Less muss, less fuss!

Have you ever put a sweet potato or avocado or ivy in a glass of water, supported by toothpicks, and the roots just took off? If you have, then you have already experienced hydroponics indoor gardening. But, can plants survive and flourish is just a glass of water? Rarely, plants need nutrients and some support for their growth. Since hydroponics is a soil-less means of gardening, the plants are supported by use of inert media in their grow systems.

There are a variety of grow mediums available to choose from depending on the needs of the plant. This means, you wouldn’t want to use a heavy media for supporting delicate or fragile budding plants because media, when moved around, could damage the budding leaves. One should experiment with different grow mediums in your grow systems as you will find a particular one you like best for your specific needs. Hydroponics inert growing medium should have a good moisture ratio. The media needs to ensure both oxygen and moisture is available to the plant in quantities for the plant’s needs. The ideal media will also have the capacity to hold some water.

Let’s get down to it. Here are some of the grow media on the market today:

Perlite: has the capacity to promote robust root development. It originates from volcanic rock and is a sterile medium due to the heating procedures that is used during its manufacturing process. Perlite maintains an ideal balance of oxygen and water. Each particle of perlite consists of tiny air cells and the shape of the perlite forms large air gaps between the particles. This facilitates a good amount of oxygen being provided to the root system. Perlite is very cost effective to use.

Coco Coir: is compressed fiber from the coconut husks and looks very much like peat. It has an ability to protect the plant’s root system when in hot climates. Coco coir also has the capacity to promote robust root development. It is unique in that it can feed the plants based on its needs. (It will hold or release nutrient elements as needed.) Plant growth is very consistent in coco coir. It is a very forgiving media as it is tolerant of over or under watering.

Rockwool: is a spun glass wool which is made of volcanic rock. It comes in all shapes and sizes and has the appearance and feel of steel wool. Rockwool gives good support to plants and retains the air and moisture extremely well. Shredded coconut coir can be placed on top of rockwool in your indoor gardening system to lock in extra moisture.

Expanded Clay: is porous which allows the ideal amount of moisture and oxygen around the plant’s root system. Expanded clay won’t react to nutrient solutions and are easy to reuse. They come in different sizes to support the needs of the various sizes in plant and fragility.

There is still a lot to learn concerning which grow media is ideal in relation to the type of grow systems being utilized; the actual plant’s needs and the nutrients/pH levels reaction to the mediums. But, please don’t fret. This will be addresses in our next article. It’s not all that complicated. It’s all about finding a happy medium!

With more and more people becoming educated in the health benefits of going green in their eating habits; and, with the increased cost of vegetables, fruits and herbs at the supermarket; home hydroponics is becoming more popular. Anyone can grow hydroponically at home from a few indoor plants (flowering or not) to vegetables and herbs.

EcoPonicSolutions.com was founded with the sole purpose of providing consumers with a reasonable, healthy choice in produce selection and purchasing power. We provide quality name hydroponic and areoponic systems, grow supplies, and educational material for your success in hydroponics gardening. We offer a wide variety of grow systems to meet the needs of many… student projects, novice gardeners, hobbyist, and the serious growers. We will keep our prices very reasonable as we aim to provide offers to suit our customers wants and needs.