The Problem With Perlite…
In this video, Jeremy Silva speaks about perlite, how it’s made, and the problems that come with using it.
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ahahah lava rock is puffed up minerals just like perlite…volcanic rock breaks up just like perlite.. ahahahahahaha
Not good information or recommendations at all, I’m sorry, Jeremy contradicted himself more then once as well
This was a great podcast ..as all you do Sir
Does the lava rock need to be "activated" like biochar before adding to soil?
Obsidian comes from exact same place as lava rock…. Volcano….
So use lava rock????
Just had a bad episode with perlite, breathed a load in, made me very very ill, borderline anaphylaxis
No way will i move over to lava rock, buy say 20lb of perlite to the same for lave rock much less of volume of material for lava and it wont go as far. Then added cost of lava rock is twice the cost of perlite its all about cost for me perlite wins every time. One other thing if you are going to us lava rock you have to give yourself the time and effort of recovering the rock for your next run.
PUMICE > PERLITE
Stop the bull we don’t have a sustainability issue we just have propaganda from opposite companies trying to sell us their over priced product instead.
I spent a lot of money shipping pumice for my outside grow. I got some big ass plants though.
I just use Canna Coco+ on its own, so much easier, in the wild there isn’t readily available perlite in the ground per plant so it seems just like another money grab, I’ve had no issues at all without using any airation products ✌️❤️
Perlite is x6 cheaper than pumice where I am. Economics don’t give AF. Then you go thru one round of bugs (root aphids!) and you see its fucking hard if not impossible to recycle soil when growing outdoors.
Use perlite and throw away soil after use. Unless your an indoor super clean and eco-idealist grower
I like lava rocks for aeration in my soil. It has lots of air pockets, it doesn’t float, and it doesn’t break down much. Plus it’s a source of silica when it does break down.
If you want to learn some interesting stuff about watering and soil, check out bonsai soil and the perched water table. An article about bonsai soil that talks about the PWT will help understand soil for other plants.
Plenty of holes in the bottom of the container , and I use a 2.5 inch layer of rocks , covered by a screen cut to fit , then my soil . Providing plenty of air & keeps drainage perfect from start to finish .Outdoors & indoors .For those that over water , or say a rainy week outside ..this process protects from having a " muck " layer of nasty stuff that not only smells , Root rot, clogs the drains , molds , attracting bugs , and a long list of other issues.
been using perlite for years!!! Works great!!!
Just watched a full episode yesterday and I was overly excited thinking this is Part 2.
Wow! How poorly informed you are. In 70 years of industrial manufacturing of ,perlite less than 2% of the known reserves have been used. There are more volcanos erupting and many in and around water. Perlite is a volcanic mineral, hydrated obsidian. There are new discoveries of ore bodies being found around the world. How it’s not a mineral is total nonsense. Of course, it’s a mineral. Another thing is as perlite breaks down over time the particles provide more moisture retention vs. the large particle providing more aeration. Fine particles do not float up within a soil mix. There are studies being done where they are seeing a reduction of irrigation up to 50% and fertilizer and chemical usage being decreased due to the particles adsorbing the ingredients longer. The larger particles do float because of the trapped air within the particle making them less dense and buoyant in water. If this is an issue it’s because you are overwatering and flooding the media.Which is the biggest failure issue for growers, overwatering.
Perlite is also noncarcinogenic having less than 0.01% chrystaliline silica. It is used for water treatment, beer, wine, and pharmaceuticals as a filter aid, and abrasive in soap, cosmetics, and lotions. Also, hazardous cleanup, filtering the air in steel mills, and metal processing. You really should talk to someone who knows what they are talking about and make sure you are not sharing false information.
Now to the freight statement. You do know there are perlite companies all around the world correct? Most of them are located in regions where they have access to domestic mines to limit transportation costs. Also, they supply general regions around their plants to limit the excess freight of moving the perlite long distances. The processing of perlite is in most cases a zero waste process utilizing all particle sizes from the mine to post-expansion for valuable purposes
If you think perlite companies don’t utilize the most effective and lowest cost energy sources you’re misguided. We all manage our energy consumption as efficiently as humanly possible. We are always innovating new and better ways to process the mineral and capture as much of the resources potential as possible. Lastly, you don’t think the water to process parboiled rice hulls doesn’t consume a lot of energy, how about wood fibers to first harvest the wood, transport it to the facility and steam it to slow down the natural decomposition process. How about Rockwool, most transported from eastern Europe and Russia. Look at Coir, processed by third-world countries using massive amounts of water to make the material nontoxic for horticulture, shipping from nearly all the way around the world and in some cases handled by indentured workers.
Technically nothing is sustainable if you really look at it. Don’t get caught up in the hype and believe everything you read. Do some legitimate research and then educate.
Perlite safe and natural- https://www.perlite.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Perlite-SafeNatural.pdf
Perlite particle sizes- https://www.perlite.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Perlite-Water-Holding-Capacity.pdf
Perlite sustainability- https://www.perlite.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/sustainability-factsheet-perlite.pdf
Perlite Wheel- https://www.perlite.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/perlite-wheel.pdf
But I thought it was bad luck to take lava rock off the islands?
I can appreciate his opinion, but people are always trying to change things that work JUST fine. Not to mention if you’re run is auto flowers in soil, Perlite is EXACTLY what you should use.
I prefer a 80/20 mix of coco coir and verimiculite for aeration.
I use perlite all the time never had a problem with the stuff this dude’s talking about… some people just try to make problems out of nothing…
WILL MY WORMS IN MY YARD SOIL BE AFFECTED BY PEARLITE?
🪴🪴🪴🪴
Lame that he seems to start on to a substitute volcanic rock and ya end it there…
Part 2
Additionally, most perlite contains diatomaceous earth, which is murder on your carbon filters
Living soil glues itself together into a clod. Furthermore the soil has fine roots holding it together in a mesh. There is no way the Perlite can migrate to the top and I am the first to cal BS on this theory.
Just be careful when you source other aerators they can contain undesirable things.
I fail to see lava as being better when it has to be shipped from Hawaii…
these small clips are amazing short and powerfull!
Yea I like my perlite and coco 🥥. But I never throw away any of my soil so
Really wish I could find bulk rice hulls near me
Wyd up mr grow and Jeremy
What do you use for aeration in your medium?
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Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ZNlzlT1IA
My first runs I added washed and mixed medium sizes of clay pebbles in the light mix. And it worked fine. A little less in the top inches that the roots will hit first, but plenty in the rest of the mix.
I switched to "hydroponics/RDWC" & I ain’t going back to soil… No more "perlite" amongst other things for me, y’all can have fun with that, peace!
I absolutely love perlite. Can’t live without the stuff…but there are definitely drawbacks to know, great points here lads!
I’ve been trying to use a mix of coco hydro with soil ecosystem but its giving me a lot of issues lately. I don’t think perlite is too healthy for plants, especially the fine dust that comes with it. I’ve had lots of watering and humidity issues since. I probably should add peat moss and maybe dolomite? But I got plenty of calmag in my water already.. All I know is the hybrid living soil doesn’t like to live very much in this state lol. (1/4 coco coir 1/4 perlite 1/4 light mix soil 1/4 worm castings). What do you think would be the masterlist of healthy soil built from 0 without mentioning brands that already make it all work out for you like too many growers do?
Tmac vs Bernard King, who’s better???
Many people in the comments are angry because they use perlite. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Perlite is not environmentally friendly.
Nothing he said applies to container growing. Of course you don’t want to use perlite in ground soil. I learned this trying to dispose of used potting soil in my yard; perlite floats, just like he said. I have to throw my potting soil away because of this. Surprised it took him so long to figure this out. It’s still great for pots, always will be.
Lava rock is harder to find
Thumbs up 620
Yo wtf this isnt the same person? My high ass been watching these 2 dudes thinking its the same person without even thinking about how different they are lol.
Whats our thoughts on pumice vs perlite?
From a kiwi brother with easy access to the foot scrubbing stone
The issue I have in the UK is the rain kills some so much, as we with vastly more rain than the US, about 3 and a half feet per year, where I live, so plants just die, in fact, much of my annual plating just withers in the mud. So, I can see that this chat covers a dry, US-focused perspective, however, in some places we need to try and stop our plants from dying in the mud, I’m not sure if perlite helps this, of not but it may do?
Bro, chemist here, Obisdian is just Silica-rich magma flows that rapidly cooled and can be made synthetically pretty easily, and in fact artificially aerating silica to make perlite is done already in industry and mined obsidian is seldom used … wth is this guy on about …
Silica is one of the most abundant minerals on the earth, and lava rock … is just naturally aerated rapidlly cooled mineral rich magma flow … so literally no difference as far as ecological footprint goes.
This man needs to learn basic chemsitry and geology. Crap video dude.
yeah, but what is actually wrong with perlite?
My main concern is the dust. Use a sprayer to keep the dust down. It’s absolutely terrible for your lungs.
Or find alternatives. Rice hulls is something they’re using these days.