This can be especially effective when growing certain vine fruits and veggies. Perlite is another little-known tool that has made gardening a dream for me, and has rescued me from many tricky situations. This product is a puffed-up volcanic rock material that resembles tiny foam balls, and it is available by the bag online and from garden supply stores. Small cavities on the surface of each particle of perlite help to retain water, and keep nutrients near root systems.
It also promotes drainage by keeping the soil airy, as each particle is comprised of tiny air passages. Hoffman Horticultural Perlite. For example, you can find an quart supply of perlite from Hoffman, via Amazon. Espoma Organic Perlite. If you need a smaller quantity, try this 8-quart bag from Espoma, available from Amazon. We use perlite for seed starting, improving raised beds , and lightening the bottoms of large planters that need good drainage.
And it really works miracles in my garden without affecting the pH of the soil. One final option is vermiculite, which is often used interchangeably with perlite in conversation — but they are not in fact the same. Perlite, as described above, is made from super-heated volcanic glass, and it resembles foam or popcorn. Vermiculite, which is soft and spongy, is made from super-heated aluminum iron magnesium silicates that resemble mica in appearance.
Because it expands so much during its heating process, it has the ability to absorb times its volume in water. It also does an excellent job of retaining minerals needed for plants to grow, making it one of the better soil additives for root growth and health. Vermiculite is produced by several companies, and is usually offered in four particulate sizes.
The tiniest is most commonly used for starting seeds. It is very close to neutral in pH, but can be slightly alkaline, depending on where and under what conditions it was mined. Espoma Organic Vermiculite. Espoma offers an 8-quart bag of organic vermiculite via Amazon. There is currently very little information on whether this substance is at risk of being depleted in the near future, but there is no way to replace the materials that make it.
There has also been some concern regarding the safety of vermiculite, mostly likely due to an asbestos contamination event at a Libby, Montana, mine, which closed in The Libby mine harvested both asbestos and the material needed to make vermiculite. The vermiculite became contaminated with asbestos, causing products to be contaminated. Vermiculite sold today would not come from this now-shuttered mine, nor would it be in the supply channel after all this time.
Regarding perlite and vermiculite, your best bet is to experiment with these materials to see what you like best. I know many gardeners who choose one option for seeds, another for potting mix, and something else for raised beds. Another option for supplementing the soil is coconut coir. The outside fibers of coconut shells are used to make this material.
You can actually find coconut coir as a stand-alone option or in many garden soil mixes, combined with the other solutions we mentioned, such as peat, perlite, or vermiculite. Since it is a byproduct of existing coconut harvesting, and was originally considered waste, it is a very eco-friendly alternative to peat. It absorbs water and can also help lighten the density of the soil, promoting drainage.
It has become a favorite among hydroponic growers and worm farmers in the past few years, and is sold to gardeners everywhere on sites like Amazon. Coco Coir. You can find coconut coir from FibreDust through Amazon. Very few of the resources that we use in gardening are truly renewable. Mulching and compost, via wasted plant materials and our garbage, are probably among the most sustainable options out there.
If you find yourself using more materials and resources than necessary to avoid using this soil amendment, you might be doing more harm than good. A small amount of peat has the possibility of saving water, fuel for your tiller, or a drive to the recycling plant for DIY mulch ingredients. If you are a good steward of the small amount of this product you purchase, it may be a worthwhile investment for your garden.
Only you can determine the total cost of using this dearly loved gardening tool. I know that many gardeners have weighed the impact of using just a small amount of this soil amendment wisely and have found it to be appropriate. Use precise geolocation data.
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When that happens, the material can compress around plant roots and will choke off your plants. So better to mix with other materials. Peat moss is often blended with growing media such as perlite, vermiculite to balance the moisture and aeration. One of the most useful roles of peat moss is in seed starting because this material is very sterile.
Its antiseptic qualities naturally prevent bacteria and fungi from the seeds. It also gives excellent drainage, good aeration, fine texture, and low fertile, making it very ideal for germination. For this purpose, you can use the peat moss alone or in mixture with some soils.
Or remove the hassle by getting the peat pellets sold on the market. Many people also prefer the soilless mix of peat moss, perlite, coconut coir, vermiculite and others in different amounts. This prevents the diseases, fungus, bacteria, weed seeds, and other bad things commonly found in the soils,. Because of its low pH, peat moss is very suitable for vegetables and fruits that require an acidic environment.
These include blueberries, pieris, heathers, azaleas, camellias, tomatoes, and so on. For a material that can not be renewed in several years, but takes millennials to do that, peat moss is not an environmental-aware growing medium to use. Another concern is that harvesting peat moss is considered not a sustainable practice and must be regulated and done with careful analysis. As peatland stores a great percentage of carbon.
Many environmental groups are beware of peat moss mining. The International Peat Society indicates that the harvesting process emits a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere. And the emission continues even after the mining. This means ecosystem can be affected. And when global warming topics are getting hotter, people are more beware of the material.
In fact, there are debates between peat manufacturer and conservationist about the long-term effects of peat moss. People are also looking for a substitute for peat moss, and mostly it boils down to the cost, grower preference, and environmental awareness.
And the alternatives to peat moss mostly share some great qualities with peat moss but is often blended with one another to get its best traits. Compost is made from the decayed organic materials like rotted plants, leaves, vegetable scraps and animal manures. It has a lot of commonalities with peat moss like excellent water holding capacity, and great material for soil amendment.
Compost also consists of decomposed organic material, but it decomposed in the presence of the air. Meanwhile, for peat moss to form the air needs to be absent. Coco coir is the outer husk of the coconut, a by-product of the coconut processing industry.
And it is a definitely another excellent alternative for peat moss for over 20 years. This material is a lot coarser and has larger spaces between their particles, so it is better aerated.
Coconut is often manufactured in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam because it is abundant in these places. Again coco coir shared some great traits with peat moss, including good water retainment, high porosity. There are many other options, which can be listed such as pine bark, PittMoss, Rice hulls, and so on. No doubt, peat moss is a great material for gardening with all of its benefits and good uses as mentioned above.
But asking that question, you can base your answer on these points to make the best of the material as well as deciding whether to use it or not. A better idea to mix with other materials to get the best-mixed traits. So if you grow in large quantity, and the price is an issue, you can use compost. And finally, peat moss is not renewable. So if you are environmentally aware, you may want to reduce your use of peat moss to just seed starting, pot, container, and soilless mixes instead of soil amendment, and lawn work in large quantities.
Or you can completely replace it with other alternatives like compost, coco coir, pine bark, and other organic matters. What is it used for? What is Peat Moss?
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