Thoughts on Diatomite

Hello All,

I am curious what y'all have to say about diatomite as a grow medium.

I just stumbled on this and it seems promising.

I especially like that it is made from diatamacous earth, so bugs won’t lay eggs on it, like they do with other media.
I am hoping that by using the diatomite it will help cut back on the thrip infestations I have been getting.
I have no problem spraying neem during veg but I refuse to spray during flower and I figure a few thrips will just add protein.
But I don’t like what they do to my plants.

Like I said, I am just curious what everyone thinks.

Thank in advance for your thoughts

Chris Edward said:

Hello All,

I am curious what y'all have to say about diatomite as a grow medium.

I just stumbled on this and it seems promising.

I especially like that it is made from diatamacous earth, so bugs won’t lay eggs on it, like they do with other media.
I am hoping that by using the diatomite it will help cut back on the thrip infestations I have been getting.
I have no problem spraying neem during veg but I refuse to spray during flower and I figure a few thrips will just add protein.
But I don’t like what they do to my plants.

Like I said, I am just curious what everyone thinks.

Thank in advance for your thoughts

Click to expand...

You're talking about the kiln fired aggregate correct? You're growing hydro correct? You can use it like you would hydroton or perlite. It's used for cat litter and for oil and other spills due to it's high absorption properties. You'll want to find the largest size aggregate possible. 3/8 - 1/2 inch in size. You can also use it as a soil amendment. The powdered form can be sprinkled on the top of the grow medium as well.

@xtsho,
I am not aware that is is kiln fired.
I this this is just diatomite rock that is crushed up into 10-15mm size pieces and then packaged and sold as a media.

I am talking about using it as a hydro media, either in place of or as a capper for hydroton.

All the cat liters I have seen are either silica or bentonite based and bentonite dissolves in water.
But I will look around perhaps bentonite has become too expensive now and diatomite is the new cheaper option.

You wouldn't happen to know of a supplier would you?
All I keep getting is boutique stuff, like for bonsai and that stuff is like $60 for 5 gallons.

Thanks for the help!

Diatomite/diatomaceous earth is 80 -90% silica. I don't think you can get just crushed diatomite rock that would work. It's a sedimentary rock that breaks down very easily which is why they kiln fire similar to how they make hydroton out of clay. Other than cat litter and absorbent material I don't know of any suppliers. It's readily available as an oil absorbent in kiln fired granular form. https://epminerals.com/products/floor-dry

http://blog.epminerals.com/diatomaceous-earth-indoor-gardening-and-hydroponics

@xtsho,
Thanks for the info.
I was not aware that diatomite media was kiln fired like hydroton…

This sort of makes it similar to terra cotta, except the diatomaceous earth also makes it an insect repellant…

The link you provided is a company that offers a wide range of products (wholesale), I just have to take some time and look through to see if there is one with a particle size that will work, something about the size of regular hydroton.

If I can’t find anything, I may try to make some, it should be fun…