No perlite in this town... alternatives

[poemsforsealions]

I think I have a few options:

1. Don't use perlite. 100% compost
2. Buy perlite off the internet (a hassle & I would probby have to pay postage)
3. Use an alternative
4. Carefully pick out the perlite from the soil in the pots I'm about to throw away (I'm about to harvest 2 plants). I read about someone doing this, I think. They boiled the perlite - why would you do that?

What you think, guys?

Thank youuuu!

[Up_in_smoke]

No perlite anywhere?
Seriously?
What kinda fucked up town don't have perlite, they sell it in pretty much any garden centre :S
Internet it is then really, alternatives to perlite are like vermiculite and if nowhere has perlite, then nowheres gonna have vermiculite either.

Do you live in a very small town or something? Don't you have a wilkinsons nearby? Poundstretcher? any diy store? any garden centre? Jees even Tesco probably carry Perlite in their gardening section.

Its kinda like saying nowhere sells soil!

[Master Poet]

An alternative would be fairly fine gravel but it will need to be sterilised.

[poemsforsealions]

Thanks guys, yeh, Wilkos has none, Focus DIY has shut down.

It is easy to find in summer, but I've left it too late, I think.

[Master Poet]

Can you not get soil with perlite already in it? Many of the good soils do it this way.

Go for Plagron light mix if you can get it.

[Anonymiss]

Carefully pick out the perlite from the soil
Perlite floats, so maybe mix it all up in a bucket with lots of water and skim it off the surface?

[MrMojorising]

now the feeling this town hasn't got any either,or sand.
internet it has to be or chopping up loads of polystyrene :)

now to find the cheapest post&package,it works out cheaper buying it in 50l 0r 100l bags.

[Up_in_smoke]

Perlite floats, so maybe mix it all up in a bucket with lots of water and skim it off the surface?

LOL, so does soil though

[lil rasta]

Drive to another town

[Strider]

No perlite anywhere?
Seriously?
What kinda fucked up town don't have perlite, they sell it in pretty much any garden centre :S
Internet it is then really, alternatives to perlite are like vermiculite and if nowhere has perlite, then nowheres gonna have vermiculite either.

Do you live in a very small town or something? Don't you have a wilkinsons nearby? Poundstretcher? any diy store? any garden centre? Jees even Tesco probably carry Perlite in their gardening section.

Its kinda like saying nowhere sells soil!

I've always found it varies man, i live in a major city but unless i drive, im kinda fucked for all these things as well (unless i want to pay growshop prices for medium, like 15 quid a 30-50ltr bag, jog on :P) even last time i was at B & Q had almost no pearlite, only had wee 5 lit bags for 7 fucking quid for pot plants, most of the places that you would THINK sell it don't especially as summer is gone, a lot of smaller places and supermarkets up here just stop selling that stuff, it all gets packed away in the warehouse to make space for seasonal autumn/winter stock

hell i had the same issue with propagators, all over the city centre, including the grow shop, bugger all, ahd to go to a B & Q retail park, 2 hours on a bus for a 3 quid prop....

[Anonymiss]

LOL, so does soil though
I guess. But I suppose it also partly depends on the soil. Real soil doesn't float.

Personally, I don't bother with perlite (or any other additives) these days. Just Levington's seed and cutting compost all the way through.

[rndusername]

Seriously ? No B&Q, no Homebase ? No independent garden stores ? Wow!

[MrMojorising]

time to change to hydro :)

[Strider]

Seriously ? No B&Q, no Homebase ? No independent garden stores ? Wow!

within glasgow city centre? fuck no :P, a low growth/hi occupancy business like that couldn't afford the rent or rates and would receive no grants or tax help, all that shit is deep in the suburbs and outskirts where public transport is quirky, your supposed to have a car :P

you do get small independent places of course, but, well, they mostly suck :P whatever growing medium they DO have is totally random and generally soaked through and lousy with pests as its kept on the street, and as said, come autumn/winter they start packing all that stuff away for xmas and halloween tat and fireworks, im not tying to say there is utterly NOWHERE you can buy stuff but it can be a lot harder than you might think, for pearlite i always order it online, its like 15 quid for 100ltrs, and its light so you generally just pay standard postage that does most folk for ages, fuck B&Q and their 5 litr bags for 7 quid :P


time to change to hydro :)

exactly what im doing, for pretty much all the reasons i just described :P

[dazza]

for god's sake eBay must have some, surely?

[nimmo24lung]

You could use clay pebbels

[magichelmet]

Perlite is simply a way of improving drainage and aeration and clay pebbles would help towards doing the same - but I suspect you won't be able to get those either. Before the days of perlite Alpine plant collectors would use horticultural grit to improve drainage but again- can you get hold of it? As far as I know the polystyrene balls used in packaging are inert and you might find a friendly shop keeper some of whose goods are delivered to him with these in the boxes - I work in a shop and we occasionally get asked for them and will oblige. Failing that sharp sand (not building sand) is also used in horticulture to improve drainage. However I think the Internet is by far the best idea.
Regards,
Magic.

[Tabbatha]

30 ltr bag of perlite ( http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk/Growing-Media-198/Growing-Media-Improvers-207/Perlite-115.asp) for £5.95 + the same for delivery.

Dude.. just suck it up and get yourself some perlite. It's pretty much necessary if you want healthy plants.

:).

[spot]

I guess. But I suppose it also partly depends on the soil. Real soil doesn't float.

Personally, I don't bother with perlite (or any other additives) these days. Just Levington's seed and cutting compost all the way through.

I don't use it any more as well and iv even used garden soil with no perlite or anything an the girls have done good.

[Tabbatha]

^^ Heretics ;)

[Master Poet]

Get a soil that has it already added like Plagron light mix or similar. I just ordered 3 x 50L bags for £6.99 a bag plus £11.99 delivery. Im not complaining.

[Strider]

for me pearlite's utterly essential seeing as i grow in 200-500ltr pots, the sheer weight and bulk would compress everything solid otherwise, would mean lots of hotspots and poor oxygen to the roots :(

[nuube]

for me pearlite's utterly essential seeing as i grow in 200-500ltr pots, the sheer weight and bulk would compress everything solid otherwise, would mean lots of hotspots and poor oxygen to the roots :(

Thems some might big pots, what size of trees are you growing?

[Goodbuddy]

Out of date Question.
Been Answered.
Closing off.