Net Cups: Net cups are the house for substrates that I will go over in this guide. Without a net cup, the only method mentioned here would be a plant collar. You will need to know the diameter of the hole in your garden. The most popular sizes are 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, 5 inch, and 6 inch as pictured.
Hydroponic clay pebbles: Expanded clay
pebbles are a great option as a
hydroponic substrate. ● Porus ● Absorbent ● In expensive ● Re-usable The advantages of clay pebbles are great, however, I find that they can be really tough to nail down for beginners. Moving plants to clay pebbles exclusively can be difficult. Ensuring the roots in the net cup receive enough water can be tricky if you are not also using RockWool cubes. RockWool Cubes (or cylinders) These mineral cubes are the ideal way to move a plant from seed to harvest in and out of your garden. I always prefer to start my plants from seed, and the best way to do it is by planting directly into the rock wool. Your plant will be growing in the perfect environment to thrive as roots shoot through the rock wool and out into your garden. The rockwool is tucked down into the net cup for the duration of the growth. The spongy nature of the rockwool allows the top of the roots to thrive in the moist nutrient water absorbed by the rock wool. The only downfall to rock wool is that the top is a perfect surface for algae to thrive. Worry not, I have a solution. Using All 3 Together I believe the best technique for planting and preventing algae is; to plant from seed in rock wool, Move rock wool to a net cup, push it down into the cup, fill the area on top of the rockwool around the plant with hydroponic clay. This prevents sunlight from ever reaching the rockwool. Therefore algae can never grow.
Using Cloning cuffs
Cloning cuffs are a great alternative to using a growth median at all. The cuff gently pinches the stem and holds the plant in the garden. That would replace the net cup so sizing is crucial. I use these a lot when transplanting, or cloning. They work best in applications where the roots may be too big to fit right into the net cup, therefore suspending them solo works best. They also create a seal around the cuff, so they are crucial in Fogponic applications. Otherwise the fog would simply leak out.