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Mixing Media Like Making Soup §When first made, each ingredient still easily identified §Eventually chemical and physical properties become blended creating

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Mixing Media Like Making Soup

When first made, each ingredient still easily identified

Eventually chemical and physical properties become blended creating unique characteristics.

Characteristics are chosen to meet specific needs of plants.

Functions of Media

Provide water Supply nutrients Permit gas exchange Provide support

These functions can be controlled by the grower by choice of component blends.

Problems with Sub-Optimal Media

Poor growth Nutritional disorders Increased risk of root diseases Inefficient/ineffective irrigation Unstable (toppling) plants

Rootzone Environment

Creating a rootzone environment:

blending selected components

filling pot

initial watering of containers after transplanting

Rootzone EnvironmentConstantly changing as roots grow into medium.

Roots:

Extract nutrients

Exude chemicals such as H+ and phytochemicals

Contribute organic material to the medium.

Chemical Properties of Media

1. pH

measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in media solution

controls availability of all essential plant nutrients

soilless (highly organic) media pH 5.4-6.0 mineral soil pH 6.2-6.8

Influence of pH and Media Typeon essential nutrients

Chemical Properties of Media

2. Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) measure of media nutrient holding capacity defined by sum of exchangeable cations

(+ charged nutrients) that media can contain per unit wt.

Chemical Properties of Media

3. Soluble Salts dissolved mineral salts found in media fertilizer, impurities in the irrigation water,

organic matter all nutrients available for absorption are called

soluble salts

Physical Properties of Media(Air- and Water-holding Capacity)

Determined by:

size and type of solid components

how medium is handled (compaction, amount per pot, watering technique, etc.) prior to planting

Physical Properties of Media

• Bulk Density- weight per unit volume

• Total Porosity- Percent volume of media comprised of pores

• Water Holding Capacity- % volume of media filled with water after saturating and draining

Determining Physical Properties (approximation method for growers)

Method [use metric units (g and cc) throughout]

• cover inside of container (must have hole for drainage) with cheese cloth or screen material and cover container hole with tape

• fill with a measured volume of media1 • add H2O slowly from a known volume until

medium is saturated to surface• allow to equilibrate for 15 min, add more water

if necessary

Determining Physical Properties (approximation method for growers)

Method cont’d.

• record vol. of H2O added2 (original volume minus

remaining volume)

• remove tape, collect drained H2O for 60 min, record volume3

• weigh wet sample4, air dry the sample, reweigh5

The measurements recorded from this procedure are then used where indicated by superscript(1,2,3,4,5) in the following formulas:

Physical Properties of Media

Bulk Density- weight per unit volume

5Mass of dry media (g) 1 Media volume (cc)

(to convert to ~pounds/cu. ft., multiply answer by 62.4)

Physical Properties of Media

Total Porosity - Percent media volume comprised of pores

2Volume of water added1media volume

• most mineral soils have less pore space than organic based media

x 100

Physical Properties of Media

Water Holding Capacity - % moisture in the media after saturating and draining

(4wet weight - 5dry weight) x 100 1media volume

• It is the maximum amount of water media can hold

Organic ComponentsPeat

formed by decomposition of bog plants

low bulk density high CEC manageable pH non renewable (at

least in human lifespan terms)

Organic ComponentsPeat

Peat being ‘harvested’

Processed by:• Sieving for uniform

size• Compressed into

uniform size and weight bales

Organic ComponentsCoir

coconut husk, treated as substitute for peat

physical properties similar to peat

pH ~7 low porosity inexpensive lower CEC than peat

Organic ComponentsBark

improves aeration inexpensive hardwood or softwood bark can be used must be composted various sizes used, most common are:

1/8” to 3/4”

Organic ComponentsWood Products - sawdust

Inexpensive way to get organic matter into media

Must be composted Considered too

variable for use in commercially available media

Can be too ‘reactive’

Organic ComponentsProcessed Sludges and Composts

Sludge - sewage processing by-product

high CEC

high bulk density

little pore space make-up dependent on starting material, may

contain high concentration of heavy metals

Inorganic ComponentsSand

Used primarily to increase bulk density

Very porous

Inert (no CEC properties)

Inorganic ComponentsPerlite

from volcanic rock low CEC, inert good drainage neutral (in terms of

pHmay contain fluoride

ions (F)

Inorganic ComponentsVermiculite

Aluminum-Iron-Magnesium silicate (mica like)

pH depends on source High CEC provide nutrients Ca,

Mg, K great water holding low bulk density

Inorganic ComponentsRock wool

From basalt rock or slag liquefied and spun into fibers

high total porosity, air space, and water holding capacity

low CECneutral pH

Inorganic ComponentsCalcined Clay

Fired clay aggregates Increases drainage

and air space

Minimal CEC

Low bulk density

Inorganic ComponentsStyrofoam

Polystyrene foam Improves aeration and

drainage No CEC No water holding

capacity Broken down by UV light Environmental Nuisance

Selecting Media

Important- one size does not fit all

Consider crop needs• What is the optimum growing pH?• What kind of moisture level does it require?• Particle size (germinating seeding vs established

plant) (size and type of root system - fine or coarse)

Watering methods (high pressure watering requires a media resistant to compaction and erosion)

Trial New Media Test new product to determine suitability

Be sure you have a big enough sample size!

Consider CostQuality and quantity of the finished plant

are the most important considerations

Media Storage

Use within 3 months of production (follow manufacturers recommendation)

If dries out, may be difficult to re-wet

If it gets wet - algae and moss may grow, fungus gnats and shoreflies may infest it.

Store off the ground (on pallets) with good air circulation

Keep out of direct sun

Avoid Overhandling

Commercially prepared media are formulated with certain “built-in” aeration and water retention properties

Properties altered when handled by:• potting machines• flat fillers• mixers• untrained human media handlers

Mixing Options

Can buy commercially prepared mediaCan custom mix your own media

The choice is up to the grower/owner. In general smaller greenhouses tend to buy while larger tend to mix, but this is not a hard and fast rule.

Mixing Options

Considerations: mixing equipment transportation costs raw materials skilled labor storage consequences of mixing errors quality control testing

Hoppers for Custom Mixing Media

Soilless Formulations

Whether commercial or mixed on site, most mixes are derived from two groups of media mix formulations established at University of California and Cornell University.

Media Formulations

Based on combinations of peat, vermiculite, perlite

Nutritional and other additives depend on the crop

Wetting Agents

Non-ionic wetting agent added to improve initial wetting of media mix

Granular and liquid forms

High concentrations toxic to plants

Most commercial mixes contain wetting agents

Tests pH, EC, and specific nutrients

pre-plant analysis • amend as necessary

after planting analysis• monitor changes in pH and nutrient

accumulation• adjust fertilizer composition accordingly

Sampling

Factors to consider when sampling media

number of samples to take when to take samples relative to fertilization (be

consistent)

sampling location with pot or bed

Sampling Units

Pooling- mixing small random samples together to form a larger collective sample

potted plants - collect sample from root zone, sample minimum of 10 plants

plugs/cell pack - sample from 5-10 different flats, plants sacrificed

BE CONSISTENT in your sampling method

If you are trying to diagnose a problem, include samples from healthy and affected plants in order to compare results.

Determining pH and Soluble SaltMedia Extraction Methods

1:2 dilution*

1:5 dilution*

Saturated Media Extract (SME)*

Pour-through**It is VERY important when sending soilless media samples to

a lab to label them as soilless

* Guidelines are available to interpret results** Few guidelines are available, you have to develop your own

1:2 or 1:5 Dilution

Air dry media

1/4 - 1/2 cup (50-100cc) media mixed with 2 (or 5) parts deionized or distilled H2O

Mix well & equilibrate (15-30 min)

Gravity filter through coarse filter paper

Test pH and EC

Saturated Media Extract Starting water content does not matter

Starting media amount does not matter

Add deionized or distilled H2O to container of media until media is saturated

Equilibrate (30 min)

Vacuum filter through coarse filter paper and collect leachate

Test EC and pH (can also test pH before filtering)

Pour Through Volume of water used will depend on the

container (grower must experiment)

Collect leachate in tray shortly after irrigating

Filter leachate

Test pH and EC

Easy method but few guidelines available, although more becoming available. You can develop your own guidelines by keeping records and being very consistent in your technique.

Specific Nutrient Analysis

Most effectively done by labs.Some test kits available for growers.