching to this soil, the plant feels more stable and supported, and the surface stays clean instead of soggy. For anyone needing to refresh contaminated soil, repot stressed plants, or simply wants a clean and reliable organic growing medium, Back to the Roots Organic Coir delivers excellent volume, quality, and peace of mind. Picture is of the newly repotted plant.

My garden looks great. Great quality very effective and worth the price. Seeds are blooming, plants are not dying or drying out as fast. Retains moisture to the plants.

I like how it expanded, although it does take a lot of work you have to wet it and then scrape wet it and then scrape. It doesn’t just expand quickly. I used it as the bedding layer for my raised garden bed. I didn’t have to use a lot of soil and it helped retain the moisture. It really expanded alot just like they said it would. I was impressed.

So easy. I don’t miss driving to pick up heavy, dirty bags of dirt. This block is amazing. Add water and you’ve got pots full of dirt with very little effort.

Love this soil! Have bought several times! However, it is so compacted when it arrives, it is difficult to break apart. You will need to saturate it in water for awhile

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.

Some of the best coco brick I have found over the last few yrs. Not only is it best bang for the buck... the quality is amazing. I mix it with my fox farm and ocean forest along with other amendments and nutes... i also use in the bottom inch of fabric pots for wicking purposes. Less of the smaller particles and more of the longer fibers which is what were looking for. Filled up my whole bin i was amazing by how much it expanded. Awesome product you will not be disappointed! For 20$!? Its best I had on amazon

This coconut fiber product is used in a similar manner as peat but has no negative effect on the ecology. The block makes it easier to bring a volume of growing medium in easier less heavy than a bagged product. It is used to lighten the soil & as a seedling medium. I now use this as my first choice for a healthy soil. It requires adding water which expands the volume so be sure to use a large, waterproof container