I would really like to make a soil mix with some perlite, so it becomes really light and has good drainage and won't hold up too much water.
This is to use on potted plants.
But I couldn't find any perlite to buy near me. What can I use as a substitute?
I was thinking of maybe some crushed expanded clay pellets. Could it work?
Does anybody have a better suggestion?
You could use rice hulls or biochar as well as the above mentioned. Would stay away from using styrofoam, no need to add more of that to our environment when there are so many other solutions.
Been bag pellets. Vermiculite, Shredded styrofoam.
The process o shredding styrofoam is difficult or messy for an individual to do. Industrially they make equipment to do it. You can use a wood chipper, but bits of styrofoam go EVERYWHERE. Keeping the styrofoam wet with water with just a touch of salt in it will help, as static charge is one of the reason it goes everywhere.
Chunks of wood -- wood chip mulch will help. It will also increase the nitrogen demand. Soak in water for week before mixing in.
Charcoal briquets crumbled up coarsely. This is also messy.
Pumice works well too. Again, the problem is breaking it up.
I would expect broken up polyurethane foam would work too.
