Hydroponics Growing Media

Hydroponics gardening is still very much in the experimental state and there are a lot of hobbyists who have taken up hydroponic gardening as one does not need much space to grow plants. Also the time for the plant to come into full bloom is much faster. Hydroponic gardening is being done on commercial scale also as one can grow tomatoes which ripen within a period of just eight weeks and if properly cultivated can be grown all year round.

Plants require nutrients and oxygen in their roots from where every plant draws its nourishment. In hydroponic gardening plants are grown without soil therefore they require the correct medium to support the plant and give maximum nutrients to the roots. This is where the selection of the correct growing media comes in to play. The growing media has to be such that it will hold moisture and should be well aerated so that the root hairs can absorb the nutrients.

All growing media in hydroponic systems are inert substrate and there are a wide variety of growing media available. In hydroponic systems the growing media ranges from river gravel to coconut fiber and rockwool, perlite and vermiculate. As the roots of the plants in hydroponic gardening don’t have soil the growing media has to be such that it provides support to the roots and allows the roots to take in the nutrients that they require for a healthy plant growth. The growing media has to be such that it maintains the delicate balance that the plant roots require. If the roots dry up the plant will die and if they remain over saturated they would rot. So the growing media has to be such that they retain the moisture which contains the nutrients and provide aeration to the roots. There are several hydroponic growing Medias that people have experimented with and in some cases even old pieces of tires have been tried as a growing media.

Every hobbyist hydroponic grower will at some point experiment with different growing Medias till he or she finds the correct media that suits the plants that they are growing. Some would argue that coconut fiber is the most suitable while others would go with rockwool.

It really becomes a matter of learning from others experience with different growing media and hydroponic techniques. Like in ebb and flow and in wick type hydroponics the growing media requirements may be different. It is therefore suggested that one should conduct their own research before choosing a growing media. One may initially be faced with the hardship of failure but then that is how one learns.

Every producer and supplier of growing media will strongly support the product they are selling but it is not necessary that their advice may be correct. The internet does have several sites and there are blogs from where one can get a wealth of information regarding the best growing media to select for the plants one wants to grow and depending on the hydroponic method that one is using.

What one needs to remember is that the growing media should provide the correct nutrient level at all times to the plant roots and aeration. These are the two main factors that are needed. Lack of either of these or both and excess also will kill the plants.

Most substrate that are popular as hydroponic growing media are those that retain sufficient moisture and release it in the quantity that the plants require. Coconut fiber, peat moss, perlite, rockwool are some of the growing media that have gained popularity with the hydroponic growers. Some growers even suggest changing the growing media once the plants have started.