Grow Mediums clay pebbles application

[GeorgeCloney]

How are you using clay pebbles?
Mixed with soil?,...coir?...on top ?

 

[Disburped]

Thi

How are you using clay pebbles?
Mixed with soil?,...coir?...on top ?

Thick layer in bottom of deep pots and mixed with peat or soil.

 

[Phobos]

I'm doing hydro only so my setup is grodan + clay peebles.
With new clay peebles I rince them and let them soak for 12-24 hour in a 5.6-5.8 ph water.
The advantage is you can re-use them (in hydro certainly, not so sure if you use soil or coco with it, but why not with some cleaning). With my current peebles I've already made 4 grows.

 

[Disburped]

Clay pebbles are great cause they have several functions, they create a skeleton in the soil and that is good against compaction, nutrients stick to them and provide it to the plants, they absorb moisture and provide it to the soil, they contain pockets of moist air for bacteria to dwell in and they provide a healthy and oxygen rich environment in the pot.
There are two kinds of clay pebbles, small ones for aquariums and big ones for soil. The smaller ones can stick to more nutrients cause the surface area of many small pebbles is more than one big, the large pebbles can provide large pockets of moist air and are good too. Both are good for growing but the large ones are cheaper so those are the most common, mix both of them if you want or use only one size. Clay pebbles is the dark secret of horticulture, don't grow without them, all you need to add to the soil.

 

[GeorgeCloney]

Very very good explanation .
Thank you
Can/should pebbles be mixed with coir?
Soil or both?

 

[BII]

Yes, the pebbles can be mixed with coco, can even replace use of perliite. I've used about 20% (volume) pebbles and considered it the same as 20% perlite. But I now use perlite, because it is cheaper.

Also the pebbles can be more acceptable if visible to others, such as out in a backyard, including standing out less than perlite (more stealthy). I generally don't recycle used coco. My wife hates to see perlite on the surface and it blowing around, but has no problem with strange round pebbles being dumped in the garden/yard.

 

[Disburped]

Perlite has some issues, it's floating and make nasty dust and it do not have this stick to nutrient function called the cation exchange. Each medium has it's own capacity to stick to nutrients, the nutrients are available to plant that way but the nutrient regime may be adjusted for it. Clay pebbles is better than perlite if I want to dump dry fertilizer in the soil and be done. Vermiculite also has this stick to nutrients function and the dark peat too. Both pebbles and perlite provide oxygen and drainage.

 

[St. Tom]

I buy canna pro coco pre mixed with clay balls I get it in 50 ltr bags I've used it for top fed plants aswel as autopots .I have also used pebbles just at the bottom of the pots but I find the mixed is better

 

[GeorgeCloney]

Very informative.
Thank you folks!