Next time you are down at the Supermarket. Bypass your usual detour into the gardening aisle and check out the pet aisle for all your propagating needs. Because what you are looking for is Cat Litter.
In particular you are looking to see what particular brands of Cat Litter are made from baked clay, as opposed to those, which are made from a variety of other products. Because the clumping baked clay based Cat litters make as excellent cheap propagating medium for striking young cuttings.
There are a number of reasons why I use Cat Litter to propagate all my cuttings rather than any other medium. These reasons include,
As long as you can keep the moggies out of it, it is hygienic. It's got a good ratio of air space between the granules. Because of the normal reasons for purchasing it, it is carefully designed to have a good moisture holding capacity. It is a fairly light product to move around. Cat Litter is far cheaper than any other propagation medium you can purchase.
The only thing to remember is that like most other propagating mediums, cat litter will provide nothing nutritionally towards the growth of your plants. So a mild feeding routine has to be established to provide the elements that your potential young charges will require.
The only concern with using these products is the dust issue, when you first open the bags of Cat Litter. So it is best to use them in a well-ventilated area. Or even use a dust mask when handling such products. Mind you the same warning holds true for a number of other Potting Mixes and Propagating mediums that you can purchase, right now.
And even when you finished with the cat litter, once it has been used to grow new plants. It is time to spread it out around the garden and let it provide some assistance in helping increase the moisture holding content of your gardens.
I am always looking at the cheapest and easiest way of doing things. So I hope that this hint may help others out there who have been struggling with either the weight or cost of growing your own plants.
