Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 09:32:29 -0800 From: "Joseph Kinyon" <corruscate@vivazapata.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg659$foo@default> Subject: perlite
Norman,
You wrote:
"Those little white balls are plastic,looks like hard
polystyrene (uneducated guess); perlite is brownish in color and looks like
a miniature loaf of sliced brown bread that has fallen out of the wrapper
and it crumbles easily when you rub it with your fingers"
Perlite is, a form of it, manufactured in a shape,size and color that looks
identical to polystyrene bean bag filler. (People have used bean bag filler
too, which adds to the confusion!) It is exceptionally clean and easy to
use, and the round shape lends itself to good drainage and good compaction.
Scott's sells
nice-ziplocked-over-priced-hermetically-sealed-consumer-impulse-size-quaniti
ties at many garden centers. It crumbles in your pinched fingers with the
consistency of stale cocoa-crispy cereal.
Vermiculite, another material for drainage, is brown and pages like a
miniature book in its processed form. It has a similar structure to mica,
forming layers of mineral. When heated it often puffs like a teeny
concertina/accordian. The source of your vermiculite is important to
consider, as some quarry sites have minerals that are "bad" for CP's. It is
similar to the breadlike consistency you described for perlite. It does the
same job as perlite in your soil structure. I also use it to enhance and
lighten the throwing properties of some clay bodies (stoneware for example)
when turning pottery on a wheel. A pottery supply might be a good source
for this material if you have trouble finding it.
Joseph Kinyon
Marin Headlands
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