When you step into a hydroponics supply store, it can sometimes seem like there are endless options for what kind of hydroponic medium you can use. Each has their upsides and downsides, and it might take some experience and testing to really find the hydroponic medium that works the best for your plants and your particular style of growing. However, for your next growing season, you might consider giving hydroton a try.
Hydroton is a growing medium composed of expanded clay pebbles. They can be found in the grow rooms of virtually every style of hydroponic grower, but they are particularly favored by growers of flowers and growers who grow some vegetables like peppers.
Affordable – If you find that your hydroponics budget is a perpetually strained because you have to spend so much money on your growing medium, you should definitely consider hydroton to alive your financial woes. The main reason for this is that this material is fairly cheap to make, which makes it very easy on your wallet.
In addition, hydroton pebbles are actually reusable, so you can use them as your grown medium year after year. To take care of them, make certain to remove all nutrients and organic material from them by cleaning them out with isopropyl alcohol. You should also make certain to rinse them thoroughly with pH balanced water before you put them back in your buckets or grow trays.
Plenty of Moisture – One of hydroton most remarkable qualities is its moisture retention. It is remarkable because the majority of the time when a hydroponic medium is reusable, such as perlite, it does not retain moisture at all. However, hydroton totally defies this convention by simultaneously being reusable and being fairly moisture retaining. As experienced hydroponic growers can tell you, this feature of hydroton make it a lot easier to keep your hydroponically grown plants healthy.
Plenty of Air – Oxygen is crucial to your roots and a lack of it will only result in root rot and other undesirable conditions. Fortunately, hydroton provides plenty of air to your roots, which is an essential component of allow thing to get thick enough to produce those massive yield.
PH Neutral – With hydroton, you can rest a little bit easier about finding the proper pH balance. In hydroponics, you want to make sure that your pH always stays under 6.3 and above 5.6. If they start head outside of this range, you plant will start to be deprived or certain essential nutrients. Some hydroponic media are either acid or alkaline, which, while certainly manageable, can make having an ideal pH in you hydroponic garden a little more difficult. Hydroton is pH neutral, which means that you do not have to deal with any of these kinds of worries.
No hydroponic grower should take the decision of choosing their growing medium lightly. Because while one could argue that every choice you make in regards to you hydroponic garden will have a profound impact on the success of your garden, the growing medium is arguably one of the most important. Choose a growing medium that is well suited to both you and your plants, and your growing experience can be both high yielding and fairly easy. Choose one that does not suit your needs well, and you can find yourself wasting a lot of time and not enjoying the full benefit of your hydroponic garden.
This is why you should consider hydroton as a growing medium in addition to the benefits outlined above. Good luck!
