Hydroponic Medium

Hydroponic medium as your growing choice

Choosing an inert or semi-inert medium over soil means you control exactly what nutrient reaches the roots, nothing extra from the medium itself, which is why serious hydro growers prefer it despite the extra feeding discipline it demands. Rockwool cubes from Grodan (from £3.50) are the classic choice: sterile, consistent from cube to cube, and easy to read by weight so you always know how wet the root zone is. Gold Label HydroCoco 60/40 Mix (£13.95) and Plagron Coco Perlite 70/30 (£13.75) blend in coco for more forgiveness while staying close to a true hydro feed programme.

Moving from soil or coco to hydro medium

Inert media hold almost no nutrient reserve, so plan to feed every watering rather than occasionally, and expect to check EC and pH more often than you would in soil. Perlite (from £6.95) is the cheapest way to lighten any mix or to fill smaller net pots on its own. This medium is built around active watering systems rather than hand-watering into a heavy soil pot; see our hydroponics & systems range for the pumps, tanks and pots this medium is designed to run in, or rockwool for propagation-specific cubes.

Free UK delivery over £50 and free Wembley pickup. Call 020 3488 0419 if you are switching from soil and want advice on the change.