When growers talk about “media” they aren’t referring to television, movies, or the news feed on your smartphone.
In the context of gardening, media is the material in which plants grow.
Outdoors, soil is almost always the medium. But in an indoor garden, growers can choose from a variety of media, each with attributes that offer specific benefits to the plants and/or the grower.
Of course, indoor growers can use soil in pots, but many prefer lighter natural materials such as peat moss, coir (coconut husk fiber), or bark chips. In advanced hydroponic systems, clay pebbles, rock wool, stones or gravel, plastic foam, and perlite or vermiculite are popular options because they hold plant stems securely but drain quickly so the roots are not sitting in water.
Unlike soil, the other media don’t supply the plants with any nutrients, so the grower must provide them.
