Grow mediums

Probably the most common hydroponics medium is rock wool. It works well. It is like fiber glass but its rock instead. It holds water and air very well. There are many different mediums you can use but to start out a new plant I use 1 inch rock wool cubes. The main thing you need to think about is what kind of system you are going to use and go from there. Rock wool holds lots of water and doesn't need watering as often as say volcanic rocks.

Some people swear by soil and soil less mediums. If you decide to go this route make sure you get some quality soil. I have been using miracle grow potting soil with pretty good results. EDIT: Now that I got a soil ph meter I am seeing that my miricle grow soil was a bad idea. I got some scotts soil and its ph is closer to nutral. Just make sure it drains water well. you can add sand or perlite to make the soil more drain-able and airated. Once you get past the cups you will want to transplant into bigger pots. A good rule of thumb is for every foot of growth you will want 1 gallon of pot space.

I still start out with the rock wool and transplant to dirt later on. But if you cant get rock wool then soil will be fine to start in too. Just make sure you allow your medium to dry out before waterings. You want the roots to stretch and search for that water. The heart of the plant is its root system so roots are what I work on first. You can purchase a moisture meter from walmart for under $10. It really helps.

Water can be a medium also. I really like airoponics. That is my favorite system. It always has the perfect o2/ h2o ratio. So its never starved or flooded. It always grows.

Here is a pic of some 1" rock wool cubes



Potting soil works good too!


Pic of airoponics system. Sorry I dont have any better pics.


Airoponics work real good.