Description
Vermiculite is a one-stop solution for enhancing aeration and drainage in any hydroponic media or soil. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral known for its high water absorption capacity, nutrient retention ability, neutral pH, and lightweight properties. This unique material when mixed with potting soil or other hydroponic media radically improves the root growth and provides excellent support to the plant. Vermiculite can hold Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Ammonium ions which are needed for plant growth. It is best for those who find it difficult to deal with hardened soil or a soggy medium that hampers effective plant growth.
Area of Application-
Use it with potting mix to increase the aeration and maintain the water level. It is often used during seed germination as it provides a great anchorage to the young roots. It can be used alone as a soilless media that promotes faster root growth and quick support to the plant. Vermiculite is well suited for commercial farms to maintain healthy crops.
How to use it?
- It is suggested to combine exfoliated vermiculite with peat moss or coconut coir to make a good soil-less growth media.
- Vermiculite can be used alone or along with other potting mix materials such as Vermicompost, Perlite, Cocopeat, Neem cake, Castor cake, Bio compost, etc. to boost their qualities.
Best suited for-
Vermiculite is best suitable for those media/soil who have poor water drainage facilities, dries up quickly, gets damp easily, is very compact, and does not retain nutrients for a longer period such as cocopeat and garden soil.
What exactly vermiculite is?
Vermiculite is a hydrated magnesium iron aluminium silicate mineral that comes in the form of shiny flakes which are usually golden brown, black-brown and bronze, and expand when heated. It is completely sterile media that will not deteriorate, rot and become moldy with time. If you see closely then you will observe that it improves the soil texture drastically thus it is quite useful in agriculture. Vermiculite holds the nutrients like calcium, magnesium and potassium for a long time and slowly releases these nutrients with water and air present in it to the potted plants. It’s a great option for preventing nutrient deficiency in plants. It absorbs optimum water and air on its surface and allows your plants to grow stress-free.
