United Kingdom 
How good is Coco Shell for use as a mulch and as a soil conditioner for improving soil structure? The alternative for me is to use well rotted manure, which in previous years I always have. I am on a clay soil and the addition of organic matter to it has been beneficial in allowing it to evolve year by year into a fertile and humus rich soil. But can a soil get too rich for many garden plants? I know roses love it and thrive in it, but I am wondering if the manure is a bit too strong for many plants, like hellebores, heucheras, ferns and liriopes,- the things I am growing. Might the coco shell be more suitable? I am no good at digging anything in because I am too disabled. So I just spread things on the surface and let the worms come up and get it. Will the worms come up and get coco mulch too, and mix it in for me? And is it slow or fast to rot down? (I have read it has a chocolatey smell. I rather fancy the idea of my garden smelling of chocolate).
28 Jan, 2010
Answers
If you have a coffee shop nearby, they may let you have the old coffee grains. These make a brill mulch and can deter slugs and snails. It also adds as a good soil conditioner.
29 Jan, 2010
in my one and only experience of using this I found the smell very unpleasant and when it got wet it caked and took ages to rot down. also it was expensive in comparison. last autumn i replanted a border and used a soil conditioner which was a mix of compost and farmyard manure purchased from the garden centre. I have heavy clay and found that if i put a good 4 inches on i could plant into that and let the worms do the hard work.
30 Jan, 2010
The kind of soil conditioner you desribe sounds like perhaps a better alternative Mageth. I will enquire of my garden centre to ask what they have. Coco mulch seems maybe has some disadvantages.
30 Jan, 2010
sorry I cant remember the name of the stuff, will check to see if i have any sacks with the product name still around. I know it came from Wyevales
30 Jan, 2010
I found the smell of it very overpowering and sickly. I used to be a 'chocoholic' but the constant aroma put me off forever. And it does tend to blow away in the wind.
30 Jan, 2010
morning Jonathan, the only thing that I can remember about coco shell is that it is very poisnous to dogs, this is probably not a concern for you but how about bark chippings I understand what you mean about the richness and use my spent grobags - like you spreading them on the top, and I use gromore broadcast over the plants and trees but ( i read this somewhere) less for evergreens
29 Jan, 2010