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Sand is not a good substrate for plants. What's a better inexpensive substrate? I've been finding Diatomaceous Earth (sold as kitty litter or oil absorbent) t
by nkurz 10y ago
Sand is not a good substrate for plants.
What's a better inexpensive substrate? I've been finding Diatomaceous Earth (sold as kitty litter or oil absorbent) to be great for starting seedlings, but it's more expensive than desirable for filling a large volume.
Detailed thread here: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=22329 http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=22329
- spiderfarmer 10y agohttp://www.grodan.nl/oplossingen/groenteteelt+producten/grotop+master http://www.grodan.nl/oplossingen/groenteteelt+producten/grot... Used in Dutch greenhouses for the last 20 years or so.
- jsilence 10y agoMost of the grodan producs are made from rock wool. From a plant perspective it is a very good substrate, good capilarity, inert, stable. But it is not compostable and recyclable. For a classical ebb and flow grow bed, the rock wool fibers are too fine grained.
- spiderfarmer 10y agoYou're wrong, it is 100% recyclable[1]. Otherwise we would have an enormous heap of those things. It's not composted, but luckily these things can be recycled into other, more useful products. You basically can't sell compost over here as there is too much compost already. We're already exporting compost to the UK for very low prices. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5yw_RIU59o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5yw_RIU59o
- jsilence 10y agoAh cool, good to know. Thank you for the pointer.
- jsilence 10y agoFor ebb and flow grow beds expanded clay (LECA) or three quarter inch gravel are proven to work well. Make sure beforehand that your substrate does not change pH. Cat litter stuff or Seramis is to finde grained for the grow beds.