Sun Gro’er Blog

Review of Major Growing Media Components

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By Dan Jacques and Ron Walden, Sun Gro Horticulture –

The major role of a growing mix is to support the plant, while holding water and nutrients for the plant to use during growth. There are five main components commonly used in making growing media: peat moss, bark, coir, perlite and vermiculite. This article describes the components and outlines desired properties of mixes for various uses in greenhouse production.

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A Perlite Primer – The Big White Stuff

Perlite close-upLarge, coarse perlite alone may not be the best aggregate for a peat-based growing medium. In general, a mix of different sizes is desirable to provide uniformly distributed air spaces and to avoid the negative aspects of the ‘sand & rocks effect’ or in this case the ‘peat and rocks effect.’ How do sand and rocks relate to a growing medium? You’ve probably seen the demonstration (often used in time management presentations). –Kathryn Louis
Read More in The Sun Gro’er Issue 5/1 (2010)
Leer más en The Sun Gro’er Issue 5/1 (2010) Spanish/Español