Alternatives to Perlite for soil aeration?

[h.h.]

What Yucca do I need to find h.h?

Peppers in neighbours garden been in 6 years...I have many babies from them..

The Avo's are good. Flowering & harvesting now.

Even the new mango plantings on the west slope are doing well 0 losses on the winter planted Subtropicals. Holding a steady 20c ATM

Basil went in in February & started to flower recently, allunder 15cm tall..

They will become beasts

Cut the flower off the basil and it will grow for years.

 

[Thcvhunter]

Pumice is my favorite aeration medium.

Its got lots of silica that the microbes and organic acids break down to make available to the plant.

It doesnt float like perlite does.
When you water perlite, it flows in the container, meaning it is ripping apart roots while also creating anaerobic pockets.
Pumice stays in place with each watering.

Its got great surfaces and crevices for microbes to colonize

It doesnt create a harmful dust like Perlite does.

 

[wvkindbud38]

I've already used a big 4 cu ft bag of perlite, and have another I just got a few days ago. I spent a fortune last yr at Wal-Mart on perlite.....those 12quart bags that cost $5. Well last yr outdoors I bought out every bag of perlite WM had lol, I didn't get to mix my soil right, like I like to.....over half my plants i didn't have perlite, only thing at WM was vermiculite and I just bought that it kinda made the soil loamy. I know vermiculite retains water but it was all I had. As many know I live about 1 and a half hours from WM/the city/town. And I was afraid to order anything big when I was growing last summer. Funny thing after I bought Wal-Mart organic soil all summer and hauled it home, a member on the forums mentioned Southern state I think......and I'd be damned if there was a southern state 15min from my house. I thought it was a place that just sold animal feed. But I can get a bale of Promix now right at the house. But I will always try and keep a huge bag of Perlite. I don't think there's a replacement ive seen or tried. I just use a simple mix. I don't really like Promix but I can't afford all Ocean Forest lol. But it's good to mix I think

Promix
Ocean Forest
Perlite at least 30-40%
dolomite

 

[Mate Dave]

I have some heirloom peas dealing with over 75F. I've watered them today & I have tested the temperatures.. My kale hasn't bolted & it's not seen water in 3 weeks..

 

[Rico Swazi]

thanks Mate! thanks to your post I realized the rapidly changing climate isn't my problem, its just the fact i'm a shitty gardener!
I was referring to the kale and peas that had been overwintered, the newly planted peas and kale are doing well.
I always regret going off topic just for a little bit.



Mate Dave; what's your alternative to perlite ?

 

[risasdemaria]

aerator

 

[risasdemaria]

looks like I don't have edit permits

 

[risasdemaria]

.

 

[St. Phatty]

I always wondered how styrofoam would work as a grow medium.

 

[exploziv]

Doesn't it give out toxic leechate when breaking down, tho? Why not use perlite/vermiculite/pomice that are more porous anyway?

 

[Rico Swazi]

much of the styrofoam peanuts manufactured these days are corn-based
doesn't make it any safer when you consider the glyphosate residue that may be along for the ride.

Not certain on that, just a probability that styrofoam will contain trace elements of things we dont want in our garden

 

[wvkindbud38]

I always wondered how styrofoam would work as a grow medium.

funny I wondered the same thing, Ive started my seedlings in Styrofoam cups for yrs and the roots grow good. I mean you could use sand, maybe Styrofoam, small rocks/pebbles

 

[St. Phatty]

Doesn't it give out toxic leechate when breaking down, tho? Why not use perlite/vermiculite/pomice that are more porous anyway?

I said I wondered how it would grow, not that I wanted to smoke the pot that grew in it.

Would be interesting to measure how much plastic related molecules ended up in the plant.

I have the impression that Cannabis is good for bio-remediation (pulling toxins & poisons out of the ground.)

 

[CrushnYuba]

Oasis foam is a safe foam medium. I just use it for rooting clones but you can grow a plant it's whole life in a larger block.

 

[Rico Swazi]

I like that idea of using oasis foam (see edit)
I wonder how much scrap foam a local florist throws away?

could be a free source of that amendment




Edit- found this blog stating foam may not be what we want either-
makes some good points

Straight from Section 7 of the MSDS:
"Foam stored in stagnant or hot enclosures may result in off gassing of residual formaldehyde gas. Wash thoroughly after handling. Observe good personal and industrial hygiene procedures. When foam is soaked or used in water, some low levels of residual formaldehyde may accumulate in tub water. Repeated skin immersion in water containing formaldehyde has caused skin rashes, particularly in sensitive persons. It is recommended that impervious latex or chemical resistant gloves be worn and water tubs be emptied regularly."

https://www.riverwolfxo.com/blogs/going-zero-waste/the-dangers-of-floral-foam-oasis

 

[St. Phatty]

People talk about using cardboard to do "pasta composting" or something like that. The cardboard creates more habitat for the worms.

I guess the soil mixer doesn't have to be lightweight. I was thinking lightweight, like Perlite or Vermiculite.

Plain old river gravel, like you get if you run it through a 1/4 inch screen, makes a great soil mixer. It's just heavier. Works good for helping air/ oxygen get to the roots.

 

[Rico Swazi]

That would be the mother of no till , Ruth Stout "Gardening Without Work for the Aging, the Busy and the Indolent" by Ruth Stout, Copyright © 1961 often referred to as lasagna gardening

Gravel is good and free with a little work around here. I would use more if I didn't need to move the containers in the fall for more optimal sun.

I was surprised to see oasis foam changing their msds after years of being told it was safe and biodegradable.

 

[wasgedn]

crushed hydroton per 50 liter from rigips is top...
same as knauf 50 liter bag perlit.....
20 bugs DIY warehouse
growshop 100 heh heh..


btw....the dry capilars of this material are keeping slugs away , outdoors

 

[Cvh]

Please keep sharing guys. I have read already so many good suggestions.
Reading all your experiences is also really teaching me a lot.

(I hope to find one day the time to distill this thread down into a summarisation and add it to my Op post.)

 

[CrushnYuba]

Foam peanuts would float and crush just like perlite. I really think lava rock is the best performing and also one of the cheapest. A cubic yard (200 gallons) is 50$. There is Reason that it's the most commonly used drainage other then perlite for potting soil mixes.
I don't know why it's not sold bagged everywhere like perlite. Maybe because it's heavier? It's not heavier then compost though and they sell that bagged. They sell bagged soil that contains it.

My local lanscape supply will give you a sandbag and shovel and let you take anything from the yard for 5$ a sandbag.