On Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at 9:44:03 PM UTC-5, M Casey wrote:

replying to Laura J, M Casey wrote:
In addition to potential downside of using vermiculite, there is the fact that
peat moss harvesting is environmentally unsustainable. Even though peatlands occupy only 3% of the Earth's surface, they store a third of the world’s soil carbon, twice as much as forests, and when they are harvested, carbon dioxide is released, the major greenhouse gas driving climate change. Many people recommend coconut coir as an environmentally friendly alternative to peat moss.

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Is coconut coir as absorbent as peat moss? Also, why are you out here posting on a discussion from 15 years ago? I thought I was the only weird one out here reading this stuff.

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Vermiculite Alternatives
Finely ground pine bark, also called "pine fines," is a principal ingredient
of most potting mixes. As an alternative to vermiculite, pine fines also
offer water-retentive qualities, especially with smaller particle sizes.
Cotton gin waste includes gin leavings, such as stems, leaves and hulls.
Cotton gin compost renders these waste products into a viable alternative to vermiculite, also because of its ability to increase water-holding qualities
in mixes. Resembling sphagnum peat moss, coir is the finished product of
ground coconut husks. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension
Service reports that coir can retain up to nine times its weight in water.

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On 1/28/2022 11:15, Frank H wrote:

Vermiculite Alternatives
Finely ground pine bark, also called "pine fines," is a principal
ingredient
of most potting mixes. As an alternative to vermiculite, pine fines also offer water-retentive qualities, especially with smaller particle sizes. Cotton gin waste includes gin leavings, such as stems, leaves and hulls. Cotton gin compost renders these waste products into a viable
alternative to
vermiculite, also because of its ability to increase water-holding
qualities
in mixes. Resembling sphagnum peat moss, coir is the finished product of ground coconut husks. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service reports that coir can retain up to nine times its weight in water.

I usually till in a big bag of peat moss.

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After the Libby Montana mine was closed down there was another source found in the Carolinas which has since been depleted. Most of the vermiculite we have been using has been imported from Algeria but because of the political unrest there imports have
been curtailed. Unless a new source is found there will be no more vermiculite or a very limited supply which will be more expensive.

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On 7/2/2023 12:06 AM, pls wrote:

After the Libby Montana mine was closed down there was another source
found in the Carolinas which has since been depleted. Most of the
vermiculite we have been using has been imported from Algeria but
because of the political unrest there imports have been curtailed.
Unless a new source is found there will be no more vermiculite or a very limited supply which will be more expensive.

Go into any 1950's house and scoop the vermiculite out of the attic.
You will find buck after bucket full up there. Fair warning: Some
asbestos naturally occurs within.

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