The most widely-spread growing medium is, perhaps, rockwool. Originally used for insulation purposes and also known as mineral insulation, rockwool was first used as growing medium by Dane gardeners. Now, it is frequently used for drip-style indoor gardens around the globe.

Rockwool is produced by a process similar to making cotton candy: a particular mixture of sand and rock is melted and then turned into fibers by spinning the mixture to form products of multiple shapes and dimensions, from 1″ starter cubes and up to large slabs of  3″x12″x36″ in size. The variety of available forms and sizes turns rockwool into one of the most widely-used growing mediums.

Key advantages, as well as disadvantages, of this popular growing medium are listed below.

Rockwool’s Strong Points

HOLDING WATeR – rockwool as a growing medium in hydroponics systems is capable of holding a large amount of water. This creates an additional protection for situations, when water is not supplied because of power outages or failures in pumping or other gardening equipment.

ACCUMULATING AIR – up to 18 % of air are constantly kept by rockwool. Due to this capability, there is a very little risk to over water rockwool; besides, the plants are always supplied with enough amount of oxygen.  Read more...

Many gardeners are beginning to switch to Hydroponics gardening for many different reasons.  These types of gardens are small and can easily be grown inside and are perfect for most vegetables, especially the red tomato.  Also the equipment required for Hydroponics gardening is not expensive and they are relatively easy to manage.

Hydroponics gardening is the growing of plants without soil, in other words, “dirtless gardening”.  There are many methods of Hydroponics gardening, most of which work better than regular soil gardening because it is easier to give the plant exactly what it needs when it needs it.  Plants will only receive what you give them; therefore you will be able to regulate the pH, nutrients, nutrient strength, water amount, and light amount.  This makes it imperative that you research the kind of plants you will be growing so you know what they need to survive.

Hydroponics gardening is only as difficult as you make it.  It can be complicated if computers with sensors are used to control water cycles, nutrients, and light for the plants.  However, it can also be as simple as a hand watered bucket with a single plant.  The normal home Hydroponics system is usually made up of a few basic things: a growing tray, light (natural or artificial), a reservoir, a water controlled pump for watering (or some type of watering equipment), and some form of air pump to give oxygen to the nutrients.

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