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How to Choose the Right Hydroponic Growing Medium

Guest post by: Alma Newton

Article Overview: There are hundreds of different kinds of growing medium as anything that a plant can grow in is considered a growing medium. They range from organic (natural) mediums to man-made. What growing medium is the best? The answer depends on the job you need it to do. The best growing medium for your purpose depends on many variables which include the type of system you are using, what kind of crop you are growing and local environment as some of the determining factors choosing a growing medium for your hydroponic systems.

How to Choose the Right Hydroponic Growing Medium

There are hundreds of different kinds of growing medium as anything that a plant can grow in is considered a growing medium. They range from organic (natural) mediums to man-made. What growing medium is the best? The answer depends on the job you need it to do. The best growing medium for your purpose depends on many variables which include the type of system you are using, what kind of crop you are growing and local environment as some of the determining factors choosing a growing medium for your hydroponic systems. Mostly it comes down to availability, price or personal preferences. The most popular types of growing are Rockwool cubes, Coconut fiber, Perlite, Vermiculite and Soilless mixes.

Rockwool cubes are lightweight pre-formed cubes designed for propagation. An extremely popular medium when growing from seed or from cuttings, cubes have a neutral pH and retains water very well. They are meant to be a starter medium and commonly come in three sizes starting at 2" x 2". They can be easily moved into just about any type of hydroponic system or growing medium – including soil.

Coconut fiber is moving into position as one of the primary growing mediums in the world. As the first totally "organic" growing medium which offers top performance in hydroponic systems, it is essentially a waste product (powdered husks of the coconut) of the coconut industry. The advantages - maintains a larger oxygen capacity than rockwool, superior water holding ability than rockwool (a real advantage for hydroponic systems that have intermittent watering cycles), coconut fiber contains high levels of root stimulating hormones and can offer some protection against root diseases such as fungus infestation. A mixture of 50% coconut fiber and 50% expanded clay pellets is the perfect growing medium according to Dutch growers. You must be careful when you purchase coconut fiber. There are lower grades of coconut fiber high in sea-salt and is very fine grained. Expect disappointing results should this coconut fiber be used in your hydroponic systems.

Perlite has been around for years as a soil additive to increase aeration and draining of the soil. Perlite a form of volcanic glass that when rapidly heated to more than 180 ^oC (1600 ^oF) the water vaporizes and makes countless tiny bubbles puffing it up much like popcorn. As one of the best hydroponic growing mediums around it has good wicking action which makes an excellent choice for wick-type hydroponic systems, Used by itself or as a mixture with other mediums. Perlite is commonly used with vermiculite as a 50 - 50 mix and is one of the primary ingredients of soiless mixes. Perlite is also somewhat cheap. It doesn't retain water well which means that it will dry out quickly between watering. You should wear a dust mask when handling it as dust from perlite is bad for your health.

Vermiculite is another mined material that in its natural state it resembles mica, but when quickly heated it expands due to steam similar to perlite. Vermiculite is most frequently used in conjunction with perlite as the two complement each other well in most hydroponic systems. Vermiculite retains moisture extremely well – up to 300% by weight. A 50/50 mix of vermiculite and perlite is a very popular medium for drip type hydroponic systems as well as ebb and flow systems. It is also inexpensive.The drawback of vermiculite is that it retains too much water to be used by itself and will suffocate the roots of plants if used as the sole medium.

Soilless mixes contain a vast assortment of ingredients. Commonly they contain Sphagnum moss, Perlite and Vermiculite. This type of growing medium is usually considered organic and is frequently used for container gardening wick systems and on-recovery drip systems. It can be used in recovery systems but most of these mixes have very fine particulate that will clog pumps and drip emitters if a good filtration system is not used. Soiless mixes, as a rule, retain water well and have great wicking action while still holding a good amount of air.

Looking at all your options, it’s clear that what you use for a growing medium for your hydroponic systems really depends of personal preference and what system you choose to use.

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Article Tags: hydroponic systems, hydroponics, in home garden



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