In home gardening, especially in indoor gardening and balcony terrace gardening, this natural soil is rarely used, because natural soil is not convenient to take soil, and the soil quality is diverse, and many times it is not suitable for plants cultivated at home. Moreover, there will be some pathogenic microorganisms in the natural soil, as well as weed seeds, etc., which will affect the growth of plants, and the biggest problem is that its weight is very heavy.
So now home gardening mainly uses artificially configured cultivation soil, today we will take a look at how to choose and match the substrate cultivation soil used in home gardening.
Organic matrix
Peat
The most common organic substrate is peat, some are also called peat, which is the product of incomplete decomposition of the dead remains of plants in swamps, accumulated year by year, and finally formed.
Due to the very long period of time it takes for plant residues to decompose into peat, it is now essentially a non-renewable resource. We are also looking for better alternatives from an environmental point of view.
Coir
Fine coconut peat can completely replace peat, and its air permeability, water retention and physical and chemical properties can be basically the same as that of peat. Its reusability is better than that of peat.
Coconut nuggets, which are more breathable. It is generally used in some orchid plants, or plants with strong air permeability. When you use it, you need to soak it. Generally, after fully soaking it in water, its volume can be increased to eight times.
Inorganic matrix
vermiculite
Vermiculite is made of mica ore after 1000 degrees of high temperature processing, its texture is loose, has porous characteristics, and has a good fertilizer and water retention function.
perlite
Perlite is a natural mineral that is processed at a high temperature of 800 degrees Celsius, which is a little cooler than vermiculite. It has a lighter texture and is also a porous material with good aeration.
Ceramsite
Ceramsite is very useful in the cultivation process of home yards, and it can generally increase the drainage of containers. It is made by calcination and expansion of clay, and its interior is hollow, so it has a very light texture. It comes in two colors, red and black. Generally, in container cultivation, it is placed at the bottom of the container as a drainage layer, or it can be placed on the surface of the container as a covering layer to reduce the evaporation of water.
Matrix blending
Generally, two parts of peat, or coconut bran, plus one part vermiculite and one part perlite, are mixed into a mixed matrix. Here, the two are completely interchangeable, or they can be configured 1:1.
Tip: When configuring the cultivation medium, it is generally allowed to have a certain humidity, so that the different substrates can be bonded to each other, so that when watering later, the perlite that is too light will not float on the surface of the soil.
Source: Jingnong Premium Service Group