Growing Media Coco has some wonderful physical properties that greatly benefit plant growth. To begin with, it is renewable, so in using it you’re not plundering natures resources. It makes use of the final product left over from cultivating and harvesting the much prized nut. At the right point in decomposition, the coco peat can be used as a stand-alone medium with no need to add perlite or other persistent amendment. The coco peat itself is fairly pH stable and buffers the pH well, in a very acceptable range for plant growth. While peat particles are fairly solid and big early on, once they are treated and decomposed to a certain point, they are like sponges with micro-pores that hold water, away from the plant root but available to replenish the larger pores the plant root can access. This effectively limits excess water while holding water in a reserve status. These particles do not retain ions, only what may fill and dry on the particles themselves, so as long as the medium is moist, nutrients are available.