Five Main Types of Soilless Cultivation for Flowers and Their Advantages
1. Sand culture: a method that uses sand, perlite, plastic or other inorganic materials with a diameter of less than 3 mm as the substrate, plus nutrient solution, to cultivate flower plants.
2. Gravel culture: a method that uses gravel, basalt, lava, plastic or other materials with a diameter of less than 3 mm as the substrate, plus nutrient solution, to cultivate flower plants.
3. Water culture: the earliest method used in soilless cultivation, a cultivation method in which the roots of flowers are continuously or intermittently immersed in nutrient solution. The nutrient solution flows within the cultivation trough to increase the air content, and generally a nutrient solution depth of 10-15 cm is required.
4. Sawdust culture: uses medium-coarse sawdust or fine sawdust added in an appropriate ratio. Sawdust from Douglas fir and hemlock is best; some people fear that sawdust is toxic and cannot use it. The cultivation bed can be built from coarse fir boards, lined inside with black polyethylene film, with a bed width of about 60 cm and a depth of about 25-30 cm, and a drainage pipe set at the bottom of the bed. Sawdust culture can also be carried out using film bags filled with sawdust, with drainage holes punched in the bottom; depending on the bag size, 1-3 flower plants can be grown. Sawdust culture generally uses drip irrigation to supply the plants with water and nutrients.
5. Spray culture: the roots of the flower crops are suspended in the air of the cultivation trough, and nutrients and water are supplied to the roots by spraying; this can greatly save nutrients and water, and at the same time the oxygen supply to the roots is good, which is favorable for root development. However, the requirements for spraying are high, and the mist droplets must be fine and uniform.
"Soilless cultivation is water culture" - this is a misunderstanding of soilless cultivation. Water culture is one cultivation method within soilless cultivation, a method that uses water as the cultivation substrate without adding other cultivation substrates.
Soilless cultivation is generally divided into two major categories: one is substrate-free cultivation; the other is substrate cultivation.
Substrate-free cultivation is further divided into two types: water culture and spray cultivation. Substrate cultivation is also divided into two types: inorganic substrate cultivation and organic substrate cultivation.
Inorganic substrate cultivation is further divided into 4 types: granular substrates, including sand culture, gravel culture and ceramsite culture; foam substrates (polyethylene and other foamed plastics); fiber substrates, rock wool and mineral wool; other substrates, perlite and vermiculite.
Commonly used substrates for organic substrate cultivation include peat, sawdust, rice husks and bark.
Compared with traditional soilless cultivation, water culture has the following advantages:
(1) Simple management, saving labor and time. Because the management and care of potted flowers in water culture is simple - changing the water and adding nutrient solution once every 3 or 4 weeks, with no need for routine spraying; even if water evaporation is high in summer, adding water 1-2 times a month is enough - it suits the hectic pace of modern life.
(2) More lightweight. When moving potted flowers in water culture, most of the water can be poured out, making them easier to carry.
(3) In air-conditioned rooms, water-cultured flowers grow continuously over the long term, sometimes producing new roots and new leaves, with good growth, and they are more durable than substrate-cultured flowers, solving the problem of frequently changing flowers in air-conditioned rooms.
(4) High ornamental value. Potted flowers in water culture grow luxuriantly, with deep green leaves, upright and elegant form, relatively thick and glossy leaves, and large, brightly colored flowers. Potted flowers in water culture allow you to enjoy the leaves and flowers as well as the roots, enhancing the ornamental value of the potted flowers.