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Super corse perlite, is it to large grained?

Justosmo

Justosmo

I found Amazon selling 50liter bags if hydrofarm super corse perlite. I thought perfect to mix with my soil for my pots!

But reading reviews the size is 3/8-1/2" pellets. Is that to big or should I be good?
 
I found Amazon selling 50liter bags if hydrofarm super corse perlite. I thought perfect to mix with my soil for my pots!

But reading reviews the size is 3/8-1/2" pellets. Is that to big or should I be good?
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Well, that depends... What is the rest of your growing medium constructed from, and what size containers are you using?

You can always screen out the bigger stuff. Even though it says "super coarse", there are always going to be a mixture of particle sizes. But the first question first...
 
i recall reading 5-10 mm perlite was the upper limit for perlite?  with 2mm being the lower limit?
 
i bought a bag of this super coarse perlite... its HEAVY though.  i normally ALWAYS go with the lighter shit, but the last bag of sunshine perlite i got from my normal place was like 40% toxic death dust and sub 2mm perlite chunks. complete absolute TRASH. that brand of perlite can choke on my hog ill never buy that shit again. 
 
"premium grade" my asshole. fuck sunshine.
 
oh yea... but perlite size depends on what you want to do... if you are doing seed flats, you want very very fine perlite... one of the very few MG products i reccomend is their 2 quart bag of super fine verm and fine grade perlite.
 
its great for seed flats.
 
after seedlings are transplanted though? you want verm/perlite thats more middle of the range. personally i dont think he super chunky stuff like the stuff i have now is any better than say middle of the range coarse graded perlite.... 4-5mm stuff. 
 
BTW!... if anyone in houston has a source for cheap 4cu.ft bags of perlite, let a brother know will ya? 
 
queequeg152 said:
i recall reading 5-10 mm perlite was the upper limit for perlite?  with 2mm being the lower limit?
 
i bought a bag of this super coarse perlite... its HEAVY though.  i normally ALWAYS go with the lighter shit, but the last bag of sunshine perlite i got from my normal place was like 40% toxic death dust and sub 2mm perlite chunks. complete absolute TRASH. that brand of perlite can choke on my hog ill never buy that shit again. 
 
"premium grade" my asshole. f**k sunshine.
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I started using heavier perlite last season. I prefer to use recycled expanded glass, but it's just too expensive. Anyway, I love it. Sorry about your brand, but I like a nice mix of perlite with everything from about 1mm up to about 1". For some reason, I just have really good luck with diversity of particle size. Also, I use bark in my mixes, and most people recommend screening the pine bark fines. But I don't... It's quite lovely as it is, especially in large containers. (of which I primarily grow in 10 and 12.5 gallon)
 
solid7 said:
I started using heavier perlite last season. I prefer to use recycled expanded glass, but it's just too expensive. Anyway, I love it. Sorry about your brand, but I like a nice mix of perlite with everything from about 1mm up to about 1". For some reason, I just have really good luck with diversity of particle size. Also, I use bark in my mixes, and most people recommend screening the pine bark fines. But I don't... It's quite lovely as it is, especially in large containers. (of which I primarily grow in 10 and 12.5 gallon)
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yea all perlite will have all sizes of perlite inside it... im just talking about the predominating sieve sizes though.
 
like when you put the perlite inside a stack of sieve trays and shake them... 60% of it will be in that coarse range, so you sell it as coarse perlite even though its like 10% super small pieces and dust. and 30% larger pieces or what ever...  
 
this bag of sunshine i got was a joke though. i really mean it, it was worse than a factory reject bag or some shit like that.  ive been buying sunshine coarse grade perlite for like 5 years... never had a bag even CLOSE to this.
 
it was literally 40% dust and sand grain sized shit. it was really really bad. the largest grains were maby 2mm?
 
never buying that shit again.
 
queequeg152 said:
yea all perlite will have all sizes of perlite inside it... im just talking about the predominating sieve sizes though.
 
like when you put the perlite inside a stack of sieve trays and shake them... 60% of it will be in that coarse range, so you sell it as coarse perlite even though its like 10% super small pieces and dust. and 30% larger pieces or what ever...  
 
this bag of sunshine i got was a joke though. i really mean it, it was worse than a factory reject bag or some shit like that.  ive been buying sunshine coarse grade perlite for like 5 years... never had a bag even CLOSE to this.
 
it was literally 40% dust and sand grain sized shit. it was really really bad. the largest grains were maby 2mm?
 
never buying that shit again.
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I used to sieve sand for a living. If you are getting more than a certain percentage of a size that is outside the label listed, you are either using the wrong brand, or else somebody rough handled the shit out of it. Perlite should be dead easy to sort properly. However, I'm not complaining, as long as I get a significant percentage of what I paid for in the largest size. After all, you pay a premium for the coarser sizes.
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     I picked up a bag of that exact stuff this year for my containers. It's excellent. Just the right size.
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Great to hear. I couldnt pass on that price\quantity
 
solid7 said:
I used to sieve sand for a living. If you are getting more than a certain percentage of a size that is outside the label listed, you are either using the wrong brand, or else somebody rough handled the shit out of it. Perlite should be dead easy to sort properly. However, I'm not complaining, as long as I get a significant percentage of what I paid for in the largest size. After all, you pay a premium for the coarser sizes.
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alot of gardenign products are not sifted.
 
most of the peat bails are not sifted.... alot the bulk perlite is not sifted either.  both fertiloam and premier and some other company that starts with an L... and that company that starts with an F... all these companies DO sell graded/classified and sifted peat moss... even by colors, but these are the bulk products offered to nursuries or transplant growers or what ever. they come in these big bails ... like 4 to a pallet, or in those gigantic pallet sized bags sand comes in?
 
what they are supposed to do is roughly classify by weight or SOMETHING to exclude unacceptably small or large or foreign matter.  air classification comes to mind.
 
the Grow-it brand coarse perlite i get is extreemly uniform in the 10-15mm ish range?  but its also more expensive than the sunshine.
 
if you look at my old cornell peat lite thread... THATS the perlite that im accustomed to, thats the perlite i want back, not that dusty shit. 
 
idk wtf happened to their process, but they can fuck off now. im done with them.
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/37333-making-cornell-peat-lite-like-a-boss/?hl=%2Bcornell+%2Bpeat+%2Blite
 
     The stuff I bought and the stuff the OP is asking about ( http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-GMPER100L-100-Liter-Coarse-Perlite/dp/B0055F49P2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 ) is just like que is describing (not the ultra-shitty, dumpster fire of dogshit stuff). It's a mixture of sizes. I'd say about 20% of it is small like the MG stuff I used to get in 2gallon bags at Menards. The majority of it is in the 5-10mm range, though. 
     I used MetroMix 830 and leaf mold, probably like 3:1, for my container mix this year. This size perlite fluffed up the volume of the soilless mix and the leaf mold noticeably. After I got done wetting the mix and mixing in amendments, I added the perlite and mixed it thoroughly with a transfer shovel. ( I added the perlite last to avoid breaking it up.) It's the lightest textured mix I've ever bought or made. I think the leaf remnants work with the big pieces of perlite to create lots of space for air. 
     We're due here for a weekful of rain and storms, so I'll have to report back later on how well it drains.  ;) Although it seemed to behave well when I watered after potting up my plants.
 
queequeg152 said:
 
BTW!... if anyone in houston has a source for cheap 4cu.ft bags of perlite, let a brother know will ya?
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I'm not in Houston, but you could try Home Depot if you have one near you. Our local one ( Lafayette LA ) has 4cu ft bags available for about $17.
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     The stuff I bought and the stuff the OP is asking about ( http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-GMPER100L-100-Liter-Coarse-Perlite/dp/B0055F49P2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 ) is just like que is describing (not the ultra-shitty, dumpster fire of dogshit stuff). It's a mixture of sizes. I'd say about 20% of it is small like the MG stuff I used to get in 2gallon bags at Menards. The majority of it is in the 5-10mm range, though. 
     I used MetroMix 830 and leaf mold, probably like 3:1, for my container mix this year. This size perlite fluffed up the volume of the soilless mix and the leaf mold noticeably. After I got done wetting the mix and mixing in amendments, I added the perlite and mixed it thoroughly with a transfer shovel. ( I added the perlite last to avoid breaking it up.) It's the lightest textured mix I've ever bought or made. I think the leaf remnants work with the big pieces of perlite to create lots of space for air. 
     We're due here for a weekful of rain and storms, so I'll have to report back later on how well it drains.  ;) Although it seemed to behave well when I watered after potting up my plants.
Click to expand...
 
hey wow... i pay like 33 bucks with tax for that very stuff. lol so i can order it online for juts another 2 bucks? thats insane lol.
whats the shipping on these huge bags? its got to be like 20 bucks? how is that even possible? these bags are huge man.
 
i didnt realize the OP was asking about the  grow-it stuff... i can take a pic of the perlite if you want? i have like 1/3 of one bag left. 
 
my impression was it was slightly too large, but if hybrid says its 5-10mm id go with that i never measured it.
 
on an unrelated note...
 
my impression of this stuff is that its expanded and then crushed down to a smaller size?
i mean they seem to have fracture faces unlike the smaller grades of perlite that seem almost like popcorn? i dont know how to explain it, but it the grow-it stuff seems like lava rocks... angular faces as though its been crushed down, where as the old sunshine stuff i got was more like minature pea gravel thats been expanded but not crushed.
 
again though, im not a big believe in this super chunky perlite trend. imho anything in that acceptable range of 2-10 is fine.  i would not be paying more for this grow-it perlite if i could still get the proper old sunshine coarse grade stuff. 
 
BTW. i did go back to the fertilizer place to pick up bails of peat moss... squeezed and shook on the other bags of sunshine perlite and they seemed to be similar to the ones i got, hence why im pissed. it was not a 1  in a million bag, it seems like a whole batch was fucked which makes me think they dont give a fuck.
MeatHead1313 said:
I'm not in Houston, but you could try Home Depot if you have one near you. Our local one ( Lafayette LA ) has 4cu ft bags available for about $17.
Click to expand...
 
shit dude thats amazing. ours RARELY carry 2. cubic foot bags of thermo-rock branded perlite. its very erratic... maby 1 in 5 visits to the garden center ill see it.
 
this 2 cu.ft bag is 20 bucks though so its not even close to worth it.
 
This is a 7 gallon pot for size reference. The particles you see are pretty much representative of what's in the bag. This pot hasn't settled much.
IMG_1707_zpss7qux3oq.jpg


     Free shipping with Amazon Prime!
 
queequeg152 said:
hey wow... i pay like 33 bucks with tax for that very stuff. lol so i can order it online for juts another 2 bucks? thats insane lol.
whats the shipping on these huge bags? its got to be like 20 bucks? how is that even possible? these bags are huge man.
 
i didnt realize the OP was asking about the  grow-it stuff... i can take a pic of the perlite if you want? i have like 1/3 of one bag left. 
 
my impression was it was slightly too large, but if hybrid says its 5-10mm id go with that i never measured it.
 
on an unrelated note...
 
my impression of this stuff is that its expanded and then crushed down to a smaller size?
i mean they seem to have fracture faces unlike the smaller grades of perlite that seem almost like popcorn? i dont know how to explain it, but it the grow-it stuff seems like lava rocks... angular faces as though its been crushed down, where as the old sunshine stuff i got was more like minature pea gravel thats been expanded but not crushed.
 
again though, im not a big believe in this super chunky perlite trend. imho anything in that acceptable range of 2-10 is fine.  i would not be paying more for this grow-it perlite if i could still get the proper old sunshine coarse grade stuff. 
 
BTW. i did go back to the fertilizer place to pick up bails of peat moss... squeezed and shook on the other bags of sunshine perlite and they seemed to be similar to the ones i got, hence why im pissed. it was not a 1  in a million bag, it seems like a whole batch was f**ked which makes me think they dont give a f**k.
 
shit dude thats amazing. ours RARELY carry 2. cubic foot bags of thermo-rock branded perlite. its very erratic... maby 1 in 5 visits to the garden center ill see it.
 
this 2 cu.ft bag is 20 bucks though so its not even close to worth it.
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Yeah definitely a good deal! Pissed me off though that they have it now when I'm growing in ground, while when I was growing in pots only in the past and making my own mix they only had the little bags of MG perlite so I had to order off Amazon. It's been a while since I've been to my local HD, but iirc it was Vigoro brand perlite.
 
     This stuff didn't seem to have any angular faces. Maybe it was crushed from larger pieces and then tumbled? Maybe the shitty stuff you got was from the tail end of a large batch, or what happened to be settled at the bottom of a big hopper they use for filling bags. I dunno. That sucks though. No quality control.
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     The stuff I bought and the stuff the OP is asking about ( http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-GMPER100L-100-Liter-Coarse-Perlite/dp/B0055F49P2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 ) is just like que is describing (not the ultra-shitty, dumpster fire of dogshit stuff). It's a mixture of sizes. I'd say about 20% of it is small like the MG stuff I used to get in 2gallon bags at Menards. The majority of it is in the 5-10mm range, though. 
     I used MetroMix 830 and leaf mold, probably like 3:1, for my container mix this year. This size perlite fluffed up the volume of the soilless mix and the leaf mold noticeably. After I got done wetting the mix and mixing in amendments, I added the perlite and mixed it thoroughly with a transfer shovel. ( I added the perlite last to avoid breaking it up.) It's the lightest textured mix I've ever bought or made. I think the leaf remnants work with the big pieces of perlite to create lots of space for air. 
     We're due here for a weekful of rain and storms, so I'll have to report back later on how well it drains.  ;) Although it seemed to behave well when I watered after potting up my plants.
Click to expand...
 
I just wanna know why Hyrdofarm, an American company is measuring the shit in liters, dammit?  :rofl:
 
hogleg said:
 
I just wanna know why Hyrdofarm, an American company is measuring the shit in liters, dammit?  :rofl:
Click to expand...
 
 
 
     Jesus, dude. Even the BRITISH don't use imperial measurements anymore! What the hell is wrong with this country?!  :P
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     This stuff didn't seem to have any angular faces. Maybe it was crushed from larger pieces and then tumbled? Maybe the shitty stuff you got was from the tail end of a large batch, or what happened to be settled at the bottom of a big hopper they use for filling bags. I dunno. That sucks though. No quality control.
Click to expand...
 
well maby im just full of shit and imagining things? ill take a pic when i get home. your stuff looks way different than what im imagining.
 
your pic makes the perlite look almost normal sized? is that just the floaters comeing to the surface during heavy waterings?
 
maby perlite is just regionally bagged like sack concrete, sack mortars, sacks of sand, thinset etc.... maby the perlite here is different than the perlite up there?  i know for sure that the stuff i got from the hydro store was suprisingly heavy. heavier than a 4 cu.ft bag of the old sunshine coarse perlite. i was very suprised at that. 
 
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