gritty mix vs semi-hydro comparison?
greentoe357
10 years ago
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nil13
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Monrovia potting soil vs gritty mix
Comments (3)Only you can answer that question. The best thing about the gritty mix is that it retains it's structure and the aeration built into it for much, much longer than soils based on primarily organic components like bark and peat. I generally use the gritty mix for anything that will remain in the same soil for more than a single season. That means that virtually all my woody material is in the gritty mix, while I still choose to grow all the floral display containers scattered through the gardens & decks, and the veggies in something like the 5:1:1 mix. I think your Monrovia mix would come closest to that. There wouldn't be a large difference in performance between the 5:1:1 and the gritty mix for the first several months, but down the road, the gritty mix would excel over the 5:1:1 mix because of its durability. I don't know the Monrovia mix, but I'll go out on a limb and guess it's not going to be as durable as the bark-based 5:1:1 mix, so I would anticipate that the gritty mix would probably hold an even greater advantage over the Monrovia than the 5:1:1 in the durability/aeration dept. You also have to weigh into the decision the fact that you'll need to go to the effort of finding the ingredients and making the soil, though once you DO find the ingredients, it's pretty easy to whip up whatever size batch you'll need. Good luck - let us know what you decide - and the results - especially if you're able to do a side-by-side comparison. Al...See MoreSemi-Hydro for Hipps?
Comments (29)Tina I believe if you get the nutrition down to a system for your plants in s/h you'll find they beat out most other plants grown in more traditional mediums. The nutrition is key. Because of the inert nature of the clay, you have to the one provide what the plant needs. Orchids are very easy to grow in s/h because they are not heavy feeders. It has been my experience with hippies that they are not heavy feeders as well, but there is a careful balance to strike. I found that having a quarter strength, balance fertilizer does the trick for me. In the Spring, Summer and Fall when it is safe for me to have the plants outside, I will water them a few days a week with this method but will flush the pots thoroughly with fresh, unfertilized water between each fertilized watering. This will get rid of gases and other nasties that build up as a result of natural processes but most importantly, it'll carry away salts that build up. I see you're in zone 8 so I do caution you on clear pots if you plan on growing outside. Though the water provides some cooling through evaporation, you can cook your roots if the pots are not shaded. My remedy? I cut mylar in long strips that shielded the pots from direct sun-- kept the roots warm but not hot-- worked well. But anything will do-- a board, other plants without clear pots etc. Good luck!...See MoreCHC/peat moss vs Gritty Mix
Comments (8)I'm always glad when someone finds something that they feel works well for them, but I think there should be a whole lot of qualifications made before anyone would make the statement "One thing for sure, you simply cannot over water your tree when it is planted in CHC." For example, a 50/50 mix of CHCs and peat will be extremely water-retentive and very easy to over-water. Even then, it's doubtful they could make the case. The 50/50 mix would also support a significant perched water table. I don't know about others, but for me, the presence of a significant PWT is a clear indication of a heavy soil and over-watering. I'm not commenting to 'protect' the reputation of the gritty mix or promote its use, but I've done side by side comparisons (and reported the results) of media blends with CHCs and coir as their primary fractions (even after rinsing very thoroughly to reduce complications from a high solubles level) vs media with pine bark and/or peat as the primary fractions, and in each case, the CHC and coir blends were not even in the ball park, using growth as the comparative yardstick. There are a number of very good reasons that commercial ops that DO use coir and CHCs limit their presence in container media to small %s of the whole. Al...See Moresemi-hydro compared to gritty mix
Comments (29)Denise, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUPsIpd9TmQ. It's salesy, but there is an interesting water absorption demo at 1:10 with growstones vs hydroton. It does not behave as glass, I agree. By the way, the demo has a flaw and causes at least one question. I wonder if they washed that hydroton before it gave off that red dust. I bet they didn't. And even if they did, for our semi-hydro application, you'll just wash the dirty effluent off, no big deal, it does not get pumped back into the more closed-end fully-hydroponic system forever. And the flaw is: note how he places the Growstone largest flat face down. The soaking surface is way bigger - of course it's gonna soak up more water! It's water retention capacity per volume unit in the mix that matters. Now, maybe Growstone absorbs more water by that measure as well, but that is not what is being demonstrated. And another thing I can think of: what if hydroton just needs more time to soak the water up? The plant is not in a rush! Need to measure after some time has passed. >> it is, however, expensive!!! I just bought 1.25 cu ft of the larger Growstones for $22, and Doug says smaller particles are cheaper. Checking large grade perlite (Espoma), it is $15 or so per cu ft., so perhaps the difference is not that large. Delivery fees may change this comparison significantly, of course. If you can buy one locally but not the other, it changes things. As a side note, to rationalize the Growstone purchase and to lower delivery fee, I also bought another 4-bulb 4-foot fluorescent grow light. So, let's see, start with wanting to do a dinky little experiment on semi-hydro, end up paying $137. Yeah, sounds about right. :-/ This post was edited by greentoe357 on Wed, Feb 19, 14 at 13:06...See Morenil13
10 years agonil13
10 years agopetrushka (7b)
10 years agonil13
10 years agopetrushka (7b)
10 years agoJay Part Shade (Zone 10B, S21, Los Angeles)
10 years agonil13
10 years agonil13
10 years agoJay Part Shade (Zone 10B, S21, Los Angeles)
10 years agonil13
10 years agopetrushka (7b)
10 years agogreentoe357
10 years agonil13
10 years agogreentoe357
10 years ago
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