A good alternative/addition to vermiculite.
Written: Apr 15 '04 (Updated Apr 15 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use, many various uses, light (in weight), resealable bag, inexpensive.
Cons: Dusty!
The Bottom Line: This inexpensive, multi-purpose, easy-to-use product is definitely recommended!
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| pinkants's Full Review: Schultz Perlite |
During my experiment with making my own soil mixture, I came across various materialsl, one of which was perlite.
So what is this stuff?
Perlite is a naturally occurring rock that is mostly silicon. It is made up of other elements such as aluminum, potassium, sodium, iron, calcium, and magnesium. Perlite is actually classified as a form of "natural glass".
Just like vermiculite, it expands to many times its original volume when heated. In the case of perlite when it is heated, the water content vaporizes, creating many tiny bubbles (air pockets).
How do I use perlite?
These white, grain-like things have various horticultural, industrial, and agricultural uses. In my case, I was interested in its horticultural uses, specifically for making my own potting mix.
Just like vermiculite, perlite is generally used to provide good aeration and drainage. You can mix it with soil to loosen it and prevent compaction (so your roots can will not have to "fight" through densely compacted soil). Since it has so many air pockets, it can "hold" moisture, nutrients, and oxygen until plants need them. Moisture and oxygen flow freely to roots, but excess moisture is drained away. It is very light, so it does not weigh down your pots, making them heavy.
Perlite by itself can also be used as a seed-starting medium, though some people mix it with some sphagnum or peat moss. I have not tried this, so I cannot comment on the effectiveness.
This stuff is pretty white, so you can even place it on trays underneath plants to reflect light (it has a refractive index of 1.5). During the cloudy New England winter, this certainly helped to reflect the fluorescent plant lights I used.
Furthermore, if you keep the perlite moist (on trays underneath plants), this can add humidity during winter months (my orchids especially liked this). Be careful that the bottom of the pot does not sit on any water, though.
Perlite is sterile, weed-free, and has a practically neutral pH (about pH 7). This is nice as it makes it easier to adjust pH for certain plants.
What is Schultz's Perlite like?
Schultz Perlite comes in a resealable bag that contains eight (8) dry quarts of perlite. The resealable bag is very useful as I was not able to use all of the perlite at once. In this manner, the perlite can be kept dry until I need to use it again.
Furthermore, the bag "sits" there (nice and squat), all by itself. I can scoop out perlite without fear that the bag will tip over. However, the product is very light in general, so if you bumped it, there is a good chance that the contents would spill.
The perlite is very light and odourless, but it is very, very dusty! I had to be very careful not to accidentally inhale any dust, and perlite was easily blown away by the wind once I got it out of the bag! You may want to dampen it a little. I did not find it to be very dusty at all, but it did seem to slightly dry out my hands when I did not wear gloves.
I easily found Schultz Perlite in a store that had a "Garden Center". You can therefore probably find this at a Home Depot, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Lowe's, Target, etc., though it may not be available during every season (like in the winter).
Does it work well?
Yes, it does! Not only was it good for reflecting light and for humidity trays, but I made a "soiless" potting mixture consisting of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite. The result was a very "airy" mixture that I could easily sink my fingers into. The mixture was so light that I half expected it to be like my orchid mixture--that when I watered it, the water would almost immediately drain from the bottom of the pot.
But nope--since this stuff absorbs water, my mixture was nice and slightly damp without being heavy or compacted.
Best of all, there are virtually no known negative health effects of perlite! For those who are concerned about the extremely low risk of asbestos connected to vermiculite, this is a good alternative. Otherwise, perlite is actually a good complement to vermiculite!
This multi-purpose yet inexpensive product is wonderful! It is very easy to use, and helped create a very well-drained potting mixture. You can easily add it to your soil to improve aeration, use it in trays for humidity or to reflect light, and even as a seed-starter! This material is definitely a good deal!
Recommended:
Yes
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pinkants
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Member: Pink Ants
Location: ANTarctica
Reviews written: 27
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About Me:
i'm a homeowner--yay! boston property taxes--boo!
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