Growing Media
Growing Media Buyers Guide
Growing Media Buyers Guide
Growing Media comes in many different forms and can be used in many different growing situations. As well as stocking a wide range of hydroponic growing media such as Rockwool, clay pebbles and coco coir, we also sell a tried and tested range of premium soils.
Whichever you choose you can rest assured that all of our growing media is quality product and will not let you down, or bring bugs and pests into your growing area. Here is a brief overview of what you can find in this section:
With over 10 years of experience in this sector of the market we’ve tested out most of the major brands, with this knowledge we have decided to focus on the Secret Jardin as our leading product due to the innovative product range and continued product development, excellent customer support and long warranties.
We sell 5 different ranges from Secret Jardin, and can order in any other tents they sell, just give us a call if you can’t see what you’re after.
Premium Soils
We actually sell more soil than any other substrate with the exception of Rockwool – many of our customers migrated to soil based media after experiencing total crop loss when things went wrong with their hydroponic setups. We stock a high quality range of soils including Plant Magic Soil Supreme, Canna Terra Professional Plus and both Plagron Bat Mix & Light Mix.
Coco Coir
Coco is a great growing medium that can be just as productive as hydroponic systems when used correctly. We stock three different types of coco products, Canna Coco, Plant Magic Coco and the IWS Coco/Clay Mix. The Canna Coco is by far the better selling of the two different brands of plain coco – the IWS Coco/Clay Mix has built up a following over the years that goes beyond its intended use with IWS flood and drain systems.
Clay Pebbles
Clay pebbles are one of the original hydroponic growing mediums in the domestic hydroponic market and can be deadly effective in certain types of systems. Plant roots love them and their free draining, high nutrient availability capabilities make them a favourite with a well-established section of the market. Most commonly used in Wilma Systems and in the bottom of Autopots by our customers, they also feature in the IWS Coco/Clay Mix we sell and in plenty of other mixed media products on the market. The brand we sell is RHP certified and proven over decades of use in both domestic and commercial hydroponic applications.
Seramis
Seramis is made from mined clay in Germany and is an excellent product – it’s similar in many ways to clay pebbles but tends to outperform it on most levels. It was developed for the houseplant market initially but has gained a loyal following amongst hydroponics growers using recirculating systems, nutrient availability is better than clay pebbles and as it retains some water, is widely regarded as being a bit more forgiving. It’s also more expensive, but you get what you pay for…
Fytocell
Fytocell is an awesome product that we first started using in 2008 as a complete growing medium. It can be a bit tricky to use like this as it requires pre-conditioning before use and a certain level of skill to setup a watering system that can feed it, but the results when all things are done correctly can be outstanding. Like perlite, it is now more commonly found as an additive to improve soil structure – Plant Magic Soil Supreme incorporates Fytocell into its mix.
Perlite
Perlite used to be the indoor grower’s medium of choice as the indoor hydroponics scene was developing 10-20 years ago – we used to sell it by the pallet load. However, as the quality of the premium soils and coco coir products increased, the sales of perlite dropped off. Nowadays it still has a following as a complete growing medium but is more commonly found as a soil enhancer to help open up soil structure and assist drainage. Plagron Light Mix and Bat Mix both incorporate perlite into their make-up and are better products for doing so.
Vermiculite
Similar to Perlite in many ways, but holds more water.
Rockwool Slabs
Tried and tested Rockwool slabs from Dutch growing medium producer Grodan available in 1 metre and 1.3 metre sizes.