Lightmix is a lightly fertilised, mixed-peat and perlite substrate that puts you, the grower, in the driving seat by allowing you to tailor feed levels to your plants' exact requirements.
It's great for cuttings and seedlings because, during these earlier stages, plants' nutrient requirements are much, much lower. Too much fertiliser can lead to overfeeding and leaf burning, which can be difficult to correct at the best of times, and even harder to correct when the fertilser is pre-mixed within the growing medium.
Lightmix allows you to start off with lower nutrient levels, so that you can work your way up gradually with liquid feeds (or by top-dressing) as your plants develop.
Many growers prefer Lightmix when potting up plants of all sizes because it gives them complete control over plant nutrition.
If you're looking for a substrate that's more heavily pre-fertilised, go for AllMix. It's great for larger plants and takes a lot of the work out of your feeding routine.
That's because it's fortified with a broad spectrum of organic macro and micro nutrients that will keep your plants nourished for weeks after potting up, though this will naturally vary depending on the plants' size and vigour. Large, healthy, thick-stemmed plants may need additional feed in shorter order than smaller plants potted up in AllMix. As always, keep an eye on the leaves and look for visual clues that your plants can use some extra fertilisation.
It's worth noting that AllMix is enhanced with some beneficial bacteria. These microbes kick-start the biological processes, breaking down the nutrient content in AllMix and making it available to your plants.
Batmix offers similar benefits, but it comes fortified with guano, a potent organic fertiliser derived from solidified bat droppings.
Bat guano is rich in essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as containing some calcium and magnesium and a wide array of micronutrients.
The nutrients in bat guano are readily available for plant uptake, bypassing the need for microbial decomposition to convert them into a usable form. This is in contrast to many other organic types of fertiliser, which depend on microbial activity to break down the complex organic matter into simpler, plant-available nutrients. Because bat guano's nutrients are already in an easily assimilable form, they offer immediate benefits to plants, contributing to rapid growth, robust root systems, and increased yield.
Moreover, Bat Guano fosters enhanced microbial activity, thus enhancing soil structure and water retention capabilities, while improving the performance of any other nutrients that you add in after potting up.
Cocomix is Tropic's coco option, with 70% high-grade coco coir and 30% perlite. This blend keeps the root-zone heavily oxygenated while heightening drainage rates, making it an ideal substrate for use with automated systems. 70/30 does dry out quicker than regular coco, so if you're hand watering, be sure to check your plants daily during peak flower or consider going up a pot size.
Coco growing media really comes into its own with tailored mineral fertilisers, like Plagron Cocos A&B. Expect to see rapid development in both the root zone and the top half of the plant. Try this out and you'll quickly realise why coco is the industry's best-selling growing medium.
Whichever of these four products you choose, you can rest assured that they're mixed with the finest quality components around available, as each bag comes with the prized RHP certificate.
Only substrates that meet the most stringent standards recieve this seal of approval, which is relied upon by professional horticulturalists working at industrial scales.
