Soil Mix, Too much Vermiculite?? HELP

Intuition

Intuition

Well-Known Member
I did my own soil mix which included:

Perlite
Peatmoss
Vermiculite
Worm Casting

I basically combined an even ratio of those 4, and mixed it (Lets just say, 1 cup for each), was that wrong? Should there be more perlite? Vermiculite seems to sit around at the top when watering for just a little bit, and I dont like it. Any advice would be great
 
P

passerbye

Well-Known Member
IMO can never have too much vermiculite. It is inert and holds water. My personal mix is

2 parts Peat Moss
1 part Perlite
2 parts Vermiculite
2 parts Soil .....whatever good soil is on sale (last time it was Kellogg patio plus, if money is no object go for Fox Farms Ocean)
2 cups of garden lime (ph stabilizer will counteract the low 4.5 ph of peat moss)

Plants are not very picky if the ph is correct. I have varied this mix over the years and saw no difference. If somethingis on sale, I am inclined to use that in larger amounts. Just dont put too much perlite in there. It doesnt help the plants except if you need drainage.

Perlite does NOT retain water, and allows for drainage and air. Some people put a layer on the bottom to ensure full drainage.
Vermiculite HOLDS water (and nutes) until plants can drink it. Dont hate vermiculite; its your friend. Some ppl grow in pure vermiculite!
 
Intuition

Intuition

Well-Known Member
passerbye said:
IMO can never have too much vermiculite. It is inert and holds water. My personal mix is

2 parts Peat Moss
1 part Perlite
2 parts Vermiculite
2 parts Soil .....whatever good soil is on sale (last time it was Kellogg patio plus, if money is no object go for Fox Farms Ocean)
2 cups of garden lime (ph stabilizer will counteract the low 4.5 ph of peat moss)

Plants are not very picky if the ph is correct. I have varied this mix over the years and saw no difference. If somethingis on sale, I am inclined to use that in larger amounts. Just dont put too much perlite in there. It doesnt help the plants except if you need drainage.

Perlite does NOT retain water, and allows for drainage and air. Some people put a layer on the bottom to ensure full drainage.
Vermiculite HOLDS water (and nutes) until plants can drink it. Dont hate vermiculite; its your friend. Some ppl grow in pure vermiculite!
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Thanks that was alot of help. I have heard of 50/50 verm/perlite mix being very popular but have never tried it. One experiment at a time for me ;). I knew I was missing something (garden lime, is that at your local nursery/lowes/homedepot?) bongsmilie

Edit: So would be kind of safe to say that with verm/perlite, you wouldnt need to water as often?
 
Intuition

Intuition

Well-Known Member
smallclosetgrowr said:
i just use , perlite and soil it works great
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I was thinking about going that route, and a different mix (like the one mentioned before yours) just to test and see what happens. So far my girl is LOVING the 2700k/5600 mix on 12/12, I veg'd her for only a week, and shes blowin up everyday. Im usin over 400 watts of cfl for just one :bigjoint:lst the shit!
 
DaveCoulier

DaveCoulier

Well-Known Member
Intuition said:
I did my own soil mix which included:

Perlite
Peatmoss
Vermiculite
Worm Casting

I basically combined an even ratio of those 4, and mixed it (Lets just say, 1 cup for each), was that wrong? Should there be more perlite? Vermiculite seems to sit around at the top when watering for just a little bit, and I dont like it. Any advice would be great
Click to expand...
Ditch the vermiculite. You already have enough water retention in Peatmoss & Wormcastings. In that mixture it will be very easy to over-water seedlings and cause all kinds of problems. That would work for a larger plant whose water uptake is much greater though.
 
DaveCoulier

DaveCoulier

Well-Known Member
Intuition said:
I did my own soil mix which included:

Perlite
Peatmoss
Vermiculite
Worm Casting

I basically combined an even ratio of those 4, and mixed it (Lets just say, 1 cup for each), was that wrong? Should there be more perlite? Vermiculite seems to sit around at the top when watering for just a little bit, and I dont like it. Any advice would be great
Click to expand...
Ditch the vermiculite. You already have enough water retention in Peatmoss & Wormcastings. In that mixture it will be very easy to over-water seedlings and cause all kinds of problems. That would work for a larger plant whose water uptake is much greater though.
 
Vindicated

Vindicated

Well-Known Member
Well perlite is just filler. No nutrients, no water absorption benefits, and its very light. It's essentially puffed glass. Its not useless by any means, you just have to understand what it does (or doesn't) to get the biggest benefit from it. Vermiculite on the other hand is able to absorb a small amount of of liquid and air and is a good alternative to perlite in many situations because it's made of clay. Peat moss on the other hand can hold a lot more moisture than vermiculite, but is more acidic, which makes for an interesting trade off.

I think your best mix is with soil, worm castings, and vermiculite or perlite. You can add as much perlite as you want to dilute the soil to your likings. It's also great if your trying to penny pinch or need a quick fix to avoid making a run to the garden center. Peat moss is nice too, especially for the forgetful gardner because it holds more water and for a longer period; you don't have to water as frequently. However, for that very same reason, you have a bigger risk of developing mold or having over watering issues. I don't add peat moss to my own mixes, only because most mixes already have plenty of peat moss in them to begin with. Just read the ingredients on a bag of FoxFarm or Miracle Grow.
 
super2200

super2200

Well-Known Member
I use the premier pro mix soil less soil right out of the bag, has no nutes so I know what I am feeing the plants, has nice ratio peat, vermiculite. Works great, I would say the most important part of your mix is the soil so you just buy any pos soil or you may burn your clones or seedlings. Best to get a soil that will carry your plants all the way through without needed a different mix when they get bigger. Good luck
 
Intuition

Intuition

Well-Known Member
Vindicated said:
Well perlite is just filler. No nutrients, no water absorption benefits, and its very light. It's essentially puffed glass. Its not useless by any means, you just have to understand what it does (or doesn't) to get the biggest benefit from it. Vermiculite on the other hand is able to absorb a small amount of of liquid and air and is a good alternative to perlite in many situations because it's made of clay. Peat moss on the other hand can hold a lot more moisture than vermiculite, but is more acidic, which makes for an interesting trade off.

I think your best mix is with soil, worm castings, and vermiculite or perlite. You can add as much perlite as you want to dilute the soil to your likings. It's also great if your trying to penny pinch or need a quick fix to avoid making a run to the garden center. Peat moss is nice too, especially for the forgetful gardner because it holds more water and for a longer period; you don't have to water as frequently. However, for that very same reason, you have a bigger risk of developing mold or having over watering issues. I don't add peat moss to my own mixes, only because most mixes already have plenty of peat moss in them to begin with. Just read the ingredients on a bag of FoxFarm or Miracle Grow.
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Thats the problem, soil around here isnt so great. There are a couple places, for instances TLC, they make there own soil with no nutes but has peat moss/barks and etc. As said before I keep hearing about a 50/50 perlite.verm mix, but never tried it. I think on the next girl ill reduce vermiculite and try peat moss, perlite, wormcasting. Ill just change the amount because you are right, they dont need to be watered as often..and I honestly dont want to attract anything or bring on some mold. I never really had vermiculite sit around like this before, maybe I F'd up the mix :cuss:. Appreciate the suggestion.
 
Intuition

Intuition

Well-Known Member
super2200 said:
I use the premier pro mix soil less soil right out of the bag, has no nutes so I know what I am feeing the plants, has nice ratio peat, vermiculite. Works great, I would say the most important part of your mix is the soil so you just buy any pos soil or you may burn your clones or seedlings. Best to get a soil that will carry your plants all the way through without needed a different mix when they get bigger. Good luck
Click to expand...
Like mentioned before, TLC has a pretty good soil mix that doesnt contain any vermiculite or nutes, just average shit. What I might do is purchase that soil and add perlite (if it doesnt already have it, cant remember) wormcastings. SO many different way?!!?!?!?!!!!!
 
Intuition

Intuition

Well-Known Member
Some of that TLC soil alread has peat moss, think I might just try to add some perlite/wormcasting to it and see what happens.
 
super2200

super2200

Well-Known Member
Intuition said:
Like mentioned before, TLC has a pretty good soil mix that doesnt contain any vermiculite or nutes, just average shit. What I might do is purchase that soil and add perlite (if it doesnt already have it, cant remember) wormcastings. SO many different way?!!?!?!?!!!!!
Click to expand...
This sounds like good idea, I hate stuff with bark in it though due to bugs but this mix sounds pretty good. Let us know what you end up using and some results
 
Intuition

Intuition

Well-Known Member
super2200 said:
This sounds like good idea, I hate stuff with bark in it though due to bugs but this mix sounds pretty good. Let us know what you end up using and some results
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I do too it cause to pest to run around, with what I use now its okay I dont see pest (as often, if I do they are removed quickly with the spray I use). Heres what I will go with because I already have these items, except one:

3 part perlite
1 part Vermiculite
2 part peatmoss
1 cup garden lime

Garden lime i have never tried, so im hoping it will help with my ph. Let me know what ya think.
 
DaveCoulier

DaveCoulier

Well-Known Member
Exactly how much is 1 part perlite, etc? Even at 1 gallon of each part, a cup sounds like too much garden lime. I use one teaspoon of lime per gallon if my peat already has dolomitic lime in it. If it doesn't, 2 tsp-1 tablespoon is typical.

Since you've never used GL, make sure it says dolomitic lime on it somewhere(usually the back). You want to stay away from hydrated lime.
 
dura72

dura72

Well-Known Member
i feel u gotta watch if u put too much vermiculite in as it can retain water too long and give u root rot problems as a result. that was the advice i was given by a more experienced grower. my mix 65% soil, 25% perlite and 10% vermiculite. my plants and ph are great. my soil is shop bought decent quality stuff from local garden centre, i wasn't the most expensive but it wasn't the cheapest either.
 
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