Horticulture & Agriculture for Nurseries & Horticulture in Namibia

Germination and cutting trays run vermiculite-rich mixes for aeration and even moisture — the sheet credits it with stimulating young plants’ growth and distributing nutrients through the root zone. The accordion structure holds air and water simultaneously, which is exactly what seed and cuttings need through the hardest transition of their lives. Namibian practice starts around one-third vermiculite by volume in seed-starting mixes and adjusts to how fast trays dry.

Sandy local soils channel water past roots within hours; vermiculite in the mix intercepts it, holds it in the root zone, and releases it evenly along with whatever nutrients are dissolved in it. Trays and beds dry more slowly and more uniformly, so the morning watering carries stock reliably through a hot afternoon instead of leaving the tray edges parched. Fewer emergency waterings is the practical difference a grower sees in the first week.

Two, straight from the sheet: poured into roof cavities it insulates — “keeps warmth in winter and cold in summer” — which Namibian pack sheds, sheds and offices use to tame the climate cheaply; and spread on a workshop or potting-shed floor it absorbs oil and chemical spills, with Peat D listed as its alternative in that role. The growing-media supplier ends up insulating the sales office from the same delivery.

Dry, sealed and off the floor — pre-wetted media compost and lose the open structure that makes them work — and with a dust mask when decanting bulk quantities in still air, as with any fine mineral. Order by the bag from Windhoek stock; it stores indefinitely, so a season’s supply in one delivery is the economical pattern for nurseries outside the capital.