Alternatives to Perlite for soil aeration?

Hi guys,

I'm looking for alternatives to Perlite for soil aeration and to give better structure to the soil. Preferable something I can find around the house/garden or in nature.

The rule for me is that it needs to be something I don't have to go buy (or trade).

The reason is that this year I want to try to grow without having to buy anything from the gardenstore.

I'm currently busy with starting up my wormbin and what I read online and also the guys here on ICMag seem to say. Is that it might maybe be possible to grow in pure Vermicompost. But that soil compactation/aeration might be an issue.
(Check the thread here: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=359129)

I think I have read somewhere that some guys were using small river pebbles. And I have once seen a picture of some commercial organic soil that looks like they added small pieces of broken up red clay construction bricks.

So anybody any idea what I might can use?

(Rice/grain hulls aren't sold/traded in my country.)

Thanks for sharing.



Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Update:

Below is a list of suggestions from this thread.

Bio-Char / Charcoal
Buckwheat hulls
Contruction bricks/shingles/roof tiles (crushed)
Cork
Glass products
Gravel
Lava rock
Marbels
Nut shells (pistachio, walnut,...)
Oat meal
Pebbles
Permatil
Pittmoss
Pumice
Rice hulls
Sand
Sea shells (mussels, beach,...)
Straw bedding
Tree bark
Turface
Vermiculite
Worms (Living)
Zeolite

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Hi Cvh,i'm trying to do something similar and for the aeration part i'm using sand from a dry creek,currently i'm doing a small germination test in the pure vermicompost(the sand comes in different size and is already in the worm bin)

I suggest putting sand/pebbles in your soil mix and not in your worm bin.

If red brick buildings are coming down, I'm going to guess you have red clay around there. Sand and gravel won't do anything for clay. Sand actually makes it worse. Clay lacks texture, it's like fine silt. It will wash into most porous materials. So putting cinder block in your beds will just mean work taking it back out again. Compaction is a real issue, and turning it the answer to getting air in. Long term you need to be adding bio matter. Straw bedding from a local stable/farm perhaps. That will create voids. Then rot away.

f-e said:

If red brick buildings are coming down, I'm going to guess you have red clay around there. Sand and gravel won't do anything for clay. Sand actually makes it worse. Clay lacks texture, it's like fine silt. It will wash into most porous materials. So putting cinder block in your beds will just mean work taking it back out again. Compaction is a real issue, and turning it the answer to getting air in. Long term you need to be adding bio matter. Straw bedding from a local stable/farm perhaps. That will create voids. Then rot away.

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I don't know where you got the impression about there being brick buildings coming down and red clay but I do agree that it is good to use some sources of drainage material which slowly degrade in addition to ones, like rock which last. Be sure that all organic material mixed in has been aged/composted or you may have a nitrogen lock up as microbes use available N to reduce raw carbon.
Otherwise you can topdress organic matter during growth.

Here is the picture about the commercial organic supersoil I was talking about. It looks like they added pieces of clay construction blocks for aeration.

(The red color is the result from the baking process to turn clay into bricks. Ceramic.)

I guess my best option are sand/pebbles as others suggested (thanks a lot guys ). And maybe also pieces of Ceramic.

Anyone else have any ideas/suggestion?

Turface is what you're seeing.

h.h. said:

Turface is what you're seeing.

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Thanks! I didn't knew what Turface was before. I had to look it up.
It's very possible that in that picture those red pieces are Turface instead of pieces of clay bricks.

It looks like it's quite a popular amendment for Bonzai growers.

Turface is most commonly used as a soil additive to help improve drainage. We use turface is our pre-mixed and ready to use Tropical, Conifer, Deciduous, or Azalea bonsai soil. Turface absorbs its weight in water while decreasing soil compaction, which is what you want from bonsai soil.

Turface is also commonly used as top dressing to help improve water and air circulation. Turface resembles crushed terracotta pots so it looks great a dressing.

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Turface Calcined Clay is an essential bonsai material for bonsai soil mixes. Calcined or thermal treated clay helps to give bonsai soil mix proper aeration for oxygen by allowing proper spacing for roots to grow. Calcined Clay also has a added feature in that it changes color when watered, giving you a visual cue as to how dry your bonsai is. Highly recommended. Our medium sized turface has been sifted of finer particles for larger bonsai tree pots.

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Maybe Hugel kultuur (spelling?)

You can get crushed brick.


Old brick is sold and reused. It usually has has a bit of lime morter left on it.


I add oatmeal.
I think the starches help with soil aggregation. Perhaps short term, but now in my mind, I've created fungal highways.
Take that with a grain of salt and a good tote...but I think it helps.


https://www.farmprogress.com/soil-health/build-your-soil-aggregates

Crushed tree bark is another option. It's used in Al's Gritty Mix and 5-1-1 Mix. Most people doing these mixes are using sifted pine bark mulch.

Vermiculite, leaf mold, coco coir, crushed lava rock.

Hi everyone,
I use charcoal in my beds for aeration and fertiliser. I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where trees and shrubs are in abundance.
Firstly, l dig a v pit, it's shaped exactly like a V and you can make it as long or as short as you like; mine's about two feet wide and two feet deep. I feed mine with all the off cut limbs from wood cutting or l guess you could use any sort of prunings.
Once you've got enough,in the pit, put it out with water because if you leave it in the pit it'll smoulder for days. (I have also researched bbq charcoal and as long as there are no additives for combustion l think this would be the same, however not as ethically or organically sourced as your own)
Once you've got your raw material, charcoal (carbon), soak this in a high nitrogen fertiliser like fish emulsion, added to water in the correct ratios. I also add sea weed a bit of potassium and magnesium but you can add anything you want. Recently I've been soaking in aerated compost and manure teas for microbe inoculation as well.
This is an extremely important part of the process because without doing this nitrogen will be robbed from the soil as Microbe Man pointed out.
This is a fantastic addition to a gorilla patch when dry.
Over the season it magically disappears when dug in but continues to work in the soil for, it is believed, ever.
The carbon molecule itself, from my reading, has the biggest surface area of any other molecule and makes fantastic lodgings for microbes in the soil.
This is obviously bio char and there's a lot of research and rabbit holes you can go down for further research.
As for the addition of sand, l prefer bricklayers sand because along with the sand itself, you also get the addition of clay particles which, l believe, hold cations and improve the CEC of your soil.
I do believe that you shouldn't add any more sand, by volume of soil, than %30. I'm pretty sure l read this in the "Growing Large Plants Outdoors" thread.
While I'm on this subject l was wondering if Microbe Man might be able to discuss the added benefits of sillica as a sand addition to soil??? I've recently been wondering if the sand particles ingested by worms, for their gizzards, would be broken down through grinding against each other or perhaps certain microbes might also aid in the decomposition of sand to make a plant available form of sillica in soils???
Cheers 40

Cvh said:

Here is the picture about the commercial organic supersoil I was talking about. It looks like they added pieces of clay construction blocks for aeration.

(The red color is the result from the baking process to turn clay into bricks. Ceramic.)

I guess my best option are sand/pebbles as others suggested (thanks a lot guys ). And maybe also pieces of Ceramic.

Anyone else have any ideas/suggestion?

View Image

Click to expand...

yes Cvh its brick here is what kanamu pacha say about it.

Pure clay roof tile production waste is broken and sieved to the grain size we are looking for.

It is contained in our Hortisol as an additive and replaces the frequently used Perlite. The split acts like Perlite to improve the soil structure and at the same time it is able to store water and release it slowly to the plants. 1 m³ saves up to 350 l of water. Microorganisms can also settle very well in the porous surface, this also promotes soil life.

Cvh said:

Hi guys,

I'm looking for alternatives to Perlite for soil aeration and to give better structure to the soil. Preferable something I can find around the house/garden or in nature.

The rule for me is that it needs to be something I don't have to go buy (or trade).

The reason is that this year I want to try to grow without having to buy anything from the gardenstore.

I'm currently busy with starting up my wormbin and what I read online and also the guys here on ICMag seem to say. Is that it might maybe be possible to grow in pure Vermicompost. But that soil compactation/aeration might be an issue.
(Check the thread here: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=359129)

I think I have read somewhere that some guys were using small river pebbles. And I have once seen a picture of some commercial organic soil that looks like they added small pieces of broken up red clay construction bricks.

So anybody any idea what I might can use?

(Rice/grain hulls aren't sold/traded in my country.)

Thanks for sharing.



Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Click to expand...

Right now I've been using mussel shells that I have blackened a bit in a frying pan, smash them up to whichever size I need for the time.....then add them to my medium. Lots of benefit to them slowly breaking down. My neighbor has her child's marbles in her containers. I'm just using those mussel shells and throw 5-6 Canadian night crawlers into each container for shits and giggles. I haven't had issues. I hope you find your solution!

As for the addition of sand, l prefer bricklayers sand because along with the sand itself, you also get the addition of clay particles which, l believe, hold anions and improve the CEC of your soil.
I do believe that you shouldn't add any more sand, by volume of soil, than %30. I'm pretty sure l read this in the "Growing Large Plants Outdoors" thread.
While I'm on this subject l was wondering if Microbe Man might be able to discuss the added benefits of sillica as a sand addition to soil??? I've recently been wondering if the sand particles ingested by worms, for their gizzards, would be broken down through grinding against each other or perhaps certain microbes might also aid in the decomposition of sand to make a plant available form of sillica in soils???

Click to expand...

40degsouth;

The question about silica uptake is beyond my pay-grade but there is research I've read indicating a microbial process for plant assimilation of silica. As far as the worm idea, I am skeptical but open-minded. There are some plants which store large amounts of silica so may be a better bet in the worm bin or compost heap.

I plan to use around 10% maybe 12% sand in my current upcoming mix. My impervious drainage mix (rock) is usually 15% quite different from everyone's 33%. In addition to this I use some slowly degrading forms of drainage, such as you are doing with biochar.

The sand I'm using is used in Mexico for cement and brick laying. I'm assuming that is similar to what you mentioned.

Sand for concrete has various sizes of aggregate.


Mason sand is basically quartz.

IMO Its mostly used to add weight to soil mixes.
I don't see much benefit.
A little silica for a lot of weight.

Lava Rock

Great suggestions already, I don't have much to add. I mix my own from 'scratch' and recycle my mix %100 so I get to watch ingredients slowly disappear over time.

Cannabis loves sand, I can tell you that much. I often have at least 25-30% in my mix at any given time. I live near the beach, but would NEVER use that sand because it's too 'round' from the wave action. Same with river sand. Sand should be sharp and preferably different sizes. Playground or masonry sand are what I grab.

I'll also use unscented kitty litter which is similar to turface but doesn't last as long.

I'll also toss in some crushed lava rock, but that's a pain because I have to crush the big pieces on the patio with a stepping stone.

Hardwood charcoal is fantastic! I've used some expensive bags of 'bio-char' that people gifted me, but I don't see any advantage over the hardwood charcoal I can buy up at rite aid. I also crush that on the patio with a stepping stone. By way of experiment, I've used up to about 30% (!) charcoal in a mix to no detriment. As far as I can tell, cannabis loves charcoal too. Obvious effects are very strong stems and enhanced fall foliage and all around color. I talked to a gentleman from Australia who told me he had used a mix with 50% charcoal and the plants grew like crazy. Only thing I would caution about charcoal is that it can really suck water, so it might be a good idea to pre soak it, or at the very least, water heavily when you transplant. I've also experimented with pre soaking the charcoal in organic nutrient mix (compost tea), which is very promising indeed. By the way, hardwood charcoal is NOT the same as the petroleum soaked 'briquettes'!

To me, perlite is more about drainage then airation. If your number one goal is not having to buy it.. Rice hulls are a replacement if they are available in your area. They grow rice here and they leave the hulls out for people to take at no cost. But that could be unique to my area. They pretty much behave similar to perlite. Over time they break down and become part of your fluff. I like to Use lava rock, but you would have to buy it from a landscaping company. 50$ a yard.
I like the suggestion of using crushed brick. May behave similar to lava.
I think a good soil texture is equal parts compost, drainage, and fluff. Perlite, lava rock, and rice hulls are drainage. The fluff would be something like peat, coco, or fir bark. You have to have the fluff to keep your soil from compacting and staying airated.
You could get pine bark fines for free If you figure out how to source It. Use it as your "fluff". Landscaping/soil Companies get It from saw mills and sell It to consumers in soil mixes.