Wilderness outdoor perlite sub soil

[mountainoutlaw]

Lets just say...your in the wilderness....you got a lot of holes your dropping your soil mix in....however....you cant get perlite ....and you got to use something else that can be found pretty easy...what would you use....

Im thinking gravel or busted up pieces styrofoam

 

[BigBlonde]

I would avoid gravel or Styrofoam.

Do you have compost available? That can be helpful for drainage.

Another thought is hügelkultur? I have used this horticultural technique and have found it works well—even in pots (when not done excessively). I like to use cuttings from my apple or plum trees. It helps with drainage, but I think most importantly it fosters organic life in the soil as it slowly decomposes. Best of all, it's free.

 

[Harpua88]

Lets just say...your in the wilderness....you got a lot of holes your dropping your soil mix in....however....you cant get perlite ....and you got to use something else that can be found pretty easy...what would you use....

Im thinking gravel or busted up pieces styrofoam

You'd think styrofoam would be great.......allows for lots of lightness, air flow....but styrofoam will break down like anything else and we don't want to start burying chemicals in the ground. Gravel could wegih heavily and start causing other problems for roots.

Others will give you better advice but I'll throw out coco coir as a possibility? There are lots of different kinds of soil mixes and some have perlite in them. Others are designed more for loosening hard soils. I don't know how big your space is. 10' x 10' you can bring in bags of soil......an acre, not so much.

 

[Oldchucky]

Come on, you can get 3 ft.³ of horticultural perlite for 20 bucks at a landscaping place!

 

[Oldchucky]

21.99. And that was at a grow store.

 

[BigBlonde]

Come on, you can get 3 ft.³ of horticultural perlite for 20 bucks at a landscaping place!

Ha Ha I should have tried that! I recently bought a large box of it from Amazon. I don't want to say how much I paid for it.

Well... Okay... It was $40 for 4 cu. ft. It should last me for a good long time, though.

21.99. And that was at a grow store.

I just saw that! Ouch!

 

[Oldchucky]

Even 40 bucks isn’t too bad for 4 ft.³. You’re right it will last quite a while.

 

[BigBlonde]

Even 40 bucks isn’t too bad for 4 ft.³. You’re right it will last quite a while.

I didn't need that much, but when I saw a small bag of it for $10 at Lowe's, I almost had a heart attack. It came in a nice box, though, that will make it easy to store and use.

 

[Oldchucky]

But the stuff at Lowe’s is made from virgin volcanic glass, and has been blessed by the pope!

 

[mountainoutlaw]

Come on, you can get 3 ft.³ of horticultural perlite for 20 bucks at a landscaping place!

That wouldnt even scratch the surface. Id need too much.

 

[Oldchucky]

How many holes you plan on planting?