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vonforne
I was looking for a replacement for perlite and found these. The large balls do not work good. The middle and the gravel work great.
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How much Perlite do you use in your organic mix?
- Thread starter Wooderson
- Start date
Wooderson
Member
I think this is what there talking about:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...-5A83-DE11-B712-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA
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vonforne
The gravel I use is also a little bit more expensive. But IMO it is a much better product. Well worth the extra 5.00 €
V
Can anyone explain why my perlite does not float up? Why it does not suck? I feel left out of all the bitching.
Ty 2ndtry for the charcoal advice. I plan to run it through my worm bin bag before use.
Vonforne, eine Frage - wie sagt man clay? Ton?
Ty 2ndtry for the charcoal advice. I plan to run it through my worm bin bag before use.
Vonforne, eine Frage - wie sagt man clay? Ton?
I had emailed Smart Pots to ask about whether the smarts would dry out way fast in the heat of 26N summer outdoors, they recommended making the soil mix heavier (more water retentive) by cutting out or reducing the perlite. Smart Pots=Air pruning=less perlite required.
Nope.......Cant' explain it and if I could Someone would say it still sucks. I personally don't want to continue using it for the fact that I want to try building my own soil that drains well,holds water well,and has the properties of all the stuff we buy from the hydro store,garden supply's,etc.
I like what perlite offers in a medium,it's cheap,it works,and is easily available. I only want to wean myself off the dependency I've developed for these amendments.....Let's see if I can. PEACE Mad
Theres nothing necessarily wrong with perlite. Theres just better alternatives that offer a further benefit to our soil...
I'm with cheese on this. And on the same path too.
But I want to balance all the hyperbole.
I suspect it stays put because my worms and microbes are binding it in place. I also have a layer up top that is straight castings.
But I want to balance all the hyperbole.
I suspect it stays put because my worms and microbes are binding it in place. I also have a layer up top that is straight castings.
I'm convinced, too, to phase out perlite.
Not because it has any bad properties (I've never had a problem, be it dust or floating in soil), but because if I don't need it, I won't buy it. I've never dared trying to grow in containers indoors without it, but if people are saying that good soil like mine doesn't even need it, then I'll try going without.
So thanks. This thread helped me out.
Not because it has any bad properties (I've never had a problem, be it dust or floating in soil), but because if I don't need it, I won't buy it. I've never dared trying to grow in containers indoors without it, but if people are saying that good soil like mine doesn't even need it, then I'll try going without.
So thanks. This thread helped me out.
I'm starting to experiment with a couple pots here and there by adding more topsoil just to see if it has an effect. Less perlite,heavier pots,but they look fine,hold water,drain well. No difference in plant growth. I also added dolomite and EWC when I did this.
Where I almost always fuck up- and blame it on aeration/drainage- is a the seedling stage. My seedlings always show signs of overwatering at about day 15. So that will be the trick for me- getting through the seedling stage without perlite.
I kind of have the same problem except I experiment with different mediums in the hope of finding the right one that works for me. Indoors My seedlings always want to try and damp off on me. I manage to save them before it kills them.
Outdoors I have never had any problem in any type of soil I have used with seedlings. They come up,they see the sun and they grow. I think it has something to do with the relative mass of the soil and the way gravity pulls water down....I've read that in here somewhere from someone who would surely debate the hypothesis if I doubted it.
It's probably due more to the wicking, after all, there's very little soil in your garden which isn't connected to other soil, and eventually to the water table. It's not isolated like soil in a plastic (or other) pot.
That's certainly a probable connection to the issue. Water behaves in a unique way.
Grape if your system works don't bend backwards trying to gild the lily.
IMO the smaller the container the less it matters. Surface area to volume ratio is a dynamic variable the descends as the container gets bigger. My smallest pots don't even need drainage.
BUT if playing around with soil is fun for you like it is for me, then by all means...
IMO the smaller the container the less it matters. Surface area to volume ratio is a dynamic variable the descends as the container gets bigger. My smallest pots don't even need drainage.
BUT if playing around with soil is fun for you like it is for me, then by all means...
