Reuse, reuse, reuse your media
throwing away growing media
before it has completed
processing the available
nutrients is like collecting
the dinner plates halfway
through the meal.
These nutrients can be reclaimed from the leftover plant
material through composting. A hot compost pile will produce compost in a matter of weeks, but even a cold compost
pile will often be ready for use in a matter of months—just
in time for the following planting season. (Note that while
any moist plant material will eventually decompose, making an actual compost pile helps to speed the process and
to contain the mess.) The resulting compost is a valuable
garden resource that, in soil gardens, can be used as an improving amendment to add to the growing media or as the
basis for new potting mix. Hydroponic gardeners can use
the compost for teas.
Also, keep in mind that many organic nutrient sources
can t ake months or even years to become processed by
microfauna into available nutrients. As such, throwing away
growing media before it has completed processing the available nutrients is like collecting the dinner plates halfway
through the meal—you’re throwing away nutrients that have
been absorbed by the media. Reusing media is important
to maximizing nutrient extraction and although reused
hydroponic media may not appear as pretty as new media, it
might in fact be a superior growing medium that improves
with use. Remember, however, to rinse well any media that
might contain high levels of salt or other chemical residue
before reusing. In my own garden, the media I use is a combination of mostly perlite, with a smattering of clay balls and
grow stones that I repeatedly reuse (I add fresh new media
as needed).
For composting, start with the plant material and root balls.
Plant material grown with either organic or chemical fertilizers can be composted to reclaim nutrients. Indeed, chemically fertilized plants tend to be larger than their organically
grown counterparts and therefore can offer additional value
when composting techniques are used. During fall harvest,
there is not only a plethora of garden waste to deal with,
but often leaves from trees. Combining even amounts of
“greens” (high-nitrogen carbon waste like leafy plant leaves)
with “browns” (low-nitrogen carbon waste like tree leaves)
in a pile will allow this garden trash to become compost.
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Maximum Yield USA | September 2012