[wasgedn]

i use 3.079569 gallon pots in 3rd run....covercrops....nema tagetes,several clays,lupines,gelbsenf
i will have lupine flower and bud photos this time....

i not only grow cannabis....
i grow the pots too...
even when no cannabis in it the pots they have my attention and care...
but i go only 1-2 times a week in growroom...good mix ,good drainage but also good in holding water...

[bigbadbiddy]

Thing is, the arguments against perlite in an organic no-till setting make absolute sense.

Everyone attempting no-till, be it in small or large containers, does it for the long haul.
And in the long haul, perlite becomes concrete.

So what are the alternatives?
My research told me rice hulls or buckwheat hulls, I later found out pumice or lava rock granules work fine as well.

Rice hulls weren't available, I didn't know about pumice or lava rock granules (did include lavarock meal in my rock dust mix though).

Buckwheat hulls were available locally and cheap, so I opted for those.

Big mistake. I have since found out that Jeremy from Build-a-Soil has tried the same as me and ran into exactly the same issues as me (fine first harvest but by round 2 everything goes down the drain due to the buckwheat hulls decomposing fast) and opted to can the soil and start a fresh batch with rice hulls/pumice because he didn't want to even attempt to start fixing the massive N-Deficiency with the buckwheat hulls.
He, like myself, did buy buckwheat hulls that were advertised for filling pillows, though. And like him, I will say: Maybe the folks who recommended buckwheat hulls as a perlite replacement used a different type of buckwheat hulls, because those for filling pillows are a disaster.

Otherwise, I really don't understand why people recommended those.
I was also told about the buckwheat hulls decomposing hella fast, several times, but looking at the top layer of the soil and the sides etc. it really doesn't look like the buckwheat hulls are decomposing that rapidly. You can still see their structure etc. and the water seems to drain fine. But at the core of the container, they are definitely decomposing fast and the core never dries out and the roots there don't get air.
I found it very hard to diagnose and would say buckwheat hulls are a real trap.

I am looking into pumice or lava rock granulates now but failing to source those, I will just use the perlite and be done with it.

Just don't use buckwheat hulls is the morale of the story I suppose.

[soil margin]

Yeah red lava rock and pumice are my two favorites for aeration. Really simple and effective. Only downside is it's expensive to buy, at least the decent stuff I've found online.

[MJPassion]

Is landscaping lava rock out of the question?
From your local land scape supplier or home despot or bLowes?

[Squirly_wrath]

Originally Posted by MJPassion

Is landscaping lava rock out of the question?
From your local land scape supplier or home despot or bLowes?

should work just fine but make sure to pre rinse them

[bigbadbiddy]

wouldn't they be a bit too coarse/big (the granules) when going for landscaping lava rock?

I think on a farm they would be fine, large outdoor beds or the like.

In Pots, aside from the weight, I would think they are too big? Maybe they offer smaller granules/pieces for landscaping as well, I only ever saw the large, child fist size, pieces for landscaping.

[wasgedn]

you can buy several grain sizes ...not only one....

i use perlite,lava rock,vermiculite,silicia sand for drain among others feature's....

[Limeygreen]

If you can't find smaller lava rock, try a sledge hammer to break it down, heavy canvas bag or tarp from an army surplus should contain them fairly well.

[heady blunts]

pumice is great but with my back problems i usually opt for perlite to save some weight for when i have to mix soil and move containers.

also IME practicing no till with containers really mitigates most of my complaints about perlite---less disturbing of the soil means less mechanical agitation means less pulverized perlite dust, and developing soil aggregates/fungal networks/living root systems bind them in place so no floating issues.

bio char is another good option. it's also light weight and much more durable. i like it a lot but i've never used it for more than ~25% of my aeration portion personally.

[VortexPower420]

^ I agree about perlite. Everyone always says it floats and then crushes down Going on 7 years with this soil and have not had issues either way.

I went to water a friends garden while they were away. They just use bottles and no soil cover. It was like a raft of perlite on the top as the water tried to go through.

Perlite works great for a living soil.