Soil vs Coco Coir vs Silicone for Microgreens — Water Only, No Nutrients!
🌱 Soil vs. hydroponics — which grow medium produces better microgreens when using nothing but plain water? In this experiment, we put FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Blend soil against two popular hydroponic options — coco coir and our Silicone Reusable Grow Medium — with no fertilizers added to any group. Just regular water across all six trays. The results were clear.
Here's what we tested:
✅ FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Blend (2 trays) — plain water only
✅ Coco Coir (2 trays) — plain water only
✅ Silicone Reusable Grow Medium (2 trays) — plain water only
📊 HARVEST RESULTS:
🏆 Coco Coir: 45.3g average harvest weight — WINNER
🪱 Ocean Forest Soil: 43.25g average harvest weight
💧 Silicone Reusable Medium: 30.65g average harvest weight
Here's what we cover:
✅ Three grow mediums compared side by side — all with water only, no fertilizers
✅ How soil's built-in nutrients compare against hydroponic mediums with no added nutrients
✅ Harvest weight, appearance, and growth quality across all three groups
✅ Why coco coir outperformed both soil and our silicone medium in this test
✅ What these results mean for growers choosing between soil and hydroponics
By removing fertilizers from the equation, this experiment shows what each medium delivers on its own. Soil has built-in nutrients from the Ocean Forest blend, coco coir has very little, and the silicone medium has none — yet coco coir still came out on top. Watch the full video to see how each group developed from seed to harvest.
➽ Learn even more about Reusable Grow Mediums through our blogs on the topic: https://onthegrow.net/blogs/microgree...
🔗 PRODUCTS IN THIS VIDEO
➽ Ocean Forest Potting Soil: https://onthegrow.tv/FF-OceanForestSoil
➽ Coco Coir: https://onthegrow.tv/Cococoir
➽ Reusable Grow Mediums: https://onthegrow.tv/ReusableMediums
➽ Small Sprouting Tray Kit: https://onthegrow.tv/GrowKits
➽ Harvesting Knife: https://onthegrow.tv/HarvestKnife
➽ Our Favorite Microgreen Seeds: https://onthegrow.tv/Microgreenseeds
➽ Watering Tool: http://homedepot.sjv.io/Z9NQ0
📚 MORE RESOURCES
➽ Read Our Blog: https://onthegrow.net/blogs/microgreens
➽ FAQs: https://onthegrow.net/pages/faq
➽ Enroll in our Online Course: https://onthegrow.net/products/microg...
➽ Free Seeding Guide: https://onthegrow.tv/OTGseedingguide
➽ Guide to Selling Microgreens: https://onthegrow.tv/SellingMicrogreens
➽ Read Our Book: https://onthegrow.tv/MicrogreenMaster...
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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Introduction to Microgreen Experiment
00:06 - Overview of Different Grow Mediums
00:35 - Adding Mediums to Trays
01:40 - Seeding Trays with Microgreen Seed
02:56 - Growth Progress: Day 3
03:45 - Growth Progress: Day 5
05:10 - Growth Progress: Day 6
06:21 - Day 6: Bottom Watering
07:11 - Growth Progress: Day 7
07:17 - Growth Progress: Day 8
07:27 - Growth Progress: Day 10
07:46 - Harvest Day
11:03 - Experiment Results
DISCLAIMER
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