A Detailed Guide to Substrate Cultivation Techniques: Key Methods and Management Tips
Substrate cultivation is a new type of soilless cultivation technique, mainly absorbing nutrient solution and oxygen through the substrate. Let's take a look at substrate cultivation techniques together.
1. Technical introduction
Vegetable substrate cultivation techniques are gradually being recognized by the majority of vegetable growers for their advantages of saving labor and effort, saving water and fertilizer, high quality and efficiency, environmental protection with less pollution, and avoiding continuous cropping obstacles. In view of the current situation of substrate cultivation facilities requiring too large a one-time investment, relatively cumbersome nutrient solution management, and difficult-to-control disease occurrence, and guided by the principles of “simplicity, energy saving, high efficiency, and ecology,” we have carried out years of improvement, experimental demonstration, and extension of substrate cultivation, and explored a new “five improvements” simplified organic ecological substrate cultivation technique that the majority of vegetable growers can adopt and that is easy to promote and apply.
2. Common substrates
The peat, vermiculite, perlite, rock wool, and other substrates commonly used in conventional substrate cultivation are replaced by agricultural waste (such as rice husk, wood chips, mushroom mud, chicken manure, pig manure, rice straw, etc.) as the main raw substrate materials, which are mixed and prepared after composting, fermentation, and adding organic and inorganic fertilizers. For example, the Dongjin brand No. 1 substrate formula: Northeast peat : decomposed wood chips : decomposed rice husk = 1:2:2. To the substrate are added 15kg/cubic meter of expanded chicken manure (chicken manure content 25%, EC, 7.5mS/cm) + 1kg of imported ternary compound fertilizer (15:15:15) + a small amount of calcium, magnesium, zinc, boron, molybdenum and other micro-fertilizers. Its bulk density is 0.3g/cubic centimeter, EC, 0.9mS/cm, and pH value around 6.05. Using the formula substrate produced from agricultural waste, planting tomatoes and cucumbers per 667 square meters requires only about 3000 yuan in substrate cost, saving nearly 60% compared with Northeast peat substrate.
Substrate cultivation can effectively save land area and achieve large-scale planting. Friends with the technology and conditions might as well give it a try.