Ian Todd, area sales manager for Scotland, briefly explains why it makes good economic sense to invest in quality growing media.

Now is perhaps a good time to reflect on your growing media needs for next season.  Investing in quality growing media and fertilizers helps minimize plant losses and maximize plant quality – leading to less grading and more crop uniformity. 

The structure of the growing media depends on the quality of its components. 

The grades of peat, the quality of the bark and coir all play a part.  It is also vital the components are mixed at the correct rates to optimize growing conditions for a particular crop, or stage in the production cycle.  Maintaining a high air filled porosity (AFP) is key as this helps minimize plant losses in extreme weather conditions, while pots with a dryer surface will have less moss, liverwort and weeds.

Protection really is better than cure, particularly with the loss of so many curative crop protection products.  So when ordering your growing media don’t forget to consider plant protection.

To protect vine weevil susceptible species, make sure you have Exemptor or Met 52 incorporated in the mix.  Exemptor also controls many other pests including aphids, whitefly, sciarid and leaf bettle.

Speak to one of the ICL Technical Area Sales Managers to create your own Levington Advance Solution for your crops. 

Click here for more information on our levington advance rage , our osmocote fertilizer range, as well as our Universol and Peters WSF range and plant protection products.