When growers talk about “planting media” they refer to soil most of the time. It is your common medium of planting. Although there are many other media that you can use to plant your flower or green plant in the house or outside.
What You Need to Know About Planting Media
In the gardening context, media is the material that you use for plants grow. You can choose various houseplants, one of the most important elements in making sure that those plants will grow if you use the right media for your plant.
Not all plants can grow in soils. Enven for soils, there are many varieties to choose from. Each media has its benefits to offer. Here are some types of planting media that you can choose as a media to the plant that you desire.
1. Peat and Peat-Like Materials
Peat moss formed by accumulating plant materials in drained areas. Plant material can be an ideal planting medium due to its use in a growing medium. There are four categories to distinguish the different peat deposits.
- Hypnaceous moss – type of peat which is a combination of partial decomposed remains of polytrichum, hyprum, and other mosses. These plants decompose rapidly compared to other peat types. This feature makes it as a suitable media use for any type of plants
- Reed and Sedge – these peats derived from remains of sedges, rushes, coarse grasses, reeds and other similar plants that decomposed moderately. These peats have less acid and contain fibrous particles.
- Humus or Muck – It usually consists of the decomposed debris of large quantities of silt and clay particles. The rapid rate of decomposition of this media makes it a risky material for growing plants.
- Sphagnum moss – it consists of dehydrated remains of acid-bog greens from the genus Sphagnum (i.e. Spapillosum). It contains specific fungi substances which enable it to inhibit damping-off of seedlings. This is the most desired planting media coming from other plants.
2. Wood Residues
They are a significant source of soilless in this planting media. It is typically generated from the lumber industry in large quantities. The growing media consist of nitrogen from soil microorganisms, during the decomposition process.
3. Leaf Mold
The lanting media from this mold come from oak, maple, and sycamore that have a special leaf that is suitable for making leaf mold. This material is cheap, and not extensively used in containers. Therefore, you can use this material as a great planting media.
4. Sawdust
This particular planting media comes from tree elements. The sawdust material determines its quality. Sawdusts from walnut and non-composted redwood debris have direct phytotoxic effects to the plants using it as planting media.
The C:N sawdust contains high cellulose and lignin content with insufficient N supplies. It creates depletion problems that can hinder a plant from growth to its normal potential.
5. Barks
Grower can use this bi-product material that is generated from pulp, paper and plywood industries. The particle size formed from hammer milling and screening. This material is ideal for container media. The physical properties of it come from tree bark which has a similar feature to Sphagnum moss.
6. Bagasse
Make use of this bi-product of the sugar industry waste. The shredded and/or composted material can increase aeration and drainage properties as a planting media for plants on pots. The high sugar content can increase microbial activity after using bagasse into a media.
7. Vermiculite
This micaceous mineral is an ideal planting medium produced by heating it to 745oC. The properties include plate-like particles that expand and contain high water holding capacity. Therefore, it is able to aid the aeration and drainage process.
Vermiculite has amazing exchange and buffering capacities as a growing media. Therefore, It can supply potassium and magnesium in great amounts. Although vermiculite is a chemical base, the physical properties are perfect for media containers.
There are many planting media that you can choose for your plants. Choosing the right media including handling, maintaining and growing various types of growing media works best for your plant.. Several media may works with your plants. Therefore, choose your media accordingly
You can try www.almostgreen.id that provides various plants and also equipment that you need to grow plants at home. You can purchase the plants along with the right planting media to ensure its growth.