Rockwool is a popular growing medium used in hydroponic gardening. In order to understand its application to hydroponics, you must first understand the general idea of hydroponic gardening. This form of gardening is, in simplest and most basic terms, gardening without the use of soil. In the public mind Hydroponic gardening is a new technology, but in fact hydroponics is not a new technology at all, and its use dates as far back at least as far as ancient Egypt. In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs enjoyed the benefit of fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically. As it happens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world—the Hanging Gardens—was most likely a hydroponic garden.
Hydroponics, very much like the process of growing plants in soil, gives plants a suitable environment to grow by supplying them with nutrients, oxygen and water when they need it. There is no genetic mutation involved in growing plants hydroponically , nor are there are no mystery wonder chemicals manipulating the plants into thriving, it’s just sensible gardening practice.
Plants grow in a growing medium., soil is a growing medium. There are many types of growing media you can use to grow your plants hydroponically. Each has its own advantages and quite likely also has its own unique disadvantages. Hydroponic growing media are inert, sterile substrates that are chosen or designed for their aeration properties to be used in hydroponic gardening. Each growing medium has its own advantages and disadvantages for hydroponic gardening.
Rockwool is one of the most popular growing media. Rockwool can be used in any form of hydroponic gardening, as long as the correct air/water ratios, fertilizer concentration, EC, and pH are maintained. The means or method of actually irrigating the plants does not matter at all. Commercial growers tend to prefer drip irrigation, with growing blocks on top of slabs. These are often used for tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Letters, strawberries and herbs are produced by different methods. Typically, these methods include NFT, water table, ebb and flood, and systems designed for specific growing systems.
Rockwool is produced from minerals, as the name implies. Thus it is environmentally friendly. It can be returned as rock back to the Earth after its use in hydroponic gardening. The plastic wrap should be removed before tilling the Rockwool into the garden however. Disposing of Rockwool in a landfill may be unappealing but it is perfectly safe and has its upside. Mixing Rockwool with garbage tends to enhance bacterial activity, thus they help decompose the garbage in a landfill and are good for the environment.
Small cubes of Rockwool are ideal for starting seedlings or cuttings. Once they take root they can be transferred to larger cubes, and later to slabs of Rockwool. There are other substrates available commercially, such as GreenMix, which is a mixture of water retentive and water repellent Rockwool, and allows for better drainage than typical Rockwool.
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