I don't like using peat either, but I would never buy those coir pots for exactly the reason you stated. I only use coco coir as part of a soiless germinating medium for seeds that need quite a bit of water to break dormancy (mainly our CA native perennials) of 3 parts perlite, 1 part coco fiber, 1/2 part washed sand and a little slow release pellet fertilizer.

It's easy to make your own grow pots from newspaper or cardboard. i personally prefer using flats for germination or using the plastic baggie method for heat loving seeds. And I often don't use soilless mix at all and use peroxide or chamomile tea to control damping off fungus.

Here is a link that might be useful: making newspaper pots

Hey, thanks for the tip! Great way to use up those papers all over the place =)

Still, at any case, I still have to use those coir pots for something.. (compost?)

I just got some coir waifers from burpee and they don't do anything when i wet them to expand them.

I've tried hot water, cold water, adding water in stages and nada.

The jiffy pots blow up almost as I watch, but the coir don't do squat.

Anyone else having the same problem?

Be thankful they didn't expand.

You really dont want the headache of using them.

Keriann~

I had high hopes for these and was duped into buying them thinking they would be great. They claim to break down once you plant them, but when you pull your plants up in the fall, the pots look very similar to when you first started your seed in them. The only difference is all the girdled roots contained inside. I'm not fond of them in general, but I have found them to work nicely for starting cucumbers, squash and pumpkins. I seed them 2-4 weeks before I plan to bring them outside to give them a head start so they wont be as easily vulnerable to cutworms. The cucurbits seem to push roots through the pots alright and the plants grow well, but I've not been all that pleased with tomatoes or peppers. Just use plastic pots.

I'm going to try coir pots for a few orchids, the supplier claims they will not fall apart when wet, rich in nutrients, Ph neutral, and will last up to five years.Judging from above, the suppliers seem to say anything they please to sell these pots. Guess experience willtell us what the real story is.

My wife grows orchids and watching what she is doing with them and a medium she grows them in these pots are perfect! I was lucky to transplant my flower seedlings from these pots before the roots got entangled in the fibers. What a great idea to grow orchids in them. I am going now to shred them and give them to my wife as a new fangled grow medium! Thanks for the tip. BTW, they never expanded when soaked. Jiffy pots just grew as you watched.