Home Improvement

Growing medium is any medium, in which a plant can grow. Generally, hundreds of multiple types of growing medium exist: some are manmade and some are organic. Sometimes, even ancient AIR can work as a excellent growing medium for roots.

Defining the best growing medium is pretty challenging and disputable. It is a matter of personal likes, preferences and exact growing needs or requirements in most cases. It is like choosing a car: everyone picks the one, which suits his/her personal likes and requirements: someone chooses a small economic car for city traffic, and someone prefers powerful SUV to conquer sand and morass. Just like choosing a car depends on many factors, while choosing a growing medium it is also necessary to consider many variables, for example, what type of system is used, what plants you are going to grow and under what environmental conditions. Though there are a fantastic variety of factors to consider while choosing a particular growing medium, it often comes to price, availability and personal preferences. 

The most common types of growing mediums as well the description of their key advantages, disadvantages, their basic characteristics and tips on general use are specified below.

Oasis cubes

 Expanded Clay Pellets

 Rockwool

Coconut Fiber

 Sand

 Gravel

Perlite

 Sphagnum Moss

 Water

Vermiculite

 Fiberglass Insulation

 Saw Dust

Soilless Mix(s)

 Air

 Lava Rock

Oasis cubes

Oasis cubes are lightweight cubes, which serves the best for plants propagation from seeds or cuttings. Pre-formed oasis cubes are commonly used by hydroponic gardeners. This type of growing medium features neutral pH level and can hold water very well.

Since oasis cubes are usually used at the first stages of plant growth, they are usually not larger than 2” x 2” inches in size. It is very easy to transplant such cubes into any type of hydroponic system, growing medium or even into the soil. 

Growing medium is any medium, in which a plant can grow. Generally, hundreds of multiple types of growing medium exist: some are manmade and some are organic. Sometimes, even ancient AIR can work as a excellent growing medium for roots.

Defining the best growing medium is pretty challenging and disputable. It is a matter of personal likes, preferences and exact growing needs or requirements in most cases. It is like choosing a car: everyone picks the one, which suits his/her personal likes and requirements: someone chooses a small economic car for city traffic, and someone prefers powerful SUV to conquer sand and morass. Just like choosing a car depends on many factors, while choosing a growing medium it is also necessary to consider many variables, for example, what type of system is used, what plants you are going to grow and under what environmental conditions. Though there are a fantastic variety of factors to consider while choosing a particular growing medium, it often comes to price, availability and personal preferences. 

The most common types of growing mediums as well the description of their key advantages, disadvantages, their basic characteristics and tips on general use are specified below.

Oasis cubes

 Expanded Clay Pellets

 Rockwool

Coconut Fiber

 Sand

 Gravel

Perlite

 Sphagnum Moss

 Water

Vermiculite

 Fiberglass Insulation

 Saw Dust

Soilless Mix(s)

 Air

 Lava Rock

Oasis cubes

Oasis cubes are lightweight cubes, which serves the best for plants propagation from seeds or cuttings. Pre-formed oasis cubes are commonly used by hydroponic gardeners. This type of growing medium features neutral pH level and can hold water very well.

Since oasis cubes are usually used at the first stages of plant growth, they are usually not larger than 2” x 2” inches in size. It is very easy to transplant such cubes into any type of hydroponic system, growing medium or even into the soil. 

<!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

Interior decoration service industry has been a constantly growing market model in India, with architects and interior designers being able to bring an amalgamated work from across the globe to add to the heritage of the country.

The influence of the Indian architecture as well interior designing is huge which allows the industry to maintain original thoughts and sensibilities without borrowing the thoughts from the interior designer decorators of European and the American influence. When compared with the architects interior designers of the west, the interior designers India have an upper hand as they have been able to blend the elements of nature as well as the modern world to bring an essence of blended interior decoration.

Interior designers India also use a unique mix of ornamental designs with architecture and designing. This probably comes with the age-ancient cultural heritage that the country still holds in its heart. Along with the light fabrics that are used by the architects interior designers the other concepts and themes include the baths designed of silver while adorned with flowery designs and petals.

The interior designers also offer you the series of furnishings along with delicate water features, which will change the entire scenario of your house. Apart from the element of water, the next shade that is fire, which is used as an element in carpets, wall colours, as well as the furniture of the house. The service industry has been able to keep the thoughts from the history of the country while maintaining an equal balance with the growing demands in the contemporary era.

Architecture, on the other hand, has been able to use the latest software as well services to develop a housing design that is complete with the space management, exterior designing, as well the movable models, which have been able to make a revolution in the industry. The growing expectations on the customer front have enabled the architects interior designs to maintain an equilibrium between the thoughts, preferences, budget, as well as the designing. With the environmental concerns been realised, one of the prominent needs of interior designing as well as architecture is to keep the designing in sync with energy conservation, which is why the interior designers India have been trying to use elements that are virtually innocuous to the environment. From the architecture, lighting, furniture as well as the heat conservation, interior designs from India have been modelling architectural drafts to keep elements in harmony.

No wonder, the interior designing as well as the architectural services in the country have taken a steady progress line on the economy chart.

Soil less Mixtures

There is a fantastic amount of soil less mixtures available, which contain different ingredients. Sphagnum moss, perlite, and vermiculite are the most widely spread hydroponics components, used in such mixtures.

Being organic, soil less growing media are usually used for container gardening wick systems or on-recovery drip systems. It is also possible to use soil less mixtures in recovery systems, but, it is necessary to remember that because of very fine particles in such mixtures, they can clog tubes, pumps and drip emitters, when used without a excellent filtration system. By the way, according to the urban gardeners, one can use panty hose as a filter: just fit it to the return line and to the pump inlet, and all the tiny particles will be filtered out.

Most soil less mixes form a excellent growing medium for multiple hydroponic and organic gardens, because they can hold water well, have fantastic wicking action, and, at the same time, they provide a reasonable amount of air to the roots of growing plants.

Coconut Fiber

The popularity of coconut fiber as growing medium increases rapidly around the world. Being the first really organic growing medium, providing highest performance for hydroponic systems, coconut fiber may soon become the most well loved growing medium ever. It is fascinating to note that coconut fiber is, really, a waste product, which contains the powdered husks of coconuts.

In comparison to rockwool, coconut fiber is characterized with higher oxygen capacity and water retaining. These features are vital advantages for hydroponic systems with intermittent watering cycles.

Coconut fiber also contains a lot of root stimulating hormones, thus offering some protection against fungus infestation and other root diseases. The mixture of 50% coconut fiber and 50% expanded clay pellets is considered to be the perfect growing medium.

But, it is necessary to underline one precaution when buying coconut fiber. Avoid purchasing a low grade coconut fiber, which is very fine grained and contains a high level of sea-salts. Such coconut fiber will have negative and disappointing effect on hydroponic system.

The most widely-spread growing medium is, perhaps, rockwool. Originally used for insulation purposes and also known as mineral insulation, rockwool was first used as growing medium by Dane gardeners. Now, it is frequently used for drip-style indoor gardens around the globe.

Rockwool is produced by a process similar to making cotton candy: a particular mixture of sand and rock is melted and then turned into fibers by spinning the mixture to form products of multiple shapes and dimensions, from 1″ starter cubes and up to large slabs of  3″x12″x36″ in size. The variety of available forms and sizes turns rockwool into one of the most widely-used growing mediums.

Key advantages, as well as disadvantages, of this well loved growing medium are listed below.

Rockwool’s Strong Points

HOLDING WATeR – rockwool as a growing medium in hydroponics systems is capable of holding a large amount of water. This makes an additional protection for situations, when water is not supplied because of power outages or failures in pumping or other gardening equipment.

ACCUMULATING AIR – up to 18 % of air are constantly kept by rockwool. Due to this capability, there is a very small risk to over water rockwool; besides, the plants are always supplied with enough amount of oxygen.

MULTIPLE SHAPES AND SIZES AVAILABLE – whether it is a small 1″ cube for seeds propagation or a large 3x12x36 inches slab for huge plant, rockwool offers a wide variety of shapes and sizes to choose from. Besides, loose rockwool is also available, designed for filling different plant containers.

NO DUST AND EASY TO USE – since rockwool maintains its form nearly perfectly, it cannot be scattered accidentally. Besides, usually packed into plastic rockwool is a very clean material that is easy and comfortable to work with.

Rockwool’s Weak Points

NOT A “GREEN” MATERIAL – rockwool is claimed to be not environment-friendly material, because of its nearly indefinite time of breakdown.

HEALTH HAZARDS – rockwool particles and fibers pose serious health danger, especially for human lungs. That is why it is necessary to wear a protective dust mask, while working with rockwoll.

pH PROBLEMS – because of rockwool’s high pH level, it is necessary to balance pH level in the nutrient solution properly and make it suitable for the plants, you are growing. In general, the use of rockwool requires more routine work to keep pH level of your nutrient solution at steady level.

LONG PRE-SOAK PERIOD – before rockwool can be used in the hydroponic system, it should be soaked for at least 24 hours beforehand. Other growing media usually do not require pre-soaking, it is enough just to well-water them.