What do you grow in and why is that your medium of choice? What others have you tried?
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I’m an old-fashioned soil grower. Haven’t tried any of the soilless mediums yet. But if I do, I want to try some of the Coco or Rockwool.
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I grow in canna coco, I fill the bottom of the bags not even 1/4 of the way with hydro corn, then pack it tight with coco it’s worked very well for me on the 5000sft scale, but the next build out, I will most likely find the cleanest solution without having to deal with dirty room clean ups. “till then I’m in love with the coco”
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I love an organically fortified coco blend. I try to raise the CEC of the coco as much as I can organically and always add bennies to it to get it as alive as possible. I always also pack the bottom and add some hydrogen (clay pellets) to the top. We like speciallty blended coco but some good ones out there are the discontinued Slacker blend from Botanicare (some store still have some left), and Pioneer Batch 64 is another good pre-made foritifed coco blend. Stay Growing!
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You may already be aware of this, but just FYI you can create a mix very similar to Slacker by taking Readygro Moisture, adding 10-15% rice hulls and/or silica rock and amending with Growilla Veg. I also miss the Slacker, been mostly coco recently.
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Yea we usually did our own mixes but like the name suggested we didn’t mind the Slacker part of it lol. Now we use custom blends like you’re saying and I agree can’t go wrong with the Growilla mixes! Then add some bio-char, glacial rock dust, and then you’re ready to kill it.
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we have a number of different mixes we use for different stages of growth.
for clones and seedlings we use a coco coir, shrimp and fish compost and a mychorizzal active mix.
we grow outdoors and in permanent raised bed systems and for transplants and growing our soil is amended with many different kinds of compost, biochar, a rich mychorizzal and fungal layer. we practice a no-till approach and have a number of different companion plants that also grow with our plants to stimulate different sections of the soil food web or act as compost or insect food and shelter etc.
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Bumping this topic for the newer folks - what’s your preferred medium and why?
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Nail on the head right there. Commercial scale and soil? Yikes!
This is one reason why rockwool rules for scaled out grows. Compacts nicely for disposal as well…
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Hi Hunter
Our company BROWNGROW, has just opened for business in the states, we are happy to give you samples to try.
Cheers
Zak
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Hi
If you would like free samples of our coco, please get in touch
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I use air.
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If you’d like some free samples of our Growstone foam glass stones, please get in touch!
Growstones aggregates are engineered to provide an effective ratio between aeration and moisture to any hydroponic system. While other substrates maximize either air or moisture, Growstones are designed to allow for both moisture absorption and drainage. Most important in any growing medium is the air in the medium after drainage. Plant roots require air (particularly oxygen) for respiration and growth. Growstone aggregates make for an ideal hydroponic substrate due to its small and large pores. When the substrate is irrigated, water is held in the micro pores but quickly drains through the macro pores, allowing fresh air to flow through the substrate, which brings oxygen to the roots and removes carbon dioxide from the root zone.
Growstones Hydroponic Medium Give You:
Highly effective balance between air and water content at field capacity, meaning high air-filled porosity coexist with high water holding capacity.
Growstones hold 3 times more water and 12% more air than Hydroton.
Easy control of root zone moisture content – high steer-ability.
Easy drainage and re-wetting after being completely dehydrated.
Silica release in a form plants can uptake.
Highly flexibility for different plant needs for consistent high yield.
No weed seeds or disease spores.
Reusability and lightweight.
A sustainable and earth-friendly option.
Recycled Product
Growstones are manufactured using up to 98% waste materials. They replace mined materials like pumice, perlite, clay pellets, and stonewool, reducing environmental degradation. At the same time, since the product consists overwhelmingly of recycled glass bottles, a large amount of glass waste is given a new life, keeping it from the landfill.
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Two Companies that I absolutely love working with :
https://www.jiffygroup.com/ For Rooting
Berger | High-Quality Growing Media For Growing
Rooting over a million cuttings in material from Jiffy Products and using 15-20 trailer loads of Berger Peat with natural wood fiber.
Both companies can provide custom blends adjusting the PH and Nutrient charge to meet your specific needs.
I don’t get anything for recommending these companies, I just want everyone to grow the best plants they can. Good soil is the foundation for a great crop.
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@davidm.msgs we are working with both Jiffy and Berger to get them signed up for the community. We will tag them in this conversation once they sign up.
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Pioneer from Batch 64 is the coco-based, semi-inert medium I prefer. I’ve been growing in the same blend for over two years and it just keeps getting better!
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For a large scale grow Coco will most likely be the long term winner imo. Rockwool might be able to compete, but only time will tell.
I like plagron’s Coco at home and Batch: 64 black diamond series for the 20,000 sq ft greenhouse.
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We reuse our soil after about a month of it composting. We have only had to add 6-7 yards of wood chips (sometimes trim for worm food) every 6-10 months.
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Hello All, of course I have a bit of bias when it comes to my preferred grow substrate, Growpito Sim Mix. Here are a few of the benefits and an overview of the product.
âť– Faster growth
âť– Larger yields
âť– Light weight
âť– Cleaner garden environment
âť– Perpetual and reusable
âť– Improves with each use
âť– Water every 3 days (ebb and flow)
âť– Complete control of PH & EC at every watering from seed to harvest
âť– Up to 73% less water and nutrient use
âť– Minimal or no water waste
âť– No spent soil or need for its removal
âť– No sanitation of plumbing
âť– No clogged drip emitters or lines
âť– Designed for easy use with ebb and flow for sea of green production techniques
Growpito Technologies offers plant growth substrates composed of loose virgin stone wool and a biofoam matrix. This bio-foam matrix is water potable, has no BPA and is 100% inert. It is designed to encourage microbial colonization and root growth in and around the bio-foam matrices. Our proprietary matrix encourages microbial activity and colonization as well as providing high humidity areas in the stone wool
Our Sim Mix virgin stone wool has no heavy metals, no binders or surfactants. It has not been granulated. This soft stone wool hydrophilic fiber creates an environment in the medium that allows for uninhibited capillary action as the roots grow and move through the substrate. This capillary action distributes the nutrient solution as the roots grow, so they will only use as much solution as the plant needs to flourish.
Growpito plant growth substrates are totally reusable and will provide years of use. Our longevity testing shows 24 harvests with 6 years of perpetual use, only adding a dry top dressing of fresh medium at the start of each crop. Using a 1 to 1 ½-inch layer of dry top dress will stop algae growth and will deter pests. No disinfecting of the medium is required, only flushing with a ½ nutrient and enzyme solution after each harvest. The used medium can be stored for years by letting it dry out and keeping it in a container. Then, reactivate it with a solution when you are ready to re-use.
Growpito plant growth substrates combined with an ebb and flood system provide excellent water savings. Flooding 20%-30%, the height of the container, once every 3 days is sufficient to give the plants all the required nutrients needed for maximum growth.
These plants were grown in a legal environment.
Thanks for viewing.
Karma Up
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