Great results using coco choir. To the original poster, did you use the stuff that has lots of the longer, stringier fibers ? I ask because the finer stuff holds a lot of water before it begins to drain, and takes forever to dry. I've been using the finer stuff for a few years now, and prefer to use it as an ingredient, as opposed to the main medium. My best success
for seedlings + younger plants was when i mixed coco choir, Fox Farms Ocean Forest and extra perlite. I also had good results using choir, Miracle Gro Orchid mix and Fox Farms + extra Perlite. I'm sure people's results will vary by choir type and technique.
Tip for those considering coco choir as the main medium: If it's the finer coco choir, as most of the US stuff is, then it's going to need lots of Perlite. Otherwise the plant will turn yellow and quit growing. I've had it happen to me multiple times and I have seen others in pepper forums get the same poor results with the finer stuff,
so don't find out the hard way. I don't now if it's the high moisture level, possible lack of root oxygen, i suspect it's both.
I get my coco choir cheap from
PetSmart and
Petco, the 3 pack Zoo-Med bricks there are cheap and swell up to produce a lot of potting medium. Looks like Petsmart has it on sale so i'll probably stock up on it today. Pretty sure the Zoo-Med stuff does not have a high salt content, i may be wrong because the stuff may be sourced from a few different suppliers(?)