Growing Media

Growing media is used to plant and nurture countless species of shrubs, vegetables, herbs, flowers and trees – but the quality of your growing media can make all the difference!

AK Kin stocks a broad range of media suited to all types of gardening and indoor or outdoor growing, with top-quality brands for every kind of potting job or seed sowing project.

Select from trusted names with excellent accreditations such as:

• Forest Stewardship Council certification
• Royal Horticultural Society approval

We curate the finest growing media brands, including Sinclair, Melcourt, Pro-Grow, Levington and John Innes.

Quality growing media and compost can enrich your soil and are fundamental aspects of a successful garden.

AK Kin supplies all types of growing media, including peat-free, organic and multi-purpose composts alongside specialist potting mixes.

Every product is available to order online, delivering large bags of bark, compost and media directly to your door with free delivery and fast dispatch.

Our growing media range caters to all seasons and is stocked year-round to help present beautiful troughs, baskets and borders with optimal growing conditions.

AK Kin growing media comprise a vast array of brands, mediums and drainage properties depending on what you intend to grow:

• Potting soils: typically used in container gardening, blending perlite, peat and vermiculite.
• Outdoor gardening media: topsoils and enriched media containing compost, wood fibres and sand.
• Growing media for hydroponic gardening include coco coir, hulls and pellets, often mixed with vermiculite or perlite. Coco coir is produced from coconut husks and rehydrates into a fungus-free soil-like media that retains water and boosts aeration.
• Nutrient-rich soils: used for almost all starter projects or outdoor gardens.
• Compost: produced through natural decomposition, organic compost helps control weed growth and is a sustainable way to deliver essential nutrients into your soil.
• Finely milled bark is ideal for outdoor nurseries, with optimal aeration and drainage while being decomposition resistant.
• Perlite, either as a component or standalone product, is soilless and made from volcanic rock, providing a lightweight material that is usually blended 50/50 to augment oxygenation.
• Vermiculite is another blend used with other soil media for a pH-neutral mixture of laminar materials that retain maximum nutrients.

If you would like any details about these growing media, please visit the product pages for full specifications and usage information.

Garden layouts, planting schemes and soil quality will always vary, so it is important to pick a growing medium that meets the needs of your growing system and plants.

For example, flowers like magnolias and gardenias prefer more acidic soil – honeysuckle and lavender are happier in an alkaline growing system.

Nutrients are essential, so a medium like compost can fortify your soil quality and provide ideal growing conditions.

Drainage is also important, and some plants like well-drained, sandy soils. In contrast, others grow nicely in heavier clay, so consider your plants before deciding on the appropriate growing media.

AK Kin can offer support if you need assistance selecting the right growing media for your gardening projects.

Please get in touch, or visit our Help and Advice pages for tips and suggestions.