Too much perlite
- Thread starter Nugro21
- Start date
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
Yes you can have too much. If organic soil the goal is not just drainage but aeration(oxygen potential) And the surprising thing this oxygen isn’t coming from the “air” but the water. H20. We want plenty of surface where water can move but not get stuck is how I think about it.
to much perlite also can decrease CEC in soils.
1/3 soil base aeration works well. But better to use some perlite and some pumice stone. Or all pumice stone because pumice holds a charge better than perlite.
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
You want your soil to become a homogeneous consistency. Should be spongy and alive with visible mycelium structure.
The vast networks of beneficial fungi also provide a route for water to move around in this living micro herd structure which is in each container.
also if organic soil.Runoff can tell you lots.
I want to see zero runoff in properly built snd watered soil. If you water to little you’ll get runoff during application. If your over watered you’ll get runoff and pooling in trays. The just right moisture and structure will not runoff. Even if you dump 1/2 -3/4 gallon on a 15 gallon or something. The soil should obsorb and you shouldnt see any water coming out bottoms.
The vast networks of beneficial fungi also provide a route for water to move around in this living micro herd structure which is in each container.
also if organic soil.Runoff can tell you lots.
I want to see zero runoff in properly built snd watered soil. If you water to little you’ll get runoff during application. If your over watered you’ll get runoff and pooling in trays. The just right moisture and structure will not runoff. Even if you dump 1/2 -3/4 gallon on a 15 gallon or something. The soil should obsorb and you shouldnt see any water coming out bottoms.
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
Also try posting in organics subsection. You’ll get better answers geared towards what your doing. Have you made a mix yet or just planning things out?
I've got 3 plants grow now in ed stone recipe 420 potting with perlite but I want to transplant up from 1 gal to 3 gal with more perlite in pot.
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
The plant will grow regardless. Finding the “perfect” practice when it comes to soil is tough. But I also will say I don’t see many successful organic rounds( no bottle feeding) in anything less than a 7 gallon pot.
Wizzlebiz
Well-Known Member
Recipe 420 absolutely does not need more perlite. It has perlite, coco, and pumice. I use it exclusively.
If you are growing in organic soil, and you are allowing for any type runoff, you simply are not understand the whole organic growing thing! When you grow organically, everything your plant will ever need to grow through to harvest, besides water, should be in the pot your plant is growing in, and you want all that stuff to stay in there, so allowing for any runoff, is a bad idea!
