Expanded Shale? Could it replace pumice/lava rock?

MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
My local store said that she could not find pumice and I could only find the large lava rock for landscaping. However, the store owner said that the expanded shale should be a good replacement for it. I bought it without doing any research on it. Well, I came across this article from Texas A&M and shale is supposed to be rich in that region. They recommend using a lot of it!!! Copy&Paste time...

Recommendations for using expanded shale with containerized plants call for putting one-third of the material in the bottom, then mixing the expanded shale with potting soil 50-50 for the rest of the pot.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/hortupdate_archives/2003/nov03/Expdshale.html

 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
Wait, what do they mean by 1/3 of "material" on bottom??? Soil or shale
Click to expand...
just treat it like perlite or pumice, sounds like its closer to pumice.
I think they meant to put a layer of it at the bottom of the container to promote drainage.
so to fill the lower third of the container with the haydite
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
greasemonkeymann said:
just treat it like perlite or pumice, sounds like its closer to pumice.
I think they meant to put a layer of it at the bottom of the container to promote drainage.
so to fill the lower third of the container with the haydite
Click to expand...
If I remember right, you said that you use rotten wood and bio-char for drainage also? How would that work together?
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
If I remember right, you said that you use rotten wood and bio-char for drainage also? How would that work together?
Click to expand...
the more variation the better.
I have perlite, volcanic rock (both from my old base soil of vermifire from yrs back), pumice, biochar, and treelogchunks.
rice hulls from a long time ago too.
It's all just fine together.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
greasemonkeymann said:
the more variation the better.
I have perlite, volcanic rock (both from my old base soil of vermifire from yrs back), pumice, biochar, and treelogchunks.
rice hulls from a long time ago too.
It's all just fine together.
Click to expand...
The bottom 1/3 is going to be shale, then out the remainder 2/3, half of that is going to be aeration... It sounds like 2/3 of the soil is aeration? It sounds like a lot to me, but I did get 15gal fabric pots recently!
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
The bottom 1/3 is going to be shale, then out the remainder 2/3, half of that is going to be aeration... It sounds like 2/3 of the soil is aeration? It sounds like a lot to me, but I did get 15gal fabric pots recently!
Click to expand...
nah fuck that 1/3rd thing, just mix all your soil up, I wouldn't put all that at the bottom man.
I was just saying earlier that, that is what they meant
 
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