Perlite and beyond: the pros and cons of various drainage and aeration amendments

Expanded Slate

Expanded Slate

A really good paper on expanded shale

http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/2476...orage_capacity_of_calcined_expanded_shale.pdf

Edit: Permatil is labeled as expanded slate - not shale - they are both called haydite though.

Fall Pond Maintenance

Microbe Lift Autumn/Winter Prep is a two-part system of LIQUID bacteria and DRY, water soluble packets containing a blend of cellulase enzymes, cellulase-producing bacteria and a cold weather bacteria. The cellulase enzymes, along with the cellulase-producing bacteria, are the key to accelerating the breakdown of leaves, organic sediment and sludge all winter long. The cold weather bacteria and liquid bacteria take care of the initial breakdown by-products.

Continues to provide sustained biological activity even in water temperatures under 40°F. (4°C.)
Contains psychrophilic strains (cold weather bacteria)
If frozen, bacteria will remain effective after thawing out
Effective in darker conditions (under ice and snow)
Helps to maintain a healthy immune system for your fish during the winter months

http://www.espoma.com/p_consumer/perfector_overview.html

Soil Perfector®
Successful plantings require a soil structure consisting of approximately 50% solids, 25% pore space for air, and 25% pore space for moisture. While this may be common in undisturbed forest areas, it is not the general rule for homeowners today, whose topsoil has often been stripped away.

Many homeowners have heavy clay soils, which lack adequate pore space for air and can lead to poor drainage, reduced root growth, and greater susceptibility to environmental stress. Others have dry sandy soils, which lack adequate pore space for water which can lead to excessive drainage, as well as a loss of nutrients from the root zone.
All natural soil conditioner.
Permanently improves clay and sandy soils.
Add to all potting mixes and soils.
Prevents compaction and promotes root growth.
One time application. Won’t break down.
In 27 lb. bags.

a little something gleamed off the mandala seeds site....

Should I mix a soil amendment into the potting mix?

A beneficial soil amendment is worm manure or homemade compost. Do not use compost from autumn leaves (they contain almost no nutrients and no nitrogen). Mix 10-15% worm manure/compost thoroughly into the potting soil.

I would like to enquire about soil products in my local garden centers. For optimal discretion what type of plant can I say that I’m growing in case I am asked?

Tomato plants are very similar. Both cannabis and tomato plants are fast growing plant species and have similar needs regarding soil nutrients, container size, light. Do not use tomato fertilizer however because this is much too potent.

Do you recommend any particular product that enhances soil cultivation?

Endomycorrhiza is an excellent supplement. It is added very sparsely (approx.1% only) to the soil mix and greatly enhances overall health in the root zone.

Rock dust is another beneficial product. It contains up to 100 minerals! Adding Rock Dust mineral content to a soil increases bacterial activity and promotes new root growth. These extended root systems allow plants to increase their mineral intake, and provide for even stronger, healthier plants. It is used sparsely and is very inexpensive.

Is it necessary to add anything for drainage such as perlite, vermiculite, sand, expanded clay pebbles?

It is best not to add any additional materials to your potting soil. Horticultural grade potting soil is perfectly mixed for the best air-water ratio. Adding more non-nutritive substances depletes the water retention capacity of the soil, it unnecessarily "stretches" the soil and reduces the total amount of nutrients available to the plant, and it creates dry pockets in the container.

Adding a large amount of perlite/vermiculite (some growers add as much as 25%!) is a completely outdated practice from 30-40 years ago when there was only a very small selection of horticultural potting soil available for non-commercial gardeners. It is one of the unfortunate harmful practices in cannabis cultivation that many still cling to although they do not understand the reason or consequences.

Especially harmful is to fill the bottom of the container with coarse materials such as expanded clay pebbles. This is where most roots grow down looking for water and nutrients! If they reach a dry and sterile layer of substrate the delicate root hairs shrivel, valuable space is lost where the plant requires rich soil that stores moisture and minerals.

If you are planting outdoor and your soil is too compact a modest addition of perlite/vermiculite or sand helps to increase drainage. Humus, such as from compost, is the best additive because it also provides many microorganisms and nutrients to the soil mix.
- See more at: http://www.mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Soil-Guide#sthash.52ozPYCq.dpuf

I see more and more folks discretely asking about amendments at our local garden centers. More often then not, the clerk knows just what they want and why. It's great being in a medicated state in a medical state. You just ask, if they don't like it, screw em'.
Sand and compacted clay can produce something similar to concrete.

You have a backyard veg garden. So what? Looking to improve soil for general assorted vegetables and some container grown blueberries or some such. No reason to be paranoid. Act like its routine. Pay cash. Realize that there are thousands of backyard gardeners who ask questions all the time. Buy some tomato food and ask if it is OK for general purpose assorted vegetables. Small investment, don't need to use it. Good luck. -granger

I've been looking into horticultural zeolite, and have found a company based in Colorado that has multiple grades (and custom) of good quality.

Its been hard to find a good supplier so i figure ill post this up.

http://midwestzeolite.com/STORE_SALE_PAGE.html

Zeolites for waste water treatment

Lots of good info in here.

Make sure that any zeolite sourced is from fresh water deposits, Many zeolites are loaded with sodium.

Hate to dig up a way old thread. I was around when ppl seemed to first start posting about this and i was WAY into it. Over the past several years out of the game i have made a few batches of soil for succulents and such. I made a new batch today to repot some of those plants, and also as I prepare to get back in the game (on a micro level).
5p peat... 2.5 oil dry (sifted) and 2.5 compost.. aka 2 - 1 -1. Anyway.. In comparison to a gritty mix i made last batch my plants in the peat/calcined clay/compost performed amazingly with extreme neglect.. I mean jade plants growing several inches in winter with low light... and maybe once a month watering..

anyway the question is.. are we still using the oil dry-like products? Recent posts I browse have all been perlite/vermiculite etc. I thought this was the best thing since sliced bread... no?

yo homie! long time! hope all is well.

I dropped pumice and de just cause my bad back. they're way heavier than perlite!

also I've got everything on blumats now so extra water retention and drought resistance is less urgent.

if I were ever to do another outdoor run I might throw de back into the mix.

i never stopped using perlite, plants dont care about fads and fashions.

VG

I've never liked perlite, but hard as I try, I can't find anything else that does as good a job at holding air in a moist medium.

I won't get into an argument about it, but some of the things people use for that purpose, I don't think work for shit. I've never bought that rice hulls hold much air in the medium. I'm not saying that it's not a good amendment, but I don't "think" it works for the air holding that many people use it for. Plus it breaks down so in a no till it's of little use for air holding. Several things people tout actually hold water, like pumice. As I said, I won't argue about this, especially since I've seen very little proof on most of these things, I'm giving you my opinion.

Also, many people are confused about the difference between faster drainage and air holding in a moist soil. Good luck. -granger

Perlite works great but i cant stand the ugly aftermath of seeing it in the garden.

Pre stained chocolate brown perlite id buy for a dollar. Someone please let me know when it gets invented.

Compound Element Chemical Formula Typical Content Silicon Dioxide SiO2 74.55% Aluminium Oxide Al203 12.45% Potassium Oxide K2O 4.50% Sodium Oxide Na2O 4.00% Ferric Oxide Fe2O <2.00% Calcium Oxide CaO <2.00% Magnesium Oxide MgO <2.00% Titanium Dioxide TiO2 <2.00% Sulphur Trioxide SO3 0.20% Manganese Oxide MnO 0.10% Carbon Dioxide CO2 0.10% Ferrous Oxide FeO 0.06% Phosphorous Pentoxide P2O5 0.005% Combined Water

So pumice contains aluminium too
Aluminium creating fluride..
And pearlite only having 4%aluminium? 4.35%