In nature, plants generally grow in soil, but in horticulture we try to provide the very best conditions for roots to grow in. Making and using a good growing media gives a horticulturist better control over the performance of plants, and some level of control over where and how they are grown.
Nurserymen use growing media to fill pots and grow plants that can be raised and transported. Green walls and roofs can be created providing a growing media that suits the specific plant’s requirements and edible plants can be grown in hydroponic or soil beds with better control over plant health and fertility. There are lots of ways growing media can be made and used. This course provides a concise and easy learning pathway for understanding the options and considerations which underpin creating an appropriate plant growing media; whatever the circumstanced.
Who is this course for:
- Anyone who grows plants in a “manufactured” growing medium
- Horticultural staff working for nurseries, garden centres, growing media suppliers, on farms, etc.
It can be used to train untrained employees, as a gap filler for horticulturists who missed some of these things in their original training, or as a refresher course for anyone else.
COURSE CONTENTS
LESSON 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF GROWING MEDIA
- Video - Lesson review
- Physical Characteristics – Air Filled Porosity, Shrinkage, Bulk Density, Wettability
- Components in the Mix -mined and manufactured
- Issues pathogens, drainage, weight, availability, consistency
- Choosing your components
- Conductivity and pH
- Aeration, Water retention, drainage
- Fertility
- Nitrogen drawdown
- Water repellence
- Buffering capacity
LESSON 2 ORGANIC COMPONENTS
- Introduction
- Organic components
- Alternatives
- Pine bark
- Wood chip
- Sawdust
- Wood shavings
- Peat
- Sphagnum
- Grass waste
- Mushroom compost
- Nut shells
- Biochar
- Ash
- Lignite
- Other options
LESSON 3 NON-ORGANIC COMPONENTS
- Introduction
- Components
- Sand
- Soil
- Scoria
- Pumice
- Perlite
- Vermiculite
- Plastics and bioplastics
- Other options
- Optional Assignment
LESSON 4 MAKING MIXES
- Video – Lesson Review
- Considering components
- Matching growing media to different situations
- Propagation mixes
- John Innes Institute potting mixes
- Cornell mixes
- How to mix components
- Use of fertiliser in propagating mixes
- Processing mixed growing media for use
- Contamination
- Other issues with media
- Transport of treated media
- Final Online Assessment