Hydroponics Growth Medium

Hydroponics gardening is primarily soil less culture. Hydroponic gardens make use of different kinds of growth mediums in place of dirt. As a hydroponics gardener you can choose any of these types of media depending on the type of hydroponics garden you wish to cultivate. This article discusses the various hydroponics media that can be used in your hydroponics garden including sand, clay, rock wool, coco coir, perlite, vermiculite, oasis cubes, crushed charcoal, sawdust, peat moss etc.

Sand can be a great media to use. It works well to anchor the plants and is easy to work with for planting and transplanting.

Expanded Clay is actually small spheres of baked clay. This type of clay is porous and can soak up water helping to wick water to the plant while still allowing air to reach the roots. Another media is Rockwool.

Rockwool is one of the most commonly used kinds of media for hydroponics gardening. Rockwool is made of Basalt that’s heated to very high temperatures until it reaches a molten state and is spun as it cools.

Coco Coir is made of the husks of coconuts. It can come loose in bags or can be sold compressed into blocks. Be careful of the sodium content in your hydroponics kit with this type of media, because it can sometimes be very high in sodium.

Perlite is volcanic rock that is broken up and heated until it expands. You usually find perlite loose, but some hydroponics gardeners will plant their seedlings into the perlite while its still in the bag. You may associate perlite with vermiculite and they are similar but perlite holds more air where vermiculite tends to wick up a lot of water.

Vermiculite is also a stone that’s been heated until it expands. Vermiculite is commonly used in passive hydroponics for its wicking capabilities. On the downside it can end up holding too much water and drowning the roots. You can mix vermiculite with another media to help cut back on its wicking abilities.

Oasis Cubes or Horticubes are really nifty little cubes created out of foam. They come with a predetermined pH level and already have a fertilizer in them. Plus each cube has a ’dibble’ hole punched into it for insertion of the seed or seedling. These cubes come in sheets that are scored for easy modification to fit in any type of hydroponics container.

Crushed Charcoal can be used for growth medium but it tends to be messy. So if you use this type of media be sure to do your hydroponics outside or law down a plastic sheet to catch any loose charcoal that falls while you are working.

Sawdust and Wood Chipscan be compressed into small blocks or used loose as a growth media. The wood is a very good wick and will retain water. On the downside it can harbor insects and fungus.

Peat and Moss is usually dried or baked on a low temperature to rid it of bacteria and insects. It can then be sold loose or compressed.

Peanut and Rice shells won’t wick water well but do work to provide lots of aeration for the plants roots and thus is good for some types of hydroponics systems.

Using the information above you can identify the best media for your particular setup and enjoy the fruits of hydroponics gardening for years to come.