PROFILE: AUSTRALIAN GROWING SOLUTIONS
Dynamics of Media Piles By Rohan Davies, Australian Growing Solutions How you store and handle your growing media can have a great impact on the performance of your crop. In this article, Rohan Davies of Australian Growing Solutions details the best practice techniques to improve your growing results. When buying potting mix, there is a lot to consider; start-up nutrient, slow-release fertiliser, controlled release fertiliser, porosity, water holding, nitrogen drawdown levels, just to name a few. Some of these considerations become more relevant when you buy more media than you can use in a short period of time based on your potting schedule.
degradation. High media temperatures will hasten nutrient release and may cause excessive media EC levels. Consider an irrigation flush when first using the media to eliminate this problem.
Here are some factors to consider when ordering a load of potting mix.
Always cover your potting mix pile with a tarpaulin or a cover made from light coloured material. The light cover reduces the impact of heat absorbance from the sun compared to a dark cover. Excessive rainfall can cause bulk media to turn anaerobic and leach nutrient because of the potential to rapidly increase the release of nutrient from controlled release fertilisers due to a high osmotic potential.
Timeliness Buy enough, but not too much, “enough” generally equates to the volume of media you will use within a few weeks. If you are left with excess, it is best to use this up as quickly as possible. Time, along with the other considerations can impact on the quality and performance of your media. Ordering larger loads can often reduce costs due to freight efficiencies, so try to condense potting into batches so you get through as much mix as possible in a short period.
Temperature Always aim to store your bulk pile of media under 1.2 metres in height. This helps to maintain air porosity and reduces opportunities for temperature build ups due to media
Rainfall
What is Electrical Conductivity (EC)? In water, EC is a measure of its ability to conduct electricity. When looking at water in its natural state, i.e., rainwater, it has a low EC. If we bring nutrients or ions into the water, the EC rises, meaning the water is better at conducting electrical current. EC is usually measured in micro-Siemens (µS/cm) and readings generally fall between 30 µS/cm to 2000 µS/cm. Seawater, for example, will have a reading of approximately 50,000 µS/cm, rainwater typically around 60-90 µS/cm and a typical nutrient solution 1000 – 2500 µS/cm.
Having multiple potting media bays allows the nursery to have a number of different media blends to best suit particular plant requirements. Ensure you keep the pile below 1.2 metres in height.
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