Seed Strarting Mediums for Aquaponics and Hydroponics
Seed Starting Mediums
When starting plants from seed, you have total control over the type of seed chosen, growing medium used as well as any disease or pest control used. There are many different types of growing mediums available; some of these include coconut coir, perlite and rockwool.
Coconut Coir is made from the shredded husks of the coconut. Coir has a tremendous ability to retain water, making sure plants never go thirsty, but due to their texture, they also offer excellent drainage properties. Plants are no longer at risk of "drowning" in too-packed or over-watered soil. Instead, Coir's ideal consistency gives them room to breathe and for roots to grow freely, capturing that essential air-to-water ratio for your biggest growth yet. Coconut Coir can be used alone, mixed with perlite or implement this pathogen-free media to your potting soil. Coconut Coir is an environmentally-friendly renewable resource that will break down in about three years.
Perlite is a unique volcanic mineral which expands from four to twenty times its original volume when it is heated. Perlite can reach temperatures of approximately 1600-1700 degrees F. The media's expansion is due to the presence of two to six percent combined water in the crude perlite rock, which causes the perlite to pop in a manner similar to that of popcorn. When expanded, each granular, snow-white particle of perlite is sterile with a neutral pH and contains many tiny, closed cells or bubbles. The surface of each particle is covered with tiny cavities which provide an extremely large surface area. These surfaces hold moisture and nutrients and make them available to plant roots. In addition, because of the physical shape of each particle, air passages are formed, providing optimum aeration and drainage. Because perlite is sterile, it is free of disease, seeds, and insects.
Rockwool is made from molten rock spun into cotton candy-like fibers and then compressed into cubes, blocks, or slabs. Rockwool has a tremendous capacity for absorbing nutrient solution while retaining plenty of oxygen for rapid plant growth. Rockwool needs to be conditioned before use for maximum germination rates. (Products like Europonic Rockwool Condition Solution, makes this easy.)
Seeds may also be directly broadcasted into your aquaponics media beds. These mediums may include Expanded Clay Pebbles, Growstones(tm) or Gravel. I prefer using the Expanded Clay Pebbles or Growstones; gravel can have a high pH, as a lot of gravels have a lime stone base.
Expanded Clay Pebbles are made from 100% natural clay. They are clean, pH stable, and offer great aeration and drainage in hydroponics, especially in flood and drain, deep water culture, and drip feed systems. Due to their unique structure and ability to cover a large surface area, they offer the ideal environment to foster beneficial bacterial growth around the root zone, leading to naturally healthier plants.
Growstones(tm) are a 97% recycled glass product, made in the USA can be used as an integral component in many hydroponic systems. Growstones(tm) are developed to provide the ideal ratio of water retention and aeration while at the same time being light-weight, disease free, and packaged in a 1.25 cubic foot recyclable paper bag. 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 growth process respiration. Growstones 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.
