100% Perlite vs 70/30 Perlite/Vermiculite Mix

So this summer I decided to grow some peppers and see first hand the difference between growing in straight perlite versus a mix of perlite and vermiculite. I'd heard that the roots in the vermiculite perlite mixture were larger than those in pure perlite. Using the bato buckets would allow the perlite to wick from the reservoir at the bottom allowing the perlite to perform as intended.

I grew in bato buckets on a recirculating drip setup over a chilled reservoir. I used gh nutes twice during the growth; a lucas veg mix for the first bit and then just bloom later on. They were topped off constantly with filtered water kept at 68 degrees by an aquarium chiller located in the garage off to the side. I was surprised at how well the peppers grew despite barely adding nutes but i knew i wasn't going to be able to flush out any nutes in the peppers while they were growing so water it was.


I had a ton of peppers that were nice and clean tasting but i was really interested in what the roots looked like. If you can't guess the larger ones are the mixture. The results speak for themselves.


In conclusion i think the 70/30 perlite/vermiculite mix kills the perlite by itself.

Did you notice any difference in yield between the two groups or was rootmass your only measure?

It seemed the peppers in the back row yielded more regardless of medium though if you look at the pics the front wasn't too shabby either. I didn't measure how much as I was primarily interested in the roots as they'd be easy to measure and I had a lot of other things going on at the time so these were pretty much on autopilot.

I planted 5 different types of peppers; one in the mixture and one in pure perlite alternating between rows so everything was as even as possible; the root masses were grouped to make it easier to tell them apart in the pictures.

Gotcha.

Makes sense to me. I see similar results in Hempy Buckets. The vermiculite definitely helps with retaining the moisture long enough to provide a more optimal environment for root growth.

Good stuff.

peace,sg

interesting. i stopped using vermiculite due to the asbestos warnings. perlite doesnt have asbestos warnings though. i havent tried a mix of the two for years. should try one more time with a side by side. thanks for the info.