Pots, Planting Trays and Substrate

For your cultivation to run smoothly, you obviously need pots and substrate to grow in. You can also do this in Planting trays.

pots planting trays substrate

Pots

There are many different pots on the market. When buying them, it is always advisable to check what they are made of. This is because not every pot in the local garden center has the right ingredients. It could be that the pots are made of certain plastic that your crop cannot withstand or that at certain temperatures the pots release plasticizers. This means that they cannot withstand the heat and release certain fumes that are harmful to humans, animals and your plants! These pots are available in many different shapes and sizes.

Plastic pots square
Plastic pots round
Fabric pots
Airpots

To explain all of these a little more broadly

Plastic pots both round and square are actually the most common pots. This is because they are the cheapest, easy to keep clean and because these are often the easiest to calculate away per M2. So you have these in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. We carry on our website the square ones from 0.25L to 25L. The round ones are available from 7L to 25L.

Fabric pots are becoming more and more common. The advantage of fabric pots is that they are very airy. They hold water well and give your root system the optimal oxygen level, so your plant will develop itself better. After all, a beautiful plant starts with a good root system.

Airpots are actually most commonly used in outdoor cultivation. These pots have holes all around which means that they also have a very airy root system with lots of oxygen. Because of the holes, these pots can dry out quickly, ideal for when your plant has been standing in the rain one time and is overwatered. The airpots are also easy to store. This is because the bottoms are loose and stackable and the side of the pot is a mat that can be unfolded, and with multiple pots can therefore be effectively stacked away. These are attached by means of a screw.

Planting trays

These planting trays are often used for ease of cultivation, if you need to water larger areas or if you use an ebb and flow system. Here too there are many differences and like the pots, the material of the tray should be checked before use. Planting trays can also be used when you want to keep your growing space tidy. You can then place the plants in the bottoms so that when watering, there is minimal mess in the tent itself. In fact, bases are very easy to clean after a round of growing. There are different types of planting trays:

Danish bottoms
Garland ebb and flow trays
Pond liners*

Danish bottoms are most commonly used in hydroponics. Pots or slabs can be laid out on these soils. By means of drippers or ebb and flow the plants can be watered automatically and you will have minimal worries. However, it is always important to clean the planting trays thoroughly and check the water systems for blockages.

Garland ebb and flow planting trays are most commonly used in ebb and flow systems. By placing several pots in the planters, you can use a bucket or water pump to fill your tank with water. This is usually submerged for a few hours, until all plants have absorbed the water. Always make sure your subfloor is level. If the water flows too much in one direction, plants will not have equal water absorption and plants will stagnate or die as a result.

Pond liner is a separate variant. Because not every growing space is the same size, planting trays are therefore not available on all growing spaces. By laying pond liner on the floor, it is possible to create your own planting trays. You can create one large tray or several trays for different types of crops. This is also easy to clean after use and again, the same applies! Beware of plasticizers!

Substrate

Substrates are the soil products in which your plant will stand. They are also called mediums. To give you a clear overview, here is a list of all the substrates we carry on our site.

Soil

This is simply soil. There is a lot of difference. You have pre-fertilized soil and soil with as little nutrition as possible. Depending on the crop you are going to grow and the way of growing that is used, it can be used on many systems. Most substrates also contain perlite. These are white grains which retain moisture and make the substrate airy.

Coco

Coco is a substrate which needs a little different attention than soil. This listens carefully with PH and EC value. Coco is also very easy to reuse. Actually, a good rinse after a round with some enzymes is enough.

Hydro substrate

Hydro growing is a bit trickier. If you are just starting out with your grow, this is not recommended unless you prepare well and have lots of time. This listens even more carefully than coco growing. PH AND EC ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. The advantage of this medium is that it is often easy to reuse. The lifespan of this is actually infinite. Because this is a very airy substrate, it dries out quickly. Frequent watering is therefore important. The root system can grow well in this substrate. Also, with a hydro system you can achieve up to 30% more yield than on soil. There are several possibilities on hydro including Mapito, RFX, Grodan Slabs and Clay pellets.

Soil improvers

These are substances to give your plant a boost when things are not going quite smoothly, so this is not a substrate in itself. Also, this is to reuse your substrate again. Soil for example has a lot of stored ballast salts after a round and these need to go away before young crop can be put back on it. Good stuff at the end of the cycle and then Lime is one of the commonly used products for this. Because this is basically not a substrate, but is always applied to substrate. We have chosen to mention this under the heading substrate.

Cuttings plugs

This is also not a substrate. This is for the start of your sowing or cutting. The most common plugs are the rockwool plugs and the organic plugs. These can be put directly into your substrate after germination or cuttings. Root growth will not be hindered by this. Here again, PH and EC is very important. Because this is also common in the agricultural sector, we have chosen to mention this under substrate.