Soilless Media Mix 101 Nursery Greenhouse Shandon Agriculture Department- Mrs. Deanna Cargill

What is Soilless Media? Soiless Media Mix A medium containing both physical & chemical components for growing plants in containers. It contains no actual soil but includes various combinations of physical ingredients such as peat moss, composted bark, sand, perlite, or vermiculite, plus small amounts of chemical components such as limestone and other ground minerals or fertilizers.

Functions of a Soilless Media? To Support or Anchor the Plant To Provide a Constant Source of Moisture To Provide Good Drainage & Aeration Around the Root Area To Provide the Mineral Nutrients Needed for Normal Growth To Provide a Media Free of Soil-Borne Pests (Weeds, Insects, Disease)

Why Use a Soilless Media? A soilless media can be easily manipulated to produce a medium with superior physical properties. Usually create a sterile environment free from disease, pests and weeds Environmentally friendly because some media components are by-products of other industries ex. bark Control of plant nutrients Water control- better drainage in pots Can achieve uniformity of plant growth results Cuts down on labor cost and protects the growers investment

Common Physical Materials Used in Soilless Media Mixes Peat Moss Ground Bark or Nitrified Bark Perlite Vermiculite Sand Sawdust Rockwool Expanded Clay

Common Chemical Materials Used in Soilless Media Mixes Phosphorous Potassium Nitrogen Lime

Physical Make Up of a Soilless Media Breaks Down Into 4 Parts The Physical Make Up of a Soilless Media Can Be Broken Down Into 4 Parts: Solid Volume- 20%-30% Air Space- 10%-30% (Volume of Air in a Mix After H2O) Available Water- 10%-25% (Water Easily Available to Roots) Residual Water- 15%-45% The Important Parts Are The Air Space And The Available Water Which Depend Mainly On The Particle Size And Shape In The Mix

How do the chemical properties affect the soilless media? Unlike soil, a soilless media cannot supply the nutrients needed by the plants, therefore plant nutrients need to be added to the media and the pH adjusted. The following are chemical properties you will often hear referred to: Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)- This is the amount of available nutrients. The CEC varies based on types of media. Conductivity (also called salinity, EC or total dissolved solids)- This can stunt plant growth rates if to high Nitrogen Drawdown Index (NDI)- This is how well the mix is stabilized or composted. The NDI should be a least 70% meaning the amount of applied Nitrogen available after 4 days.

OK NOW THAT YOU GOT A LITTLE DIRT ON SOILLESS MEDIA WE ARE GOING TO DO LEARN THE REEIPE FOR MIXIN’ OUR OWN …….

YOU CAN DO IT! A LITTLE LONGER….. I NEED TO GIVE YOU THE RECIPE HANG ON !!

SOILLESS MEDIA RECEIPE FOR SEEDING & TRANSPLANT MIX WARNING: FROM THIS POINT FORWARD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TODAY TO THIS RECIPE BECAUSE SOON YOU WILL BE MIXIN’!

The Receipe Seeding & Transplant Soilless Media – 20 Cubic Feet PHYSICAL COMPONENTS CHEMICAL COMPONENTS Ground Bark- 10 Cu. Ft. Osmocote (Scott’s Plus 16-8-12) 5 lbs. Peat Moss- 6 Cu. Ft. Treble Superphosphate (0-45-0) 1 lb. Perlite-(Course Grade #2) 4 Cu. Ft Dolomite Lime- 20 oz. Potassium Nitrate (13.75-0-44.5) 7 oz. DIRECTIONS: * Mix all ingredients together from top to bottom….this is very important! After the media is mixed well, wet until Charmin test passes. No excess H2O!

SOILLESS MEDIA RECEIPE MEASURE & COMBINE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS PHYSICAL COMPONENTS IN RECIPE Ground Bark (Forest Humus)- 10 Cubic Feet Physical Component- Organic Material, wood residuals broken down from wood products Role it plays in mix: Provides drainage & aeration Stable Component

SOILLESS MEDIA RECEIPE FOR SEEDING & TRANSPLANT MIX Peat Moss- 6 Cubic Feet Physical Component- Organic Material Collected from dried up parts of swamp beds, mostly supplied from Florida & Canada Role it plays in mix: Holds water and provides acid Perlite- 4 Cubic Feet Physical Component- Organic Material Comes from volcanic rock Role it plays in mix: Provides drainage & aeration, it also holds its own weight by volume known as field capacity. In other words it holds only the amount of water needed for the plant.

SOILLESS MEDIA RECEIPE FOR SEEDING & TRANSPLANT MIX Chemical COMPONENTS IN RECIPE N - P - K Osmocote- (Scott’s Plus 16-8-12) Yellow- 5lbs. / 20 Cubic Feet Chemical Component- Inorganic Material Non Burning Uniform Pellet Root actually finds the pellet and then scratches the surface of the pellet in order for it to release the nutrients that is needed Role it plays in mix: Slow Release Fertilizer- Typically for perennials, they come in 6 to 9 month forms. Apex- Used in annual mixes, green in color, slow release, but release at a faster rate than osmocote, they come in 3 to 6 month or less forms

SOILLESS MEDIA RECEIPE FOR SEEDING & TRANSPLANT MIX N - P - K Treble Superphosphate- (0-45-0) 16.25 oz. / 20 Cubic Feet Chemical Component- Inorganic Material Grayish in color and each particle is about the size of a bebe Role it plays in mix: Nutrient to promote fruits and flowers & the main ingredient is phosphorous. Dolomite Lime- Ag. Type 20 oz. / 20 Cubic Feet Chemical Component- Inorganic Material Looks a lot like bleached flour that we cook with, white in color, very fine-dust like Role it plays in mix: Neutralizes the acid or reduces the excess acid (most plants like the soil’s acid level between 5.5 and 7 or neutral) It is like the “Tums” for heartburn

SOILLESS MEDIA RECEIPE FOR SEEDING & TRANSPLANT MIX N - P - K Potassium Nitrate- (13.75-0-44.5) 6.60 oz. / 20 Cubic Feet Chemical Component- Inorganic Material White in color and looks just like table salt Role it plays in mix: This helps the plant with health and vigor and it wards off disease. It also helps with roots and cell development, which allows the plant to be healthy and strong.

LAST STEP FOR MIXIN’ SOILLESS MEDIA RECEIPE Mix In Water CAREFULLY! Directions: You are going to have one person turn on the hose and adjust the pressure to the appropriate level. The other students standing by are going to mix the media well from top to bottom until the appropriate amount of water is applied. How dose one know when the correct amount of water is applied? One should perform the “Charmin” test. Like squeezing a roll of Charmin toilet paper. If the media sticks together without falling apart you have enough H2O! There should not be any excess of water dripping out when one gives the media a squeeze.

Just kidding the LAST step for MIXIN’ soilless media is….. CLEAN UP !

THE END! Soilless Media Mix 101 Shandon Agriculture Department- Mrs. Deanna Cargill