What Is Growing Medium?

The term ‘growing medium’ is used to describe the material used in a container to grow
a plant. 
 

The term ‘substrate’ is also used and means the same thing. In the UK some people still
use the term ‘compost’ in the same context, however a compost is technically the
product of a composting operation (eg the compost heap at the bottom of the garden)
and can therefore be a misleading word to use. A composted material may be a
component of a growing medium but peat is not a product of composting and nor are
many other ingredients we use. In Holland the term ‘potting soil’ is often used instead of
‘growing medium’

There are many different ingredients that can be used to make a growing medium;
different parts of the world have developed media based on local availability of various
raw materials. Such materials can be inorganic (eg rockwool, perlite) or organic (such
as peat, bark). Growing media are often formulated from a blend of different raw
materials in order to achieve the correct balance of air and water holding capacity for
the plants to be grown.

Requirements of a growing medium:

 To provide anchorage for the plant

  To provide adequate air spaces for root respiration

 To hold sufficient available water

 To hold sufficient available nutrients

 To be free of plant pathogens, pests and weeds

 To be safe when handled by people

Manufacturers also need growing media to be physically and chemically stable from the
time of production until the time of use (this can be many months for retail products).
The bulk density (weight) of the ingredients used is also important because this affects
transport costs, a major part of the total cost of production and delivery to the end
customer.

SOIL

Soil is a material composed of five ingredients — minerals, soil organic matter, living
organisms, gas, and water. Soil minerals are divided into three size classes
— clay, silt, and sand (Figure 1); the percentages of particles in these size classes is
called soil texture. The mineralogy of soils is diverse. For example, a clay mineral
called smectite can shrink and swell so much upon wetting and drying (Figure 2) that it
can knock over buildings. The most common mineral in soils is quartz; it makes
beautiful crystals but it is not very reactive. Soil organic matter is plant, animal, and
microbial residues in various states of decomposition; it is a critical ingredient — in fact
the percentage of soil organic matter in a soil is among the best indicators of
agricultural soil quality (http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/) (Figure 3). Soil colors range from the
common browns, yellows, reds, grays, whites, and blacks to rare soil colors such as
greens and blues.

CLAY SOIL
 Clay soil is soil that is comprised of very fine mineral particles and not much organic
material. The resulting soil is quite sticky since there is not much space between the
mineral particles, and it does not drain well at all.

If you have noticed that water tends to puddle on the ground rather than soak in, it is
likely your ground consists of clay. Soil that consists of over 50 percent clay particles is
referred to as “heavy clay.” To determine whether you have clay soil or not, you can do
a simple soil test. But chances are you probably already know if you have clay soil. If
your soil sticks to shoes and garden tools like glue, forms big clods that aren't easy to
separate, and crusts over and cracks in dry weather, you have clay.

 The Spruce / Sandhya Moraes  

Advantages of Clay Soil

Even clay soil has some good qualities. Clay, because of its density, retains moisture
well. It also tends to be more nutrient-rich than other soil types. The reason for this is
that the particles that make up clay soil are negatively charged, which means they
attract and hold positively charged particles, such as calcium, potassium, and
magnesium.

Disadvantages of Clay Soil

In addition to the drawbacks mentioned above, clay also has the following negative
qualities:

 Slow draining
 Slow to warm in the spring
 Compacts easily, making it difficult for plant roots to grow
 Tendency to heave in winter
 Tendency to be alkaline in pH