Perlite & Vermiculite
Perlite has been used by gardeners all over the world for many years as a way to improve the aeration and drainage of your chosen media. PLANT!T Perlite is a natural, pH neutral, sterile growing medium derived from volcanic rock, which is safe to handle, odourless, lightweight and easy-to-use.
Advantages Of PLANT!T Perlite:
- Better, faster plant growth through increased nutrient uptake
- Enhanced aeration and drainage
- Completely sterile and free of disease
- Neutral pH of around 7
- Easy & safe to handle, odourless, and lightweight
- Aids in breaking up heavy soils
- Derived from a natural source
Uses Of PLANT!T Perlite:
For Propagation From Cuttings
Mix equal parts PLANT!T Perlite and seed & cutting compost (50/50). Or when used in a hydroponic cloner you can use 100% PLANT!T Perlite. Place your mixture in either pot or seed tray (solid bottom), insert cutting and firm in. Keep well-watered. As soon as roots develop, feed with ROOT!T First Feed.
For Propagation From Seed
To make a lightweight propagation mixture, mix 1 part PLANT!T Vermiculite to 9 parts PLANT!T Perlite. Place your mixture in pot or seed tray and sow seeds, making sure all seeds are covered. Place in a ROOT!T Propagator or on a windowsill. Feed with ROOT!T FIRST Feed when seeds have germinated.
Potting Compost For Container Planting
Use PLANT!T Perlite in place of sand or grit in potting. Add a few handfuls into your standard potting compost to lighten and fluff up the texture. An effective mix is 2 parts potting compost, 2 part PLANT!T Perlite and 1 part PLANT!T Vermiculite.
Hydroponic Cultivation
For capillary irrigation use at least 30mm depth of PLANT!T Perlite in the base of your chosen tray. This can take the place of sand or gravel. For drip feeding fill your pots using 100% PLANT!T Perlite (wash Perlite first and use pots with small base holes or a piece of horticultural fabric in the base to avoid particles escaping and blocking up drip lines), run irrigation for 3 hours before planting. If using beneficial microbes, run your system for 24 hours before planting allowing microbes to colonise your PLANT!T Perlite minimising plant stress when plants are added.
Note: If using PLANT!T Perlite in bed systems with warming cables within the media, use a 50/50 mix of Perlite and sand to prevent overheating.
PLANT!T Vermiculite is a firm favourite with avid gardeners, due to its excellent water retention properties. PLANT!T Vermiculite is a natural, sterile, soft mica mineral, which can be added to any growing media, with great water holding and insulation properties. It also offers a high cation exchange capacity which means it will slowly release nutrients back to your plant from the feed solution it has absorbed. Vermiculite is excellent for raised beds as a base insulator and moisture retainer while still encouraging free draining, it is safe to handle, odourless, lightweight and easy-to-use.
Advantages Of PLANT!T Vermiculite:
- Faster seed germination from great insulation properties
- Better, faster growth through increased nutrient uptake
- Absorbs excess nutrients
- High water holding capacity
- Reduces evaporation
- Stops nutrients from being washed out
- Reduces plant stress in extreme weather due to insulation properties
- Aids in re-wetting dry soils
- Completely sterile and free of disease
- Easy & safe to handle, odourless and lightweight
- Derived from a natural source
Uses Of PLANT!T Vermiculite:
For Propagation From Cuttings
Fill container with a 100mm layer of PLANT!T vermiculite and moisten thoroughly, add the cutting to your pot and firm in vermiculite around stem. As soon as roots develop, feed with ROOT!T First Feed.
For Propagation From Seed
To make a lightweight propagation mixture, mix 1 part PLANT!T Vermiculite to 9 parts PLANT!T Perlite. Place your mixture in pot or seed tray and sow seeds, covering seeds with the same mixture when required. Place trays or pots in a ROOT!T propagator or on a windowsill. Feed with ROOT!T First Feed when seeds have germinated. For small seeds try 100% PLANT!T Vermiculite or a mix of 50/50 with a seed compost. PLANT!T is also ideal for indoor plants that require a lot of moisture.
Potting Compost For Container Planting
Mix 2 parts potting compost, 2 part PLANT!T Perlite and 1 part PLANT!T Vermiculite.This mixture offers the most benefits when using liquid feeds as it holds on to nutrients and slowly releases them to the plant.
For Soil Conditioning
Simply mix in with your soil to desired moisture level. This will depend on the properties of your soil, for example if your soil is very dry you will want to add a larger quantity of Vermiculite.
For Preparing Raised Beds
Lay down weed block fabric within your bed then cover with a layer of PLANT!T Vermiculite 100mm deep. Mix 10% PLANT!T Vermiculite with your soil and a slow release feed such as VitaLink Bat Guano then fill your raised bed with this mixture and you are now ready for planting.