I never make a soil mix with adding up to 30% perlite. Its cheap, I buy for hydroponic stores in bulk for about $50aud for 100lt. Hardware stores tend to be a rip off and charge this price for 5lt.
Perlite helps massively with water retention, drainage and aeration. Adding this to your mix can cut your watering needs in half if not more.
by DODs-Chillies
12 Comments
Or Pumice.
Breath it in!
It’s great for your lungs
Literally
I’m in Australia too, and also just had a 100L bag delivered a week ago. SO much cheaper than Bunnings.
In my small pots (8.5×8.5x10cm square pot) I have anywhere from 30% perlite to even 60% (as an experiment). Will be interesting to see how well they grow.
In my 5 larger pots (4.5L) indoors, I have anywhere from 20-40%. In my really big pot, I put 50% to reduce compaction
What do you think is better? Perlite or vermiculite? I think they work better together than separately frankly. But yes. agreed. No mask, and put it in your soil.
I use a LOT of this in my final pots. My plants have always had massive happy root systems.
Good to know it’s possible to get this at a decent price. I gave up using it after Bunnings was such a rip…
Hydroponics store you say?
My wife is one of those crazy house plant ladies so I got to play around with all different kinds of stuff. That was one of them
It always floats to the top tho, rice hulls are where it’s at. I just can’t source any locally 🙁
Also Aussie. Perlite is awesome. My chilli soil mix is 60% potting mix, 25% expanded clay balls (LECA), and 15% perlite. The plants love it.
Try adding some clay balls to the mix, I noticed a big difference in growth when I did.
I will be getting some of this for my winter dig.
Entire garden gets dug up 3-4 feet deep so I can amend it nice and deep
Yep. I’m still buying the small rip-off bags, but already found a source for 100l bags ridiculously cheap compared