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We’ll start of by looking at the different types of potting mix available for home growers and we’ve written a section about different types of peat. And we’ll tell you a little about the RHP, the industry’s certification organisation. But we have so much info for you that it won’t all fit in one article! In the next part we’ll look into the structure of potting mix and the different products obtained from the various methods of cutting peat. On top of all this useful information we’ll be giving you some valuable tips to reduce disease and increase yield and we’ll be drawing up a list of FAQs and growing tips.

High EC (Electrical Conductivity) in the root zone or irrigation water will slow the movement of water into the root itself. Osmosis is the process by which water moves into a plant root cell and through the different tissue layers before it arrives in the vascular system for transport throughout the plant.

We can develop new varieties of plants by crossing existing varieties and selecting the offspring based on the desired qualities.

CANNA offers a complete COCO system. This consists of a COCO medium as loose fill or in the form of slabs, as well as a COCO nutrient which is adjusted to the natural nutrients in the COCO medium. Many nutrients for growing on other mediums are usually divided into a vegetative and a flowering solution, but this one is not.

Before starting to grow indoors you really do need to think about what you want and above all about what’s possible.

If you ask the average person on the street how to grow a plant in a container, they will undoubtedly tell you to put some soil in a bucket or pot and then pop in the plant, water it regularly, throw in some fertilizer occasionally and Bob’s your uncle.

The most reliable method for measuring the nutrient levels in Coco is using the 1:1.5 extraction method. EC and pH of the root environment can be determined by using this method.

Mildew hit amateur growers hard last year. But what exactly is mildew? How can you recognise it? How serious is it? What can you do to prevent it happening? And how can you get rid of it?

Let’s face it, this is the mantra of UK growers. There are so many self identified ‘boosters’ out there it would take a super computer to count them...

In my travels and correspondence around the world, I find there is much confusion about the use of coconut husk litter, after aging commonly known as coco peat or mulch, in crop production. I was first made aware of the product as a potential additive to mineral soil or peat lite mixes in the early 1980’s.

What is the best watering frequency for me to use in my system? This is a question we often get asked - but it is hard to answer. There’s absolutely no easy response, but only one right one: when the plant needs it!

Do plants listen to music? How can a plant possibly respond to music? Well, plants breathe through their many mouths, which are also  known as stomata. And it has been discovered that plant stomata respond to music!

What is it and what does it do?
Is one of the molecular building blocks for a number of proteins, hormones and vitamins.
Fulfils an important role in the water equilibrium both in the plant and in the soil.

What do you see?
Decolouration of the leaves

What is it and what does it do?
Nitrogen is a component of enzymes and is therefore involved in all enzyme reactions and plays an active role in the plant’s metabolism.

What do you see?
Purple stalks, yellowing leaves and leaves falls of.

What can you do?

What is it and what does it do?
* Magnesium is indispensable to plants
* Represents a building block for chlorophyll
* Is essential for photosynthesis.

What do you see?
* Rusty brown spots
* Cloudy, vague yellow spots between the veins.

What can you do?

What is it and what does it do?
* Is important to the growth process.
* Has a regulating effect in the cells and contributes to the stability of the plant.

What can you see?
* Yellow/brown spots, surrounded by a sharp brown outlined edge.

What can you do?