Many other people claim that adding Vermiculite and Perlite to the soil is a good thing to do, because it makes the soil lighter and air can flow through it more easily.
Has anyone tried that? Did you get good results? Is there any place where these "ingredients" can be bought here in Finland?
I have used them both, when making potting soil mixtures. The mixture becomes lighter and does not harden when it dries. Plants seem to grow well, but I am not sure how much vermiculite and perlite have contributed on that, since all pots have at least one of them mixed in.
Unfortunately I do not know where to buy such stuff in Finland. I think it was discussed on the forum last spring.
I've vermiculite in Plantagen, but haven't found perlite anywhere. Perlite is supposedly better than vermiculite. I've heard it can be found at Järvenpään Pihapalvelu, but I don't feel like driving to Järvenpää!
Perliittiä löytyy ainakin Valoverstas.comista 70l 28€. Joku vois kääntää tämän englanniksi, kun itselläni suomi-englanti suunta on aika heikko.
Lainaus käyttäjältä: "Anonymous"Perliittiä löytyy ainakin Valoverstas.comista 70l 28€. Joku vois kääntää tämän englanniksi, kun itselläni suomi-englanti suunta on aika heikko.
Translation:
Perlite can be found at least at Valoverstas.com for €28 in packages of 70 l.
Lainaus käyttäjältä: "Anonymous"Perliittiä löytyy ainakin Valoverstas.comista 70l 28€. Joku vois kääntää tämän englanniksi, kun itselläni suomi-englanti suunta on aika heikko.
Perlite can be found atleast from valoverstas.com, 70l/28e.
(Translated on request)
Thanks for the information! Nice shop! I have to visit it :-)
Lainaus käyttäjältä: "luca"Thanks for the information! Nice shop! I have to visit it :-)
At least they have very cheap hydro fertilizers...
Advanced Hydro-setti 1 l [ADH3] 35.00EUR
Has anyone tried those?
I haven't tried these fertilizers (actually I've never done any hydroponics, maybe it will be a project for next year ;-))
But I'll definitely try verminulite and perlite. I've been using mostly peat, but I'm not sure it was a good idea. I'll try some reacher and airier soil next time.
I think I should get some perlite for my citrus plants (one callamondin and three lemons) because their roots need a lot of air and they really can't tolerate overwatering. Perlite makes the soil a little bit airier and binds some of the water so the roots don't rot, but still the ground doesn't get all dry that easily.
I grow all of my peppers in pots and used to make my own mix which included perlite ( which lightens the soil but does not hold moisture as does vermiculite). I got lazy and now buy a mix now which contains perlite and vermiculite and I like it very much--this tells the compostion
http://www.premierhort.com/eProMix/Horticulture/fHorticulture.htm
I've found perlite and vermiculite in small packets at Bauhaus. Perlite costs €5,10 for 6L and Vermiculite costs €4,70 for 3L. It's not as cheap as in valoverstas.com (€0,85/L against €0,40/L), but if you don't need too much it's probably a better choice.
I normally use perlite and vermiculite for my potted peppers.
Adding perlite really improve the results, but it is expensive.
Here in Italy pumice is really cheaper and and I could not find any relevant differences in the results. I do not know anything about these materials availability in Finland, but if you can find pumice and it is cheaper you could seriously think giving it a chance.
Riccardo