Vermiculite???

LT3

Member
Hi! im having soil issues! cant get hold of good quality soil in my area of the world (south east asia) and have been trying to get my germinated seeds to grow into healthy seedlings but because of the poor quality of soil as soon as the germinated seeds go into the soil they just die!! ive tried so many different methods over the last month and a half and nothing has worked! ive wasted about 20 seeds so far! i can get hold of vemiculite though. so my question is this:- can you use vermiculite on its own to A. grow the seed to seedling and B. through out the entire grow and doing away with soil all together! is this a hydroponic method or can i grow using vermiculite instead of soil without the hydro set up?
 

growone

Well-Known Member
i've not heard of it being used for hydro setups, but then i don't grow with hydro
vermiculite holds water, kind of a mineral sponge, kind of the opposite of perlite which increases drainage in soil
now if you can find pure perlite, that i've seen used for hydro like setups
 

LT3

Member
ive done a hydro grow once before with clay balls but never grown with soil which is what im atempting to do now. do you know if i can do away with soil and replace with vermiculite? the soil i have availible is not good enough to grow weed in! the weed just dies! i dont have the facilities to do a hydro set up. any help you can give will be hugly appriciated!!
 

growone

Well-Known Member
i don't know if you can replace soil with vermiculite, never heard of it being tried
it's typically used to add some 'wetness' to a dry soil, i.e. a soil that won't hold much moisture for long
mixing vermiculite with sand might give you something, i expect you can find sand, maybe at an aquarium shop
i'd think that people in SE asia do have some house plants, that kind of soil should be a starting point for a soil mix
 
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boodro

Member
You can use 3 parts perlite to 1 part vermiculite. You will of course also need water soluble nutrients and a ph meter. Are you using rockwool?
 

missnu

Well-Known Member
You can, but most people use perlite for a similar effect, as you are reading now I guess...but you can use vermiculite...I have seen talk of it on tomato websites, and places that make vermiculite talk about using it in this manner...so it is up to you...
 
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LT3

Member
You can use 3 parts perlite to 1 part vermiculite. You will of course also need water soluble nutrients and a ph meter. Are you using rockwool?
two things i cant get hold of over here are PH meter and rockwool. not to my knowledge anyway. what other things would rockwool and PH meter be used for besides growing? could i get them in an aquirium shop maybe? ive got everything else i need. ona gel, carbon, light, nutes, seeds, e.t.c. just figuring out this soil issue now then im away!! i thought about using fibreglass insulation as a substitute for rockwool but i was informed that insulation has added chemicals in it that would be damaging to my plant and my health. any thoughts?
 

growone

Well-Known Member
an aquarium shop will have ph drops for testing the ph of water, not as nice as a meter, but drops work just fine
 
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