The importance of the substrate in urban garden

We often forget how important the substrate is in an urban garden to help the best development of a plant: whether for human consumption, decorative or commercial use.

Before knowing the importance of the substrate, we are going to review the key elements related to it.

What is the substrate?

Substrate is all that solid material that is different from the ground and that is placed in containers. It is the support, anchor or part of the plant's habitat. In addition, it supplies the crops with the necessary nutrients for their optimal diffusion, as well as for their reproduction.

Types of substrates

The substrate can be divided into two classes.

• Organic or chemically active. It is of natural and plant origin. It is made up of blond and black mobs, pine bark, vermiculite ... among others. The active substrates, in addition to working as a support, are also retainers of nutrients so that the plant can absorb them later.
• Inorganic or chemically inert. It is of mineral origin. It is made up of hailstorm sand, gravel, clay, rock, etc. This type of substrate only works as a support for the plant, so it has little intervention in the fixation and absorption of nutrients, and fertilizers are needed separately.

The difference between these classes of substrates is in their capacity to store nutrients or their catatonic exchange.
It should be noted that in addition to the substrate, it is necessary to provide the plants with some very important elements for their development, such as oxygen, water and nutrients.

There are two main elements that characterize the substrate:

The container, which functions as a dump for the material where the plant will later be cultivated and the roots will be anchored. This container can be: 

• Natural. Coconut fiber, tree bark. 
• Artificial. Such as special polyethylene foam for crops.

The other element that characterizes the substrate is compost or compost. It can be made of different materials and can be organic or inorganic. They serve to anchor, supply and retain nutrients, drain and aerate the roots.

On the other hand, oxygen is an essential element that the substrate has to supply, since without it it will be impossible for it to absorb water and nutrients. In addition, there must be a balance between oxygen and water retention so that there is a better assimilation of nutrients in the plant and so that it can breathe correctly through the roots.

The absorption and evaporation of water must also be regulated since when too compact substrate is supplied, a stagnation of water is generated that will end up rotting the roots and if, on the contrary, it has excessive drainage, the plant will not be able to absorb the nutrients.

Substrates in urban gardens

When we talk about substrates for urban gardens we refer to those prefabricated products where you can grow horticultural plants, seasoning plants, aromatic plants in even fruit trees. They are generally used in balcony or terrace gardens.

Nowadays it is common to find in specialized stores, substrates that are specially designed for urban gardens and there are even some that are exclusive for certain types of species.

The most important thing in a substrate for our urban garden is that it be light, that it has a supply of nutrients and good storage. It must also have a balanced relationship between micro and macro nutrients.

We must remember that a good crop not only prospers thanks to a certain substrate, but also thanks to the environmental conditions, the choice of variety, that they are suitable for certain crops, the time it is grown... This means that, even if such a good substrate is not used, its proper use can lead to very good results. Similarly, the opposite results can be obtained if the best substrate is used but the other elements are ignored.

The substrate for outdoor plants, the plantation substrate and the universal substrate among others, give excellent results in the urban garden. It can also be improved by providing some materials mixed in appropriate proportions. In this way, improvements are made in the conditions of substrates for certain specific crops. Among these materials is found in river sand, expanded clay, etc.

What is the ideal substrate for urban gardens?

In reality, there is no such thing as an ideal substrate for urban gardens. What counts is a good substrate and good use. That is, we should not complicate ourselves when choosing a certain type of substrate since it is not a limiting factor: it is enough to choose based on the crop that we will carry out.

However, it is important that the substrate provides two essential elements: one that offers structure and porosity (for example coconut fiber), and the other element that provides an extra amount of nutrients, such as compost, humus, etc. .

How to make a substrate for urban gardens?

The factors that can help us to create or choose the substrate are:

• Moisture retention
• Background subscriber level
• Porous capacity
• Compaction capacity

Understanding peaty substrates can retain a lot of water and a lot of salt, on the other hand, those that are too sandy are usually prone to nutrient washing in addition to being dry very soon.

First we must investigate whether the crops will be short or long cycle. Substrates for growing fruits must be stable because they must last for many years. On the contrary, there are other crops such as radishes or chard that allow us to work every four or six months.

In fruit crops the substrate must be frank and fertile, that is to say, prefabricated universal type substrates or for plants outdoors are not suitable. In addition, we can add 30 or 40% of field soil that is a little clayey and the rest with coconut fiber.

This will provide us with a substrate that will be stable over time as it will have good nutrient and water retention capacity and also aeration. In addition, a layer of clay should be added or etched towards the bottom of the container in order to avoid unnecessary flooding.

As for horticultural crops, the vast majority of species can thrive on planting substrates, universal substrates or outdoor plant substrates. If you add 15 or 20% of the field soil that also contains clay, you will see a lot of improvement. It is also necessary to provide a drainage base inside.

As for the aromatic crops, the planting substrates, the universal substrates and those of outdoor plants, they can work for us if we also add washed river sand in good proportion. Also use between 20 and 30% coconut fiber or expanded clay, in order to improve aeration and permeability. There are species that are harmed by excess humidity, such as rosemary, thyme, among others.

Substrate composition in urban garden

To create the ideal substrate, some properties must be taken into account in order to obtain the best results in the germination, rooting and development of the plant.

• Chemical properties: low level of salinity, ability to maintain pH and the best levels of assimilable nutrients, catatonic exchange capacity, reduced level of decomposition.
• Physical properties: ability to retain enough water, good air supply, firm structure, sufficient porosity, etc.
• The care: It must be resistant to environmental and physical changes, free from weed seeds, resistant to chemicals, free from plant-damaging pathogens, and easy to mix and disinfect.
• The subscription that is used in these substrates has to keep the population of microorganisms level, since chemical fertilizers deteriorate the soil and contaminate the water which causes the plant not to develop as it should, and even end up damaging it.

Importance of the substrate in urban garden.

• A good substrate is capable of creating a sustainable system where the same substrate would be reused in different crops.
• Crop growth is stimulated.
• The substrate is a zone of gas and nutrient exchange.
• It retains the adequate amount of water and nutrients for the development of plants.
• It works as an anchor for the development of the root system of plants.

The substrate turns out to be then, as a combination between nature and the science of cultivation, since in a controlled way optimal results would be obtained in the plants.

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