Consider soilless culture for modern plantings
I RECENTLY read an article on how soilless planting will produce the best quality ginger. Using the good weather of the highlands, a farmer in Peninsular Malaysia has successfully cultivated a Dutch variety of winter ginger to great success in large quantities.
He set up fully-covered plant houses using clear plastic sheets to protect the plants from the rain and to allow in sunlight, on a five-acre plot near the Proton factory in Perlis.
What is critical is the temperature for the crop has to be kept controlled at 25 degrees Celsius during the day and below 18 degrees Celsius at night, making it most suitable for the temperate crop. Pot plantings used larger polybags with enough compost for the ginger to grow.
This got me thinking about soilless compost potting culture in horticulture.
Let us remember that the use of soil for horticulture is mainly as anchorage for the plants, even though it also contributes nutrients.
New technology and greater understanding, in addition to breeding new specific genetic offspring can mean that using raw soil is not as successful. Modern agriculture has introduced many new approaches for growing crops. Compost and culture Pot plantings laden with soil as a medium are no longer a popular practice in nurseries nowadays. Soil is now mainly replaced with a light medium such as complete compost for the general establishment and growth of the plants. This newer approach is also ideal for home gardeners and also for indoor plants in commercial or corporate areas. Inputs and installation The secret to soilless planting lies in the use of liquid fertiliser that can be sprayed as with orchids or incorporated in drip irrigation either timed or automatically according to the needs of the plants. Minute drip heads can be embedded in the planting medium.
The successful formulation of fertiliser in liquid form for irrigation application has also reduced the use of solid manure. The job of applying chemicals is also reduced in screened greenhouses.
Thus the method greatly reduces the reliance on pesticides thereby reducing chemical pollution.
Soilless culture also reduces the use of manpower as the whole process of the day’s work can be automated.
It can efficiently improve production as the need for training and dependence on manual labour is reduced to installation and maintenance work. Soilless culture is often used in planting vegetables, tomatoes, and the floral industry in the highlands.
New technology emphasises the need of completeness for plant growth for the whole lifespan or at least the season.
The use of pot planting in the floral industry takes note of the size and the type of compost required for the whole lifespan of the plant. It should have the ability to allow the roots to absorb the nutrients.
The roots must also have enough space to grow and the soilless medium must be porous enough for good drainage. As such compost provides these critical properties required by plants. Another important element for growth is the pH of the medium. What is pH? This is a scale that describes how acidic or alkaline the medium is.
The pH is most closely related to the needs of the plant for growth. A reading of pH 7 is neutral, while a reading above that means a chalky alkaline soil.
Readings below pH 7 indicate an acidic meaning, and the lower the reading means the higher the acidity. This means it may not even be suitable for many plants.
Plants vary in their preferences towards a high, neutral or low pH medium. Using a pH tester will give you the range of medium acidity. Thus controlling the pH of the medium accordingly will enable the plant to grow well. Soil pH testing Soil testing consists of taking soil a sample below the top few inches and crushing the soil into fine particles.
The sample is then allowed to dry naturally. Now take a sample of the dried soil and add barium sulphate together with the tester solution before shaking it and leaving it to settle down.
You will then be able to compare the colour of the solution with the tester chart to get the reading.
Nowadays there are also bimetal testers that only need to be inserted into the soil medium and will read the pH level directly.
Typically, the few soil types are as follows:
l Sandy soil – a light, coarse soil comprised of sand and silt.
l Loamy soil – a medium crumbly soil that consists of a blend of sand and fine clay mixed with a little lime and humus.
l Clay soil – a heavy, lumpy soil comprising a small amount of lime and humus, which tends to be waterlogged or very dry during droughts.
Do send me an email if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.
Happy gardening.