Transcript Growing Media, Nutrients, and Fertilizers

Growing Media
Plants need a good environment
to grow!
• Need a healthy environment above ground
• Need a healthy environment below ground
Plant Growing Media
• Growing medium- Material in which roots
of the plants grow
• Provide plants with nutrients
• Place to anchor itself
• Types of media:
– Soil
– Artificial medias (Vermiculite, Perlite)
– Nutrient solutions (Hydroponics)
Soil
• Top few inches of earth’s surface
– Natural medium
– Many kinds
Soilless Medium
• Contains no topsoil
• Organic components
– peat moss
– bark
• Inorganic components
– Vermiculite, Perlite
• made from rock and minerals
• Aids in drainage and aeration
Hydroponics
• Method of growing plants in a nutrient
solution
– Nutrient Solution- Contains water and
dissolved nutrient salts
• Must use material to anchor plant roots
– Styrofoam, Sand, Gravel,
Mixtures
• Various materials may be mixed to prepare
a good medium
– Vermiculite, Perlite, Peat moss, Manure
• Media Must be free of disease, weeds, and
other dangerous residues
Composition of Average Soil
Organic
Matter
5%
Mineral
Matter
45%
Water
25%
Air
25%
Soil: Contents and Structures
• Soil contains three kinds of mineral
materials.
– Sand
– Silt
– Clay
Composition of Average Soil
Organic
Matter
5%
Mineral
Matter
45%
Water
25%
Air
25%
Sand
• Largest mineral particles in soil
• Amount varies in soil
• Soils with more than 85% sand are
classified as sand, not soil
• Assists soil drainage
• Soils high in sand may not hold
enough moisture for plants to grow
properly.
Silt
• Smaller than sand.
• Formed by action of water and other
forces that break materials into silt
• Areas near rivers are often high in silt
deposits.
Clay
•
•
•
•
Smallest size particles in soil
Fill spaces between particles
Holds water and keeps soil moist
Soils high in clay may be slow to
dry after a rain. As a result soil
may form a hard, compact surface.
Organic Matter
• Decayed remains of plants and
animals.
• Decaying leaves, bark, manure, and
other plant materials increase organic
matter.
• High in nutrients, released for plant
growth
Soil Texture
• The proportion of sand, silt, and
clay present in soil
• Amount of mineral materials in
soil varies and makes some soils
better suited for certain uses
Soil Profile
• Vertical section of soil at a particular
location.
• Typically shows a layered pattern of
materials form surface down to bedrock.
• Layered patterns are divided into horizons.
Horizons
– Surface soils or topsoil- humus, roots,
organisms
– Subsoil- accumulation of materials
leached from surface, some roots
– Substratum- consisting of partially
weathered parent material
– Bedrock or parent material