No More Perlite?!?!?

[Tony Aroma]

Is there a worldwide shortage of perlite? Has it been declared unsafe by the EPA?

I just came back from a trip to buy some soil and supplies and could not find perlite or vermiculite anywhere in my area. I always bought it at Wal Mart, which was the only place around that carried non-Miracle-Gro brands. Now they tell me they don't carry any perlite or vermiculite at all. Nor do they carry worm castings (they were the only place to get them too). In fact, the people at the store I visited and the other one I called acted like I was crazy for even looking for perlite, like they'd never heard of it before. I also called around to local garden centers with no luck. The only place I haven't tried is Lowe's because in the past they've only carried the Miracle-Gro brand (of everything).

So what's up? Anybody else have trouble finding perlite? Granted, I live in a small town, but I've never had trouble finding the basics before.

 

[PrimoVG]

yeah they (walmart and similar stores) dont seem to stock up very often on these products...and I suppose they run out easily during this time of the year...

I get these things through a nursery near my house...soil, perlite pots ..etc.,,they don't really sell them, but if you ask they'll hook you up and if they dont have any on hand you can make an order through their supplier, ime..

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Is there a worldwide shortage of perlite? Has it been declared unsafe by the EPA?

I just came back from a trip to buy some soil and supplies and could not find perlite or vermiculite anywhere in my area. I always bought it at Wal Mart, which was the only place around that carried non-Miracle-Gro brands. Now they tell me they don't carry any perlite or vermiculite at all. Nor do they carry worm castings (they were the only place to get them too). In fact, the people at the store I visited and the other one I called acted like I was crazy for even looking for perlite, like they'd never heard of it before. I also called around to local garden centers with no luck. The only place I haven't tried is Lowe's because in the past they've only carried the Miracle-Gro brand (of everything).

So what's up? Anybody else have trouble finding perlite? Granted, I live in a small town, but I've never had trouble finding the basics before.

Oh, but didn't you see all the MIRACLE-GROW perlite and products?
I did a bad job soaking the nutes off of some perlite and my mums are suffering horribly because of it. Gack.

I'm in a small town too and nobody carries it. I have to order it online and still have yet to do it.

I'm getting a BIG bag because it's cheap!

Edit: On a more useful note I would assume that nobody carries it because of shipping costs. Things went really wonky with getting things places the last time gas went to $5 a gallon.

 

[Mr. Bongjangles]

Have you tried Home Depot? They never seem to have a shortage of the Miracle Gro brand..

Speaking of, I don't see a problem with the Miracle Gro brand perlite.. They make it sound like it has nutes in there or whatever, so I understand why people avoid it, but in fine print on the back is the NPK, and it's absurdly low. 0.4%-0.01%-0.06% to be exact, which is essentially nothing.

I use it for cloning and as a coco amendment and have never had a problem.

 

[Organic-Dank]

this same thing happened to me 2 months ago since then I gone hydro lol.... i was buying fox farm chunky perlite for a little but its 30$ a bag!!! so now i re wash my lava rock and less garbage, waste, and everything else... ohh more dope too

 

[one Q]

Turface is like a hybrid of both. It holds water well, but not too mcuh. You can grow in it straight, but it's best as an additive to soil or coir. Havnt had good results with 100%Turface.

Look it up.

 

[Organic-Dank]

use hydro pellets to air our your soil instead of perlite and maybe some coconut fiber

 

[magiccannabus]

Fine lava rock, tiny balls of terracotta(hydroton), and even styrofoam can be used to substitute it. Probably your best bet is to find some good clean clay, with no lead or radioactives in it, and dry it out and then smash it into little pea-gravel sized bits. Then you toss it in a bonfire, and you have "hillbilly perlite" lol

 

[Maj.PotHead]

Then you toss it in a bonfire, and you have "hillbilly perlite" lol


rotflmao

my local nurserys {Star nursery} carry perlite i've been gettn black gold perlite 12 quart bag for 4$ us and filthy rich organic soil for 8$ a bag. this filthy rich organic soil has everything fox farm ocean forrest has in it so far my plants seem to really like it.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Have you tried Home Depot? They never seem to have a shortage of the Miracle Gro brand..

Speaking of, I don't see a problem with the Miracle Gro brand perlite.. They make it sound like it has nutes in there or whatever, so I understand why people avoid it, but in fine print on the back is the NPK, and it's absurdly low. 0.4%-0.01%-0.06% to be exact, which is essentially nothing.

I use it for cloning and as a coco amendment and have never had a problem.

Maybe it's my dirt then. I've tried a few different soils with that MG perlite (even soaked the nutes out of it before using it, after the first run) and my gals look like crap.

I mean, I abuse them, sure but daaaamn they've been looking crappy since I added the perlite.

 

[cork144]

other growers got there before you eh? where i get my perlite from, seems like nobody EVER buys the stuff, always tonnes of it stacked up.

 

[del...]

vermiculite is also a good substitute for perlite...

 

[BobbleheadJed]

Nursery. There is always a nursery somewhere within 30 miles almost guaranteed. Within 10 miles of every Wal Mart I would bet. They'll have it.

 

[amoril]

my nursery sells Ferti-Loam perlite.

its the granulated stuff, identical to the MG stuff. EXCEPT, this canadian company sells it without any nutes lmao. at $4 a bag, its a bargain.

im midwest usa btw

 

[habeeb]

rice hulls

 

[Organic Rooster]

You can always get a 4 cubic foot bag of perlite off ebay for less than $30 delivered. If I went to any of the stores around here for that amount of perlite it would cost me at least $60.

 

[Pops]

Lowes used to carry 4 cf bags of vermiculite and perlite(green bag) for $18.00. The perlite was very small and had a lot of dust in it. I prefer to get the big bags of Fox farm chunky perlite. It costs $25 here, but I get 10-15% discount.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

rice hulls

Yep - big time.

If you have a 'micro-brewery' near you then you have a source for rice hulls. They're used to filter the brew at some point in the process.

They're cheap. Effective. Worth every penny. I pay $14.00 per 50 lbs. - or about 3 cf. worth of material.

Rice hulls are THE perfect bedding material for worm bins.

HTH

CC

 

[przcvctm]

Axis regular. Diatomacious earth fired in a kiln. Supposed to have the drainage properties of perlite and the retention of vermiculite in one. $13 for 25lbs from a feed store.

http://www.valleyenvironmental.ca/?page_id=20

 

[Milwaukee]

I can always find perlite at home depot and not the miracle grow crap. Once in awhile gotta try more than one home depot in my town but they got it. I grow in perlite buckets and am pleased with the results.