Scoria is a volcanic rock, which is quickly gaining popularity as a hydroponic media.
Pure Hydroponics sources Scoria mined from the purest underground reserves in New Zealand.
Not all scoria is the same! This grade of scoria must be very pure and have no clay contamination – unlike the quality of scoria found in other reserves.
The media is steam sterilised using renewable geothermal energy.
Scoria is an igneous rock containing abundant vesicles and a rough exterior, which provides a good combination of air filled porosity and water holding capacity.
Scoria is formed when frothy lava is thrown high into the air during a volcanic eruption and then cools on the way down.
In laboratory trials scoria has consistently shown excellent results with a range of crops such as tomatoes, capsicums, beans, flower crops and herbs.
It is an ideal media to use for media bed systems.
Because scoria is a free draining media the hydroponic growing system must be designed to suit the use of this media and the growing method must be adapted accordingly.
The 1-5 mm grade is most popular as the finer granules provide greater water retention. When used in bags, pots or in media beds the thin top layer of the scoria stays dry to touch but the rest of the media remains moist right through to the bottom once the thin top surface is scraped away. This deters algal growth on the surface of the media which is a common problem with many other medias.
For bulk orders, Pure Hydroponics can mix Zeolite with the scoria growing media to enhance water retention and cation exchange capacity.
Scoria is available in a 1-5 mm or 3-8mm grade in the following volumes:
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- Full Truck Loads
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- Full 20 foot or 40 foot open top container loads.
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- Sorry, small bagged quantities are not available for this product.
The scoria media is natural and does not break down so can be used crop after crop with sterilisation in between crops using heat or a liquid sanitiser like Oxine.
It is a heavier media but lasts for life so should be considered as a one-off investment that can be reused sustainably again and again after each crop cycle. It is perfect for long term crops.
Please talk to Pure Hydroponics for pricing and logistics and adapting your hydroponic system for using this media.
