transitions → media-changeovers
Changing growing media introduces a new physical, chemical, and biological system.
Even when nutrient targets are matched, crop response often changes dramatically.
This is normal — and predictable.
Different media differ in: - Water-holding capacity - Air-filled porosity - Cation exchange capacity - Buffering behaviour - Microbial communities
Roots adapted to one system must re-adapt to another.
Early effects are usually physical, not nutritional:
Nutrition issues often follow later.
Media differ in: - pH buffering speed - Cation exchange behaviour - Sodium and potassium dynamics - Calcium availability
Identical feeds behave differently in different media.
Media changeovers reset the biological system:
This transition period carries risk.
Symptoms often appear: - Days to weeks after changeover - After the first stress event - When growth rate increases
Delayed effects lead to misattribution.
Risk reduction includes:
Key mistake: - Assuming “same feed = same response”
Media define behaviour, not recipes.