Product Guide: All about Pon

What Is Pon?

Pon is a soil alternative that can be used either on its own (hydroponically) or it can also be used as an additive to your current favourite soil mix to help improve aeration and drainage.

Pon gets its name from its most popular use, 'hydroPONics' and is made up of three different pure mineral stones: Pumice, Scoria & Red Zeolite.

There are currently two different brands of Pon here in NZ. The most popular & well known around the world is Lechuza Pon, which is sometimes referred to as the 'original' pon. This can sometimes be quite hard to get here in NZ, so can quite often be out of stock.

Luckily for us Kiwis, Bio Leaf have come out with the brand new NZ MADE Bio Pon, which we LOVE and will be far more accessible (and slightly cheaper) for the future! 💚 We will go into the main difference a little later on.

What Are The Benefits Of Growing In Pon?

For you to switch your precious plants from good ole standard soil mix to pon there have to be some pretty great benefits right? Some of the benefits of growing your plants in pon include:

• It's Reusable! Unlike regular soil, it can be re-used over and over again! It doesn't break down like most other substrates, so a quick rinse in between plants and your good to go again!

• Less Watering! If you are using pon to grow your plants hydroponically, you won't need to water your plants as often as they are constantly receiving water when needed!

• Less Root Rot! Pon has a ratio of around 45% water to 55% air, which is ideal for plant roots! The benefit of this is that there is less chance of your plant getting root rot as the roots won't 'drown'.

• Quality Ingredients! Pon consists of high quality mineral stones that are free from contaminants & pollutants.

• Fewer Pests! There are many different pests that growing your plants in pon can prevent, such as fungus gnats and spider mites, as it doesn't create the ideal conditions for them to thrive in.

• Acts As A Buffer! Pon acts as a buffer by absorbing any extra water/nutrients that may be hanging around in the pot, so that the roots don't experience fertiliser burn or root rot.

Bio Pon VS Lechuza Pon

Aside from the difference of Lechuza Pon being made overseas and Bio Pon being proudly NZ Made, there is one main difference between the two.

Lechuza Pon contains a slow release fertiliser, which is designed to last the first few months of your plants being potted up.

Bio Pon is fertiliser free, which gives you the freedom to be able to decide from the beginning how much fertiliser your plants receive and how often.

In regards to how that should affect your decision on which brand to purchase... to be honest, it is all about what suits YOU best! If you like the ability to set & forget your plants and not feed them for a few months, then Lechuza is probably for you! If you like to be in control right from the start, hit up the Bio Pon! It's all about giving things a go and choosing what works for YOU, rather than letting someone else decide that for you! What works for one doesn't always work for all.

How To Prepare Pon

The best thing about Pon is that there is very little to no pre-preparation needed before potting up your plants!

There are two common ways to do it, the first being to rinse the Pon to clean off the fine dust that settles on it in the creation process, then pot up your plant.

The second is to just pot straight into the unwashed pon! Once your plant has been potted up, you can then flush the dust through the pot by top watering until the water runs out the bottom clear.

How To Use Pon

There are a few different ways in which you can use your pon!

• Planting directly into Pon: The most typical way that Pon is used is alone as a hydroponic type growing media. You can either top up your self watering pot (or nursery pot inside cover pot) with a reservoir, or you can flush the pot like you would normally water your plants.

• Mixing Pon with your current soil mix: If you 're looking for a little more drainage in your current soil mix, you can mix it in together! There aren't really any rules about how much to add, however anything from 25% - 50% works really well!

• As a Fungus Gnat barrier: Do you have those tiny and super annoying little black flies flying around your plants? Use Pon as a Fungus gnat barrier by placing a thin layer completely covering your soil around the bottom of your plants!

• Propagation Medium: Did you know that you can use pon as a medium to propagate with as well?! Simply pot them up as you usually would with any other propagation medium, water well with GT CCS and watch them take off!

How To Transfer A Plant From Soil To Pon

If you're wanting to transfer your plant that is currently growing in regular soil to Pon, there are a few steps you'll need to take first:

1. Prepare your Pon.
2. Tip your plant out of its pot and THOROUGHLY CLEAN THOSE ROOTS! You will need to remove any trace of dirt, bark, spagmoss, perlite, etc from the roots before potting it up. A good tip is to water your plant the day before you do this, so the soil is already loose and comes off more easily.
3. Pot it up in the Pon as described above!

Is There Any Maintenance Required?

In terms of maintenance, there is very little required! Pon doesn't break down and can last many years without needing replacing! You should also find you are re-potting less often with Pon too.

The only maintenance with Pon will be to flush your plants, if that is the method you prefer, or to make sure you change/refresh the reservoir if you choose that method and that is about it!

Do I Need To Fertilise When Using Pon?

Yes! Just like with all your other plants you will need to use what we refer to as a 'complete' fertiliser. A complete fertiliser is one that contains more than just your standard NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous & potassium). Though these are indeed the main nutrients that your plants need to thrive, there are so many more micro-nutrients that a fertiliser needs to claim that it is 'complete'.

Two examples of complete fertilisers available on our website are Superthrive (formerly Dyna-gro) and Growth Technology. Both of these are suitable for use with pon and will provide those micro-nutrients that standard NPK fertilisers don't.

The exception to this rule is if you are mixing it in with your regular house plant mix, you can use a standard NPK fertiliser such as the NZ Made Plant Buds Indoor Plant Food, made with the world's finest Kelp seaweeds and trace elements.

Final Recommendations

If you've been struggling to grow specific plants (for myself, the dreaded Alocasia) with no luck in regular soil, it's time for you to give something new a go!

You never know, maybe you will become a Pon convert and never want to grow in any other substrate again! We recommend giving it a go with a few of your cheaper plants first before you dive all in, just in case you discover that Pon isn't for you!

We also can't emphasise enough how important it is to not skimp out on the fertiliser. Making sure your plant has access to the nutrients they need is sooo important to set them up for success in a growing media such as Pon!

So, give it a go, you never know you may LOVE it, find your plants thrive more than they ever did!

-The GrowingGreen Team.x