Woodfibre

Now that the demand for substrates with less (or no) peat is growing, we are looking for alternatives.

One of the alternatives is woodfibre.

Where in the past waste wood was sometimes used (with the danger of pollution, very fast breaking down and impurities), nowadays wood from (renewable) spruce trees is used.

There are different ways to produce a woodfibre which is suitable for substrates; the chips (raw material) can be extruded (during the process the material will heat up due to the friction and thereby sterilized) or refined (where the wood is boiled before making it fine).

Woodfibre has a very low water holding capacity which makes the substrate more draining.

Also it is a rather young organic material which implicates a faster decomposition (by bacteria who need C and N) so that you have to be careful with the N available for the plants.

Because woodfibre is very light and fibrous there will be a loss of volume after mixing with other raw materials.

This is just a brief note.

If you want to know more about the origin, the fabrication, the use, the advantages and disadvantages of woodfibre for you: don’t hesitate to write us a mail at info@substrate-consulting.nl