After calling a garden centre who tried telling me that perlite and vermiculite were the same (though I was sure they had very different properties) I decided to research. Thank you so much for your very watchable video and clearing that up!
This was great, thanks, been searching for "how to do organic gardening" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Nonannah Hanulian Future - (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my m8 got excellent results with it.
Vermiculite is also anti-fungal properties, making it good for potted plants. It is often mixed with perlite and peat moss and used to make a sterile, non-nutritive substrate for propagating cuttings.
Luke I agree with you 100% on your last tip. Adding vermiculite to the top layer of your plant starts works very well. I grow hundreds of plant starts for my customers and it's crucial to not have fungus gnats using vermiculite on the top layer is very helpful. Very original, I am not sure if I've ever seen a vermiculite versus perlite comparison.😎😎
Very nice video and thank you. Just need to say. Perlite actually does a great job in clay soils. While you are correct the large particles will float. Finer particles can and do blend very well with clay and provide the desired benefits over the long term. I'm a manufacturer and research is being done and has been done. Agricultural grades are available but you have to call a manufacturer.
I have been growing many plants for years and I never knew there was such a stark difference in applications between the two! So much of what you spoke of in the video will be helpful to me, from plants having picky medium requirements to reducing fungal gnats. Thanks a bunch
I was just mentioning to my husband that I wanted to get some vermiculite this weekend. I’m still new to germinating seed so having my ideas confirmed like this is a confidence booster! Ty!
My basic potting mix is two parts coir and one part coarse vermiculite. Coarse vermiculite has excellent drainage properties, while fine vermiculite does not. Coir by itself has pretty good drainage properties, too. For succulents and cacti, which require more drainage, I add gravel with particles ranging from one to four millimeters in diameter. Nothing finer. The reason I use gravel is that succulents tend to be top heavy. Their leaves and stems are ninety percent water and are usually very thick. If you have a plant over a foot tall, this means that the center of gravity will be six inches above the pot, and usually off center as well. If you have a jade plant that is always toppling over, you know what I mean. Using gravel puts weight in the pot and lowers the center of gravity of the plant and gives it better balance. I avoid perlite for a personal reason. When I was about 13 years old I bought a set of cacti in 2 inch pots. When I got them home, I found that I could not water them. The surface of the soil was stone hard and impervious to water. What had happened was that the green house had used a soil mix that was (I would guess) three parts fine perlite to one part peat. As the plants were watered enough perlite had floated to the top to form a layer about five millimeters thick. By itself that would not have been so bad, But our local water is very hard. over time As water evaporates from the soil surface, it leaves behind a crust of calcite crystals. Calcite crystallizing around perlite granules form concrete. That's how we make lightweight planters. There was a crust of very hard concrete about 5 mm thick over the top of each pot. By the time I chipped all the concrete away from the plants, they were so seriously injured that they couldn't be saved. To a thirteen year old in nineteen sixty, that was a big loss, And I've had a sour taste about Perlite ever since. To be fair, I've bought thousands of plants planted in perlite since, and I've never seen that happen again. Addendum; I have stopped watering my plants with tap water. Instead, I run my water through a reverse osmosis/deionizer filter. This gives me water with O ppm TDS. I have been doing this for three or four years now and my plants love it. You may have heard that watering plants with distilled or purified water is harmful to plants. I can tell you from direct experience that it is not true. The reason is that by the time the water passes through the soil and reaches the roots of my plants, it is no longer pure. It picks up fertilizer and other compounds from the soil as it passes through.
Very well said. This is a very accurate video. He does his research. I live in an area with Clay soil. Only thing that helps is compost. Works like a charm over time.
The compost suggestion is spot on. Even mulching compost on the surface seems to reduce compaction underneath (probably from protecting the soil and stimulating microbial life). Just something we've noticed at the community garden.
You did very good explaining the difference in those products. I use peat and vermicalite in my containers and raised beds along with my compost. Perilite is very good for sticking cuttings it makes wonderful root systems.
Thank you SO much for this wonderful, concise explanation of perlite and vermiculite, especially since--like you said--zillions of web sites claim that they're interchangeable when they are NOT. You do such a great job of explaining them and I give you my heartfelt thanks!
Great information! I purchased a tower garden where the seeds were placed in rock wool with holes and vermiculite was given to put over the seeds. Now I know why thanks to you!
PERcolate W/ PERlite! I could never remember which one allowed for better drainage until now! You clarified a lot of questions. Thank you! Might I add a suggestion and correct me if I'm wrong ... a layer of vermiculite could be added to the bottom of flower pots to act as a water sponge to help prevent potted plants from drying out.
Extremely well done video. Very informative. I consider myself an experienced horticulturalist having earned a masters degree in agronomy. Truthfully, I learned quite a bit from this video. Many thanks!
I like your video but it left me puzzled. I did a soil test and it came back with recommendations and one of them was: 3. Clay Content of Soil - CEC 12 to 20 CEC = heavy clay soil 6 to 12 CEC = loamy soil 2 to 6 CEC = sandy soil Your sample results show your CEC capacity is 20.0, so you have heavy clay soil. You can improve your clay soil, but you shouldn’t use composted manure because it has higher levels of P. The best materials to use would be perlite or vermiculite. Compost from plant-based materials usually has a nutrient ratio of 1.0-0.5-1.0, so it would provide a minimum of P in relation to N and K, so it wouldn’t be too bad, but it would be better to use the perlite or vermiculite because they don’t contain any P. You need to add these amendments every year because they break down in the soil. Don’t add any sand to your soil because it does not help break up heavy clay soil. What is your suggestion? Do you disagree with their advice?
I used perlite in my cactus type pot in my house. I used 1/3 perlite, 1/3 peat Moss and 1/3 Potting mix. Everything in the pot is doing AMAZING. I have a few small cacti and a plant called purple passion that went from a sad plant in a tiny pot to a literal jungle of what are almost vines growing everywhere! The only thing that didn't survive is 1 type of the 2 kinds of orchids I planted in the pot.
This was very helpful. Sometimes I don't know what I don't know. With that, I greatly appreciate finding those who share their knowledge desiring others to succeed.
I like to use vermiculite for leaf propagations (added to peat) and perlite to help with drainage in potting mixes, although I really prefer pumice for that because it doesn’t float to the top of the soil over time, unlike perlite. Never thought of vermiculite as a preventative for fungus gnats, I’ll have to share that with my customers. Great video!
great explanation of the two materials. I usually like to toss vermiculite in my seed starting or potting mix but do not use it in huge amounts. I like vermiculite to store dormant bulbs or overwintering tubers - works great dry & stored in containers with lids & holes for air.
Oh dear... I just bought vermiculite thinking it was the same as perlite 🙈Probably should have watched this first, but looks like both will come in handy anyhow. Thanks for the info, super helpful 🙏🏻
I am definitely going to put this on top of the soil in my potted plants. I normally use 3 to 4 drops of alcohol in a quart of water to water my plants with and it kills any fungus gnat larvae but it's a constant battle and sometimes the plant doesn't like the alcohol either. So thanks so much for the info. Love your videos. Just placed an order for seeds from your website. I can hardly wait till they get here. Keep up the good work.
I use perlite for my homemade potting MIX. I make 15 gallons of mix at a time. My recipe is (2) 5-gallon buckets of peat moss, (1) 5-gallon bucket of black kow compost. I then add 12 cups of perlite and ¾ cup of Epsom salts. Then, depending on what vegetable will be planted in the mix, I add, or not, 1-1/2 cups of garden lime (dolomite), depending on the ph number I'm shooting for. Soak the container until the water runs out the drainage holes and plant the seedlings in it. I'll fertilize the plant later, with a ring around the stem of 10-10-10, being careful to not get the fertilizer on the plant so it won't burn it. Normal rain or watering will soak the fertilizer in on its own. It's worked well for my container growing. But this year I'm putting in a few raised beds and will be using actual garden soil in them, not mix. I'll be adding some black kow composted manure and mixing the soil and compost to the same 2-1 ratio but I have not yet decided whether or not to add perlite to the soil just to make it more fluffy for its first season. Garden soil is a LOT more dense than peat moss. Any suggestions?
Great idea in using vermiculite to prevent fungus gnats!👍🏼 I’ve been using a layer of perlite on top of my veggie planter successfully in treating an infestation but the soil on top does tend to dry out quicker. Vermiculite sounds perfect as it holds onto moistures at the same time so it acts a little like mulch. Btw, don’t worry about the dog barking, it wasn’t that loud in the video and I for one found it more interrupting when you got so disturbed and paused because of it, just carry on next time it’s fine (unless you can’t stand it) :)
So I'm one of the dummies that thought they were the same thing... no wonder my raised beds dried out so much last year... (currently putting vermiculite in my shopping cart...) Thank you for the knowledge you share!
Good video explaining the differences. I just built some raised bed and I am fixing to mix up a super soil to add to the beds. I bought both perlite and vermiculite to add to my mix.
I add vermiculite to my soil mix. Which includes peat moss, composted chicken/cow manure, composted mushroom/cotton burr, a bit of sand, some leftover soil from last year, coconut coir (when I have it) & poorly composted kitchen scraps (I'm working on it).
This is my first year using vermiculite on my indoor seedlings to reduce gnats. It's been amazing. I have so many fewer compared to last year. And I absolutely love sprinkling "glitter rock" or "pop rocks" when I'm done planting. Bonus step. When I up plant and add glitter it gets in the tomato and pepper plants which gives me an excuse to "pet" them without feeling like a weirdo.
Thank you so much. You seem like a very trustworthy source of information, and a good guy overall. I can see why you have almost a million subscribers.
Good info on these. This has really bern needing a clear explanation for a long time. Sharing with my gardening neighbors. I do have one caveate that needs to be added regarding vermiculite when it's wet vermiculite smashes down into a mush and super easily so it looses those impirtant qualities needed as a potting soil amendment. Bummer I know, but it's a good reminder to not get over zealous when we press the soil down. Better to only lighlt tamp it or even allow it to firm up through watering from a mister or bottom watering system when vermiculite is present otherwise it renders it useless. I found the difference in retail seedling mix vs ProMix and other professional mixes to be night and day. Whitney farms, a company that was large local company producing soil and potting soil amendments and media had the best seedling mix on the market. I have to hunt for it now or make my own. One more note regarding clay if I may. We here in the Willamette valley and Columbia River Gorge region have two types of clay, the less common one is the real sticky type that doesn't drain well. The other is one whose structure forms columns and drains pretty well, though not quickly enough for some things. Raspberries can grow well in it with no problem. Woody herbs not too well. The soils class in college mentions sticky clay is what responses to the gypsum. The other type can be amended using a recipe the growers at Joy Creek Nursey hust outside of Portland discovered and still recommends today. 2" of 1/4 minus crushed rock (any kind of rock...so pumice, granite, etc). FYI if folks are wondering, the minus means the rock has been washed of fines that are good for making the clay into bricks. Anyway...2 to 3 inches of best grade compost you can afford and mix that into the top 6" of soil. It makes a huge difference, and those sharp edges of the crushed rock actually aid in an increase production of feeder roots. Mulch with compist or wood chips, not bark chips to continue building the health of the soil, and for those Medeterainian woody herbs use oyster shells. (Living near the coast has it's benefits) Please forgive my hyjacking. Just sharing in addition may benefit someone. I am always learning something knew and did from your video today too. Thanks for being sovgeneroys with this information Luke.
Absolutely brilliant and well communicated knowledge. Thank You for your patience! Perfect! I already had perlite on the way via Amazon for potting soil and this is spot on.
Where I live we have very clay dirt, and so to get it lighten up and workable I added a lot of Pete moss and then I also added some potting mix. So after all that it became great place for me to do my gardening. It no longer got hard as a rock in the summertime, plus it took a lot less water.
Great information. Thank you for explaining the difference between vermiculite and perlite, I had tried that 'Mel's mix' in the raised beds when I first started. I guess I never really understood what I was doing I just followed the expensive recipe. Since my original gardens, I have moved to a clay soil area. I am going to try just adding compost and peat moss to the existing soil. The core gardening method has really helped keep the moisture levels up so far.
I always thought they were interchangeable, and only added vermiculite to my potting mix. Thank you for this info! ❤and congrats on hitting 400,000 subs!❤
Interesting and informative video. Thanks for that. I believe I've germinated my seeds using every germination mix possible. I was surprised to find that my tomato and pepper seeds germinated quite well in simply fine vermiculite in small seed cells. I found it much easier to control the amount of water provided to the seedlings (by simply immersing the seed cells in about an inch of water). I'll attest to your advice to sow small seeds (like celery) with a light dusting of vermiculite to cover seeds on the surface. It's really easy to tell when more water is needed just by observing the color of the vermiculite. Cheers.
That you for explaining the difference between vermiculite and perlite!!! I recently brought into the house herbs to use during winter along with some tropical plants and was worried about bugs and water retention in the pots. I will add a layer of vermiculite to the top of each pot. Have learned a lot from your videos! Thank you and Happy Holidays!
What a great video. When I saw your title I panicked because I was talked into a HUGE bag of vermiculite today at a nursery and I just came inside after10 hours of potting and adding this to my whole container garden. Thank goodness I did the right thing. I had no idea about this helping deter fungus gnats. I learned so much from this video!
Thank you Luke, I’m going to go back and try again with my failed celery starts and cover the seed with vermiculite on top of the soil! Maybe they will germinate after all!
I had to purchase those things but wanted to make sure what their uses are, gets confusing between the two. Now my doubts are clear. Thanks for the video 👍
I use perlite in my potting soil, as well as a top layer to keep the soil dry from fungus gnats. I put in lots of perlite in my potting soil because I'm a heavy handed water{er}, and I have did lots of damage in the past from soil compacting and roots not growing!!!
I have now watched the comparison part of this video about 3 times. I am buying vermiculite for making hypertufa and I wasn't sure if they would be interchangeable. Clearly, not! Also, I will be doing a lot of gardening in pots this year, something familiar to me, but I've never been wildly successful with, and whatever is left from my hypertufa will certainly be used in my pots! I am, however, thinking I should add some vermiculite to my shopping list for some of those pots that I know will be in full sun. Thank you very much for the information!!
I use both. Perlite to lighten my seed starting mix and vermiculite to sit on top of seed starts. I also use cinnamon on top of the seeds to keep the soil from turning green. Have a Blessed & Wonderful Day!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I didn't know some of the applications for vermiculite. I have used perlite in my raised beds soil mix before but not vermiculite. Totally gonna use when planting my carrots!!!
Wow. That answered many questions I had regarding this topic. The part about adding vermiculite on top of the soil for young plants, trees, to prevent fungus gnats was very educational. I added some vermiculite to my small forest trees immediately after seeing this clip. Thank You for sharing your Knowledge.
Thank you for the information Luke!! This has been extremely helpful as I’m trying to start a raised bed and container growing area for my parents in Houston and wondering how to stay ahead of the heat waves 😎
Great job! Love them both. The perlite has no pH while vermiculite is 7 to 7.5. Know too well the constraints placed upon us by time. Thought it might help to add my tidbit. Peace Love & Happiness to you.
I just made a carrot raised bed. I threw in 2inches of soil, 1 inch of compost and covered with perlite. then with a rake mixed it together. then repeated the process. When I came to the top of the bed , last 2 layers, I used vermiculite. I tried to punch my arm down thru the bed and it did fairly well but not as good as I hoped. I should have used more perlite, thats my thought, what say You!
I'm genuinely surprised you haven't reached a million subs yet. With the professional grade quality of your vids I thought for sure you would already have a million subs! I have no doubt you'll reach one million soon!
Wow! Thank you!!! I live in the high sandy windy desert of Northern Nevada. Over the years I have put a lot of $$ into trying to make a “soil” including what we call Nevada Black Gold... aka, local aged cow manure. I use raised beds & after years have finally got a decent “soil”. And Huge bags of bot perlite & vermiculite. Thank you for explaining the difference AND usage of both. Always enjoy watching you & even tho we’re in different areas, I do. Learn a lot from you. I’m a little behind lol but stil enjoy. Have a great day. Nevada Mema💖
I used perlite spread over my raised veggie beds (above ground) and blend in at the start of the growing season to help keep the soil aerated throughout the year. This is especially helpful where the soil has been saturated with snow or too much water and is unable to drain sufficiently. I also find the soil is more forgiving with the perlite in it if I happen to overwater. My first year my drip year
Well I over drip watered way too much (2’ deep beds) turning veg garden soil into near paste at the bottom. Perlite and compost got it back in great shape the next year.
Very interesting video. My outdoor soil has a lot of clay in it, and I was about to make the same mistake you describe. So thanks !!! Vermiculite is not nutrients but it does contain calcium, magnesium, iron.. you can google the list. Indoor, it's the best media (50 Peat 50 Vermi). Also some vermiculite are better than others (the bigger the grain the better I've heard, not sure). Price varies a lot. Cheapest one is about $20 for 100L at the store, but i think those are tiny one, best for germination.
I use vermiculite as a soil additive in the community school garden that I help run because there is no running water, garden hoses or sprinkler systems to speak of, so working in a water wise way is essential.
Use compost to break up clay, and to help sandy soil. V and P are only good for potting mix or seed starting mix but have no nutrients value. Perlite: is light, adds drainage because it adds aeration, structure, can use coarse perlite in potting mix. Vermiculite: absorbs moisture really well like a sponge, use for seed starting mix as it stabilizes and provides consistent moisture. Also can use V on top of seeds to let them come up easily, and prevents fungus nats. Use a mask if you use either when dry/dusty.
An exquisite plant with wonderfully scented wax like flowers in many colors but I love the golden yellow colour best. It propagates easily from sticks that unusually need to dry off/seal over for a few days before planting & watering. Needs lots of hours of sunshine each day too. In Thailand the plant is called lillawadee.
Thanks for the info! I've been using a soil blocker to start my seeds this year, which is great for eliminating plastic seed trays, but the blocks do dry out a bit. Vermiculite may help!
This was a good topic for a video with lots of information in it. It could have been two videos. One just on materials to fix native soil issue, and one specifically about the pearlite vs. vermiculite topic and their uses. I think as is it left some obvious open questions like: What about the use of vermiculite in raised beds? Which does what from your big list of differences at the beginning of the video? What about use in grow bags? Does either help hold onto nutrients in the soil?
Great vid! Thank you for all of the information! In the square foot gardening method, the developer recommends nearly 1/3 vermiculite for the soil mix and I wondered why. This answered my questions.
ADD suffers @7:07 Perlite - Drainage - helps prevents caking, used to help drainage (less weight than river rock etc). Good in potting mix. Vermiculite - Holds Moisture - seed start mix to reduce water stress. Germante small seeds. Good in starter mix because its ligher and also holds moisture. Prevents fungus ants because course.
I use vermiculite in my soil when I'm propagating my indoor plants and with my seedlings for the garden. I mix extra perlite in with the soil when I repot all of my houseplants. 🙂
Thank you Luke for this info . This yaer i bought a bunch of bags of organic otting soil to add to my outdoor pots to mix in with my old soil added a bit of Pearlite and bagged steer manure and some bagged compost. I also used the potting mix to refresh my soils for indoor plants and start a few seeds and i have had fungus nats!!!! those turds are making me angry lol! i lost a few plants to them and now i know what they were up to. I read that cinnamon can help,but now im gonna go get some Vermiculite! Thank you so much.
Vermiculite absorbs K, cal, mag, and other nutrients when incorperated in clay soils. That exchange capability can happen faster than some slow release fertlizers will make nutrients avaliable to plants. It's a soil amendment.
After calling a garden centre who tried telling me that perlite and vermiculite were the same (though I was sure they had very different properties) I decided to research. Thank you so much for your very watchable video and clearing that up!
This was great, thanks, been searching for "how to do organic gardening" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Nonannah Hanulian Future - (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my m8 got excellent results with it.
Vermiculite is also anti-fungal properties, making it good for potted plants. It is often mixed with perlite and peat moss and used to make a sterile, non-nutritive substrate for propagating cuttings.
I'm glad I saw your comment. Im looking to inoculation my soil with mycorrhizal and I was wondering if I needed vermiculite for the soil. Guess not 🤣
I thought I knew all about perlite and vermiculite because I did quite a bit of research, but this video gave me so much new information. Thanks!
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@@brescalofrio1 You forgot your ? when you put "ikr".
I have been working with vermiculite and perlite for 25 years. You should listen to this guy. Knows his stuff.
I’m studying plant nutrition and root development at the moment your info has been absolutely great thanks
Luke I agree with you 100% on your last tip. Adding vermiculite to the top layer of your plant starts works very well. I grow hundreds of plant starts for my customers and it's crucial to not have fungus gnats using vermiculite on the top layer is very helpful.
Very original, I am not sure if I've ever seen a vermiculite versus perlite comparison.😎😎
😊
i start my own seeds so the vermiculite tip is a great one. I also use MI Gardener seeds
Very nice video and thank you. Just need to say. Perlite actually does a great job in clay soils. While you are correct the large particles will float. Finer particles can and do blend very well with clay and provide the desired benefits over the long term. I'm a manufacturer and research is being done and has been done. Agricultural grades are available but you have to call a manufacturer.
I have been growing many plants for years and I never knew there was such a stark difference in applications between the two! So much of what you spoke of in the video will be helpful to me, from plants having picky medium requirements to reducing fungal gnats. Thanks a bunch
I was just mentioning to my husband that I wanted to get some vermiculite this weekend. I’m still new to germinating seed so having my ideas confirmed like this is a confidence booster! Ty!
My basic potting mix is two parts coir and one part coarse vermiculite. Coarse vermiculite has excellent drainage properties, while fine vermiculite does not. Coir by itself has pretty good drainage properties, too. For succulents and cacti, which require more drainage, I add gravel with particles ranging from one to four millimeters in diameter. Nothing finer. The reason I use gravel is that succulents tend to be top heavy. Their leaves and stems are ninety percent water and are usually very thick. If you have a plant over a foot tall, this means that the center of gravity will be six inches above the pot, and usually off center as well. If you have a jade plant that is always toppling over, you know what I mean. Using gravel puts weight in the pot and lowers the center of gravity of the plant and gives it better balance.
I avoid perlite for a personal reason. When I was about 13 years old I bought a set of cacti in 2 inch pots. When I got them home, I found that I could not water them. The surface of the soil was stone hard and impervious to water. What had happened was that the green house had used a soil mix that was (I would guess) three parts fine perlite to one part peat. As the plants were watered enough perlite had floated to the top to form a layer about five millimeters thick. By itself that would not have been so bad, But our local water is very hard. over time As water evaporates from the soil surface, it leaves behind a crust of calcite crystals. Calcite crystallizing around perlite granules form concrete. That's how we make lightweight planters. There was a crust of very hard concrete about 5 mm thick over the top of each pot. By the time I chipped all the concrete away from the plants, they were so seriously injured that they couldn't be saved. To a thirteen year old in nineteen sixty, that was a big loss, And I've had a sour taste about Perlite ever since. To be fair, I've bought thousands of plants planted in perlite since, and I've never seen that happen again.
Addendum; I have stopped watering my plants with tap water. Instead, I run my water through a reverse osmosis/deionizer filter. This gives me water with O ppm TDS. I have been doing this for three or four years now and my plants love it. You may have heard that watering plants with distilled or purified water is harmful to plants. I can tell you from direct experience that it is not true. The reason is that by the time the water passes through the soil and reaches the roots of my plants, it is no longer pure. It picks up fertilizer and other compounds from the soil as it passes through.
Very well said. This is a very accurate video. He does his research. I live in an area with Clay soil. Only thing that helps is compost. Works like a charm over time.
The compost suggestion is spot on. Even mulching compost on the surface seems to reduce compaction underneath (probably from protecting the soil and stimulating microbial life). Just something we've noticed at the community garden.
Makes sense, if it’s the organic acids in the compost that break the chemical bonds in the clay as Luke suggested.
You did very good explaining the difference in those products. I use peat and vermicalite in my containers and raised beds along with my compost. Perilite is very good for sticking cuttings it makes wonderful root systems.
Thank you SO much for this wonderful, concise explanation of perlite and vermiculite, especially since--like you said--zillions of web sites claim that they're interchangeable when they are NOT. You do such a great job of explaining them and I give you my heartfelt thanks!
Great information! I purchased a tower garden where the seeds were placed in rock wool with holes and vermiculite was given to put over the seeds. Now I know why thanks to you!
PERcolate W/ PERlite! I could never remember which one allowed for better drainage until now! You clarified a lot of questions. Thank you!
Might I add a suggestion and correct me if I'm wrong ... a layer of vermiculite could be added to the bottom of flower pots to act as a water sponge to help prevent potted plants from drying out.
Extremely well done video. Very informative. I consider myself an experienced horticulturalist having earned a masters degree in agronomy. Truthfully, I learned quite a bit from this video. Many thanks!
Wow! Thank you for this video! I had no idea the differences in perlite and vermiculite and when to use them!
Found your channel in 2015 and still here, still learning alot from you.
Really appreciate you.
God bless.
I had heard of both and seen them used but I had no idea really what they were and why they were used. This is extremely useful, thank you.
I like your video but it left me puzzled. I did a soil test and it came back with recommendations and one of them was:
3. Clay Content of Soil - CEC
12 to 20 CEC = heavy clay soil
6 to 12 CEC = loamy soil
2 to 6 CEC = sandy soil
Your sample results show your CEC capacity is 20.0, so you have heavy clay soil. You can improve your clay soil, but you shouldn’t use composted manure because it has higher levels of P. The best materials to use would be perlite or vermiculite.
Compost from plant-based materials usually has a nutrient ratio of 1.0-0.5-1.0, so it would provide a minimum of P in relation to N and K, so it wouldn’t be too bad, but it would be better to use the perlite or vermiculite because they don’t contain any P.
You need to add these amendments every year because they break down in the soil.
Don’t add any sand to your soil because it does not help break up heavy clay soil.
What is your suggestion? Do you disagree with their advice?
I used perlite in my cactus type pot in my house. I used 1/3 perlite, 1/3 peat Moss and 1/3 Potting mix. Everything in the pot is doing AMAZING. I have a few small cacti and a plant called purple passion that went from a sad plant in a tiny pot to a literal jungle of what are almost vines growing everywhere! The only thing that didn't survive is 1 type of the 2 kinds of orchids I planted in the pot.
This was very helpful. Sometimes I don't know what I don't know. With that, I greatly appreciate finding those who share their knowledge desiring others to succeed.
At last a very clear explanation about the difference between perlite and vermiculite. Well done!!
I'm just about to plant carrots and was worried about germination...I'm totally going to try vermiculite. Thanks for this information!
great idea to use the vermiculite on top of the seeds. I am going to give it a try.
I think I'm going to sprinkle some on top of all my plants. Those fungus gnats are loving my plants and I'm not loving that.
I like to use vermiculite for leaf propagations (added to peat) and perlite to help with drainage in potting mixes, although I really prefer pumice for that because it doesn’t float to the top of the soil over time, unlike perlite. Never thought of vermiculite as a preventative for fungus gnats, I’ll have to share that with my customers. Great video!
We use both vermiculite and perlite in our seed starting mix. Works great to keep seedlings get going.
great explanation of the two materials. I usually like to toss vermiculite in my seed starting or potting mix but do not use it in huge amounts. I like vermiculite to store dormant bulbs or overwintering tubers - works great dry & stored in containers with lids & holes for air.
Oh dear... I just bought vermiculite thinking it was the same as perlite 🙈Probably should have watched this first, but looks like both will come in handy anyhow. Thanks for the info, super helpful 🙏🏻
I am definitely going to put this on top of the soil in my potted plants. I normally use 3 to 4 drops of alcohol in a quart of water to water my plants with and it kills any fungus gnat larvae but it's a constant battle and sometimes the plant doesn't like the alcohol either. So thanks so much for the info. Love your videos. Just placed an order for seeds from your website. I can hardly wait till they get here. Keep up the good work.
Your explanation is much better than I got on a comparison at a website. It defined them but never got to the comparison of uses.
I use perlite for my homemade potting MIX. I make 15 gallons of mix at a time. My recipe is (2) 5-gallon buckets of peat moss, (1) 5-gallon bucket of black kow compost. I then add 12 cups of perlite and ¾ cup of Epsom salts. Then, depending on what vegetable will be planted in the mix, I add, or not, 1-1/2 cups of garden lime (dolomite), depending on the ph number I'm shooting for. Soak the container until the water runs out the drainage holes and plant the seedlings in it. I'll fertilize the plant later, with a ring around the stem of 10-10-10, being careful to not get the fertilizer on the plant so it won't burn it. Normal rain or watering will soak the fertilizer in on its own. It's worked well for my container growing.
But this year I'm putting in a few raised beds and will be using actual garden soil in them, not mix. I'll be adding some black kow composted manure and mixing the soil and compost to the same 2-1 ratio but I have not yet decided whether or not to add perlite to the soil just to make it more fluffy for its first season. Garden soil is a LOT more dense than peat moss. Any suggestions?
Great idea in using vermiculite to prevent fungus gnats!👍🏼 I’ve been using a layer of perlite on top of my veggie planter successfully in treating an infestation but the soil on top does tend to dry out quicker. Vermiculite sounds perfect as it holds onto moistures at the same time so it acts a little like mulch.
Btw, don’t worry about the dog barking, it wasn’t that loud in the video and I for one found it more interrupting when you got so disturbed and paused because of it, just carry on next time it’s fine (unless you can’t stand it) :)
So I'm one of the dummies that thought they were the same thing... no wonder my raised beds dried out so much last year... (currently putting vermiculite in my shopping cart...) Thank you for the knowledge you share!
Good video explaining the differences. I just built some raised bed and I am fixing to mix up a super soil to add to the beds. I bought both perlite and vermiculite to add to my mix.
This is one of the best explanations I have found on these products. Thanks for taking the time to share what you’ve learned
Thanks Luke. My seed starts got "crusty" in my indoor heated garden room and I believe vermiculite will be a good solution.
I did use perlite for growing palm seeds >> But not any more !!! Still learning and here I go again !! Thanks for the video !!
I add vermiculite to my soil mix. Which includes peat moss, composted chicken/cow manure, composted mushroom/cotton burr, a bit of sand, some leftover soil from last year, coconut coir (when I have it) & poorly composted kitchen scraps (I'm working on it).
This is my first year using vermiculite on my indoor seedlings to reduce gnats. It's been amazing. I have so many fewer compared to last year. And I absolutely love sprinkling "glitter rock" or "pop rocks" when I'm done planting. Bonus step. When I up plant and add glitter it gets in the tomato and pepper plants which gives me an excuse to "pet" them without feeling like a weirdo.
Thank you so much. You seem like a very trustworthy source of information, and a good guy overall. I can see why you have almost a million subscribers.
Good info on these. This has really bern needing a clear explanation for a long time. Sharing with my gardening neighbors.
I do have one caveate that needs to be added regarding vermiculite when it's wet vermiculite smashes down into a mush and super easily so it looses those impirtant qualities needed as a potting soil amendment. Bummer I know, but it's a good reminder to not get over zealous when we press the soil down. Better to only lighlt tamp it or even allow it to firm up through watering from a mister or bottom watering system when vermiculite is present otherwise it renders it useless.
I found the difference in retail seedling mix vs ProMix and other professional mixes to be night and day. Whitney farms, a company that was large local company producing soil and potting soil amendments and media had the best seedling mix on the market. I have to hunt for it now or make my own.
One more note regarding clay if I may. We here in the Willamette valley and Columbia River Gorge region have two types of clay, the less common one is the real sticky type that doesn't drain well. The other is one whose structure forms columns and drains pretty well, though not quickly enough for some things. Raspberries can grow well in it with no problem. Woody herbs not too well. The soils class in college mentions sticky clay is what responses to the gypsum. The other type can be amended using a recipe the growers at Joy Creek Nursey hust outside of Portland discovered and still recommends today.
2" of 1/4 minus crushed rock (any kind of rock...so pumice, granite, etc). FYI if folks are wondering, the minus means the rock has been washed of fines that are good for making the clay into bricks. Anyway...2 to 3 inches of best grade compost you can afford and mix that into the top 6" of soil. It makes a huge difference, and those sharp edges of the crushed rock actually aid in an increase production of feeder roots. Mulch with compist or wood chips, not bark chips to continue building the health of the soil, and for those Medeterainian woody herbs use oyster shells. (Living near the coast has it's benefits)
Please forgive my hyjacking. Just sharing in addition may benefit someone. I am always learning something knew and did from your video today too. Thanks for being sovgeneroys with this information Luke.
Absolutely brilliant and well communicated knowledge. Thank You for your patience! Perfect! I already had perlite on the way via Amazon for potting soil and this is spot on.
Where I live we have very clay dirt, and so to get it lighten up and workable I added a lot of Pete moss and then I also added some potting mix. So after all that it became great place for me to do my gardening. It no longer got hard as a rock in the summertime, plus it took a lot less water.
Luke this is just a GREAT video- so informative & helpful to us novice or semi-novice gardeners Thanks Heaps Cheers Denise - Brisbane Australia
I used compost to get rid of one patch of clay in my garden and it worked wonderfully.
Great information. Thank you for explaining the difference between vermiculite and perlite, I had tried that 'Mel's mix' in the raised beds when I first started. I guess I never really understood what I was doing I just followed the expensive recipe. Since my original gardens, I have moved to a clay soil area. I am going to try just adding compost and peat moss to the existing soil. The core gardening method has really helped keep the moisture levels up so far.
I always thought they were interchangeable, and only added vermiculite to my potting mix. Thank you for this info!
❤and congrats on hitting 400,000 subs!❤
Interesting and informative video. Thanks for that.
I believe I've germinated my seeds using every germination mix possible. I was surprised to find that my tomato and pepper seeds germinated quite well in simply fine vermiculite in small seed cells. I found it much easier to control the amount of water provided to the seedlings (by simply immersing the seed cells in about an inch of water). I'll attest to your advice to sow small seeds (like celery) with a light dusting of vermiculite to cover seeds on the surface. It's really easy to tell when more water is needed just by observing the color of the vermiculite. Cheers.
That you for explaining the difference between vermiculite and perlite!!! I recently brought into the house herbs to use during winter along with some tropical plants and was worried about bugs and water retention in the pots. I will add a layer of vermiculite to the top of each pot. Have learned a lot from your videos! Thank you and Happy Holidays!
What a great video. When I saw your title I panicked because I was talked into a HUGE bag of vermiculite today at a nursery and I just came inside after10 hours of potting and adding this to my whole container garden. Thank goodness I did the right thing. I had no idea about this helping deter fungus gnats. I learned so much from this video!
Thank you Luke, I’m going to go back and try again with my failed celery starts and cover the seed with vermiculite on top of the soil! Maybe they will germinate after all!
I had to purchase those things but wanted to make sure what their uses are, gets confusing between the two. Now my doubts are clear. Thanks for the video 👍
Wow, thanks for the information I only knew the white stuff was usually in potting mix
This was awesome and I think prevented me making some mistakes as I am planting daffodil bulbs.
Really great information for this newbee gardener!! Thanks muches!
Luke, great topic. I don't think I've seen as good of an explanation of the best uses and differences between these two products. Thanks!
I use perlite in my potting soil, as well as a top layer to keep the soil dry from fungus gnats. I put in lots of perlite in my potting soil because I'm a heavy handed water{er}, and I have did lots of damage in the past from soil compacting and roots not growing!!!
“Pound-for-pound, this has way less weight...”. That’s some miracle soil amender ya got there!
1 pound of iron weights more than 1 pound of cotton.Duh. Everyone knows that.
Only the best soil amender can defy the laws of physics.
We all know he meant per volume, but yeah was funny.
@@assassinkhazix3668 Yeah, he’s a great guy, and I’m sure he doesn’t mind a brotherly jibe from an interested subscriber. 🤞
The “misconceptions” are all his own,way way off the mark on everything! 🤣🤣
I have now watched the comparison part of this video about 3 times. I am buying vermiculite for making hypertufa and I wasn't sure if they would be interchangeable. Clearly, not! Also, I will be doing a lot of gardening in pots this year, something familiar to me, but I've never been wildly successful with, and whatever is left from my hypertufa will certainly be used in my pots! I am, however, thinking I should add some vermiculite to my shopping list for some of those pots that I know will be in full sun. Thank you very much for the information!!
I use both. Perlite to lighten my seed starting mix and vermiculite to sit on top of seed starts. I also use cinnamon on top of the seeds to keep the soil from turning green. Have a Blessed & Wonderful Day!
Thank you for this explanation. You have saved me a lot of time, energy and money! I really appreciate understanding this.
I use both for amending my potting soils. Works great.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I didn't know some of the applications for vermiculite. I have used perlite in my raised beds soil mix before but not vermiculite. Totally gonna use when planting my carrots!!!
I use perlite in my raised beds. I leave in a state that rains a lot. It helps with my plants not drowning.
Great video. I use vermiculite when I make the soil for my garden bed. I mix it with otganic matter and peat moss.
Wow. That answered many questions I had regarding this topic. The part about adding vermiculite on top of the soil for young plants, trees, to prevent fungus gnats was very educational. I added some vermiculite to my small forest trees immediately after seeing this clip. Thank You for sharing your Knowledge.
Planning on using the vermiculite for the rose seeds. I have never grown roses from seed. wish us luck!
Thank you for the information Luke!! This has been extremely helpful as I’m trying to start a raised bed and container growing area for my parents in Houston and wondering how to stay ahead of the heat waves 😎
So helpful... I was not using it effectively and now I know.
Great job! Love them both. The perlite has no pH while vermiculite is 7 to 7.5. Know too well the constraints placed upon us by time. Thought it might help to add my tidbit. Peace Love & Happiness to you.
I just made a carrot raised bed. I threw in 2inches of soil, 1 inch of compost and covered with perlite. then with a rake mixed it together. then repeated the process. When I came to the top of the bed , last 2 layers, I used vermiculite. I tried to punch my arm down thru the bed and it did fairly well but not as good as I hoped. I should have used more perlite, thats my thought, what say You!
Thanks for the info. I had no idea what vermiculite was for.
I'm genuinely surprised you haven't reached a million subs yet. With the professional grade quality of your vids I thought for sure you would already have a million subs! I have no doubt you'll reach one million soon!
I like using the perlite and vermiculite mixed 50/50 in my potting soil. My opinion is they have complimentary property’s to each other
Wow! Thank you!!! I live in the high sandy windy desert of Northern Nevada. Over the years I have put a lot of $$ into trying to make a “soil” including what we call Nevada Black Gold... aka, local aged cow manure. I use raised beds & after years have finally got a decent “soil”. And Huge bags of bot perlite & vermiculite.
Thank you for explaining the difference AND usage of both. Always enjoy watching you & even tho we’re in different areas, I do. Learn a lot from you. I’m a little behind lol but stil enjoy. Have a great day.
Nevada Mema💖
I used perlite spread over my raised veggie beds (above ground) and blend in at the start of the growing season to help keep the soil aerated throughout the year. This is especially helpful where the soil has been saturated with snow or too much water and is unable to drain sufficiently. I also find the soil is more forgiving with the perlite in it if I happen to overwater. My first year my drip year
Well I over drip watered way too much (2’ deep beds) turning veg garden soil into near paste at the bottom. Perlite and compost got it back in great shape the next year.
Very interesting video. My outdoor soil has a lot of clay in it, and I was about to make the same mistake you describe. So thanks !!! Vermiculite is not nutrients but it does contain calcium, magnesium, iron.. you can google the list. Indoor, it's the best media (50 Peat 50 Vermi). Also some vermiculite are better than others (the bigger the grain the better I've heard, not sure). Price varies a lot. Cheapest one is about $20 for 100L at the store, but i think those are tiny one, best for germination.
I use vermiculite as a soil additive in the community school garden that I help run because there is no running water, garden hoses or sprinkler systems to speak of, so working in a water wise way is essential.
Best video about perlite and vermiculite. Learned so much.
Use compost to break up clay, and to help sandy soil. V and P are only good for potting mix or seed starting mix but have no nutrients value. Perlite: is light, adds drainage because it adds aeration, structure, can use coarse perlite in potting mix. Vermiculite: absorbs moisture really well like a sponge, use for seed starting mix as it stabilizes and provides consistent moisture. Also can use V on top of seeds to let them come up easily, and prevents fungus nats. Use a mask if you use either when dry/dusty.
I'm loving your channel! I've just tried perlite for the first time on some Frangipani seedlings, they loved it. 👍🌱
An exquisite plant with wonderfully scented wax like flowers in many colors but I love the golden yellow colour best. It propagates easily from sticks that unusually need to dry off/seal over for a few days before planting & watering. Needs lots of hours of sunshine each day too. In Thailand the plant is called lillawadee.
Thanks for the info! I've been using a soil blocker to start my seeds this year, which is great for eliminating plastic seed trays, but the blocks do dry out a bit. Vermiculite may help!
This was a good topic for a video with lots of information in it. It could have been two videos. One just on materials to fix native soil issue, and one specifically about the pearlite vs. vermiculite topic and their uses. I think as is it left some obvious open questions like: What about the use of vermiculite in raised beds? Which does what from your big list of differences at the beginning of the video? What about use in grow bags? Does either help hold onto nutrients in the soil?
Great video. I use vermiculite to start with my lemon seeds this year and it worked great.
I have never used either, but learned a lot from this video.
Have used vermiculite mixed with concrete to make soft stone garden skulpture so awesome to have another use
Great vid! Thank you for all of the information! In the square foot gardening method, the developer recommends nearly 1/3 vermiculite for the soil mix and I wondered why. This answered my questions.
I fixed my clay soil with Peat Moss, Green Sand, Compost, and Bio Char , i dont know if that was the right way, but it worked Great
Thanks for post, something I could try to help my soil.
Wonderful information, Luke! I love how detailed you are in the way you teach. Thanks!
THANK YOU for his information! You kept me from wasting my time and money by adding perlite to my clay soil.
ADD suffers @7:07
Perlite - Drainage - helps prevents caking, used to help drainage (less weight than river rock etc). Good in potting mix.
Vermiculite - Holds Moisture - seed start mix to reduce water stress. Germante small seeds. Good in starter mix because its ligher and also holds moisture. Prevents fungus ants because course.
Thank you! Will definitely have to try vermiculite to prevent fungus gnats.
I use vermiculite in my soil when I'm propagating my indoor plants and with my seedlings for the garden. I mix extra perlite in with the soil when I repot all of my houseplants. 🙂
Fantastic explanation. I needed a refresher course!
Starting my first seeds (ever) this weekend, this was timely!
Cool to see someone with the same name and same spelling Loren!just saying...
Thank you Luke for this info . This yaer i bought a bunch of bags of organic otting soil to add to my outdoor pots to mix in with my old soil added a bit of Pearlite and bagged steer manure and some bagged compost. I also used the potting mix to refresh my soils for indoor plants and start a few seeds and i have had fungus nats!!!! those turds are making me angry lol! i lost a few plants to them and now i know what they were up to. I read that cinnamon can help,but now im gonna go get some Vermiculite! Thank you so much.
Vermiculite absorbs K, cal, mag, and other nutrients when incorperated in clay soils. That exchange capability can happen faster than some slow release fertlizers will make nutrients avaliable to plants. It's a soil amendment.