There are so many mediums where we can plant our green babies. There could be several reasons why we should use these mediums:
If there is a lack of soil for the plantation you can choose some plants that could be propagated & grown in water and some more mediums that'll be discussed further.
Shortage of space.
Low maintenance and less frequent watering.
Incompatibility of soil with plants.
Now, let's begin with our Mediums, we'll discuss these planting mediums:
Soil
Cocopeat
Charcoal
Sphagnum Moss
Perlite
Vermiculite
Leca balls
1. Soil:
The most common and known medium is soil. There are different types of soil. And the main types are Sandy soil, Clay soil & Loamy soil.
Sandy soil has a higher percentage of sand than clay and silt. This soil is suitable for cactuses, succulents, and so on.
Clay soil has a higher percentage of clay than sand and silt. This type of soil is suitable for plants that require a more elevated amount of moisture. This soil is black.
Loamy soil has an approximately equal percentage of sand, silt, and clay. It's the most fertile soil and suitable for all plants.
As we don't know how to identify soils as a beginner, we must use ready-made soil mixes for plants. Or you can make your soil mix. We'll bring another blog on "How to make soil mixes according to your plant".
2. Cocopeat:
Cocopeat is made of coconut husks. The coconut husks are dried and ground; that coarse grind is called cocopeat. This is commonly used for retaining moisture. Plants that need more water can be planted in Cocopeat.
Some creeping plants with aerial roots are also crawled against cocopeat sticks. These sticks are made of cocopeat placed in some net and given the shape of a stick. You just need to keep the stick moist and it automatically enhances the plant's vigor.
Cocopeat is often used for germination trays, as the seeds need particular moisture to germinate and we don't need to water that frequently.
The most exciting part about cocopeat is it's reusable. Just dry it in the sun before using it.
3. Charcoal:
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents.
It is used to make soil mixes for succulents, cactuses, and much more but you can use that with every soil mix as a carbon recharger as Charcoal is a rich source of carbon that is the base structure of every living and non-living body of nature.
Charcoal has the property to absorb impurities, eliminate harmful microorganisms, and maintain a healthy environment inside the soil that promotes plant growth and absorption of
available nutrients.
4. Sphagnum Moss:
Sphagnum moss is commonly known as peat moss, sphagnum moss, bog moss, etc. It is mainly a genus that contains more than 380 species of mosses. These are collected from still-living moss on the surface of bogs and wetlands.
We should know that peat moss has a higher acidic pH level while sphagnum moss has a neutral pH. Keep it in mind before using moss for plantation or rooting.
The very nature of moss is to retain moisture content and drain excess water; it maintains the humidity in the air. Being grown in decaying materials sphagnum moss is rich in nutrients.
Sphagnum moss is an excellent choice for starting seeds indoors because it helps keep them warm by keeping the temperature around them warm by absorbing moisture from the air around it. It also helps with drying out after watering if you use it as part of your growing medium.
5. Perlite
Perlite is another great plant soil choice. It's lightweight and porous, so it lets water through more easily than other media. It also has a high CEC (cation exchange capacity), which means that it can hold onto more nutrients than other types of media.
Perlite is also lightweight enough that you can use it in a potting mix with other ingredients if you want to be able to move them around easily after planting time!
6. Vermiculite
Vermiculite is another great soil substitute for plants that don't necessarily want too much water or drainage in their soil but don't want to deal with dirt either!
It's mined from earth rich in silica sand deposits around the world and then processed into tiny particles that hold moisture well but drain quickly once they're saturated with water (which makes them ideal to grow plants).
This medium is full of nutrients and heavy metals. Vermiculite is the most powerful growing medium of all time. It can be reused again and again to grow and propagate delicate plants.
7. Leca balls
Leca balls are a type of ball made from natural materials including coconut shells and sand. They are great for drainage purposes because they allow water to drain away quickly while retaining moisture at the same time.
These balls can also be used as flowerpot ornaments if you don't want to use them for gardening purposes! Leca balls are also used in hydroponics. Where plants are grown only in water.
You can reuse these leca balls after boiling them in water. It cleanses and removes all types of microorganisms that can harm plants.