Gardening With Vermiculite | difference between perlite and vermiculite

Perlite vs Vermiculite, Fully Explained

Hi, my dear friends! and welcome back to skill info. and today we talk about perlite and vermiculite. What they are, and what we use them for. Okay,! Whether you are coming back, or this is your first time in this channel, thank you so much for being with me and read this blog. 

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The biggest misconception About perlite and vermiculite

Yes, they are both expanded volcanic rocks, but they have many differences. One is very porous, the other one is not, one absorbs water, the other one doesn't. One creates the soil, the other one does not. So what I thought is that maybe we can look at each one of them, what they are, and really what we use them for.

Perlite is the most commonly used expanded volcanic rock in gardening. It is very loose and light, aerate the soil so the roots can actually go easily through it. and provides a lot of drainages. So let's talk about two very good ways that you can use perlite with your plants. Number one: prevents "caking".{Caking is something that happens with our potting mix, as it dries out and it gets wet, and it dries out and it gets wet, and again, and again.} 

As the soil mixture in the pot continues to dry and wet repeatedly, it begins to compress and compact. And this is not good because when we water out the plants, water tends to surround the soil like this and then along the edges of the pot. So it doesn't get to the roots. 

So with perlite, we prevent the soil from caking and allow a more fluffy structure. That way the roots can actually move through the soil, and the water actually can go through the soil and get to the roots.

perlite is that it provides great drainage

You can use perlite in many sizes; so you have extra-fine, fine, medium, coarse, and extra coarse. So for example, you can add medium perlite to your potting mix to add drainage in the soil. You may also use additional coarse pearls to put on the bottom of the pot and this also helps drainage, because they provide training at the bottom of the pot and are much lighter than rocks.

My recipe includes two parts of medium-sized perlite, two parts of worm castings, and seven parts of the coconut coir... Of course, you can also use pumice instead of perlite. I like to use perlite because flowers or plants need the best drainage to be able to live perfectly in a pot.

on to vermiculite! Vermiculite Uses And Information

Vermiculite is actually a lesser-known expanded volcanic rock. That's a very big difference between them. Perlite does not absorb moisture, but vermiculite is very absorbent. And it is super light, Vermiculite is very useful when starting seeds. 

• what is vermiculite used for
  

• Vermiculite is very absorbent, and, as you may know, seeds love moisture. So if you add vermiculite to your seed-starter mix, this is gonna be great for your seeds, as they will have the water that they need.

• Vermiculite is very light. So this is perfect when germinating seeds. Because it is so light, the seeds will be able to push through the vermiculite when you put it on the top. So vermiculite will protect your seeds, prevent caking in a seed starter mix, provide the moisture that your seeds need, and will be very light, so the germinating seeds can actually push through.

These are some of the main differences between perlite and vermiculite. Do you any other questions about these two? Do you have other uses for them? Please make sure to comment below, so we can all learn together! 

Of course, if you would like to be part of this community, you're always welcome, I will see you in the next article.