It is an industrial mineral and a commercial product useful for its low density after processing. It contains moderate to low water retention ratings. It provides excellent drainage at a reduced price and won’t break down. This mineral is different from other volcanic minerals as it can expand up to 13 times its original size when heated, resulting in a lightweight material. Perlite comes from volcanic rock that has been heated and crushed. It occurs naturally and has the unusual property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently. Perlite is a natural filtration system, allowing excess water to easily drain away while retaining a little moisture and catching nutrients that plants need to grow. The result is a very lightweight, white stone-like substance. Learn how your comment data is processed. This is especially true in raised beds and container gardens, but also in the ground as well. Adding perlite to your soil also increases humidity, which some plants need to thrive. You’ll want to protect your mouth and eye while handling it, so you don’t ingest the dust. Perlite is also an excellent option for … It’s also popular among farmers who grow succulents or orchids, and those who do lots of pot/container gardening, as it offers impressive drainage. Under a microscope, perlite is revealed as being covered with many tiny cells that absorb moisture on the exterior of the particle, not inside, which makes it particularly useful in facilitating moisture to plant roots. Perlite is a type of form of amorphous volcanic glass that contains roughly 2 to 5 percent water. However, perlite is a harder mineral, and as a result, it holds its shape, retaining those air pockets for the roots. Perlite can be directly compared to another mineral additive known as Vermiculite. You can also use it with other additives or as a standalone growth medium. It can easily maintain its shape in the soil without disintegrating. Blasting is required where perlite cannot be readily broken using rippers, but care must be taken to achieve fragmentation without production of excessive fines or oversized material. However, vermiculite has a higher expansion potential. It’s sometimes referred to as “swollen pyrite” and is nicknamed “volcanic popcorn.” If you use a microscope to look at a piece of gardening perlite, you would see that it’s relatively porous. Perlite is a naturally occurring mineral, and it exists in nature as a type of volcanic glass. Crushed perlite must be quickly heated to 900°C (about 1650°F) in order to finish the transformation process. On the surface: You can scatter perlite on the surface of the soil, as it acts as a wicking agent. That said, let’s now look at the various advantages of perlite in your garden: Perlite is such a valuable additive to gardens and hydroponic setups, and there are good reasons for that. Perlite is lightweight, easy to handle, and odorless. Get it as soon as Tue, Dec 29. Pearlite is a two-phased, lamellar (or layered) structure composed of alternating layers of ferrite (87.5 wt%) and cementite (12.5 wt%) that occurs in some steels and cast irons.During slow cooling of an iron-carbon alloy, pearlite forms by a eutectoid reaction as austenite cools below 723 °C (1,333 °F) (the eutectoid temperature). If the perlite is soft and friable, brecciated or extensively jointed, ripping is employed with significant cost savings. One of the primary uses of perlite is for aeration and moisture retention in soil. Perlite is a form of volcanic glass (SiO2) that is mined all over the world. This mainly aids with the growth of healthy root systems. It is a volcanic rock material, and when heated to about 900°C, it expands to 13x its original size. Horticultural Perlite 2 Quart Bag - All Natural Soil Additive for Indoor & Outdoor Plants, Improves Drainage, Aeration, and Growth. The perlite rock gets crushed and super heated until it pops into a small oval that looks like puffed rice. Vermiculite and perlite come from different kinds of rocks. While perlite does not cause cancer, some commercial perlite products may equally contain a little amount of quartz, which is said to be one of the carcinogenic substances. Furthermore, those air pockets equally mean that perlite is excellent for root systems, too. In fact, the end product weighs only 5 to 8 pounds per cubic foot. Perlite can be used with rooting compounds. Crude perlite is a basic volcanic rock. The green community recognizes perlite-enhanced products—like insulation—as a high-performance solution drawn from a natural material of nearly unlimited supply throughout the world. $8.49 $ 8. Unlike most animals, plants reproduce asexually, a process known as fragmentation. It is naturally sterile and has a neutral pH. Asbestos is a fibrous kind of a mineral, while perlite is a volcanic glass. Plants that require moist, nutrient-rich soil grow better in vermiculite mixes, while those that prefer dry or quick-draining soil are more likely to thrive in a perlite-based mix. Aside from that, you can also scatter fine perlite lightly across the surface of your lawn, where it’ll eventually work down into the soil and boost drainage. And if you’re producing your own potting soil, then you may want to use perlite as it’s one of the most used compositions in the industry. Furthermore, it’s a somewhat affordable mineral. Perlite is a form of shapeless volcanic glass that is heated up to 1,600°F, at which point it pops just like popcorn and swells up to 13x its former size, leading to a very lightweight material. Save my name, email, and clean ( DE ) is another type of mineral additive comes! Create those lightweight Styrofoam-like balls stronger root formation than the ones grown in water! 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