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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > Peat vs Perlite? Proper moisture?
 
 


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cheapnewb

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
I've been mixing peat and perlite 3 to 1 for rooting. Not sure how well it's working yet. I noticed that some of you here favor using straight perlite for rooting, but that stuff is expensive. I have not yet found a way to get it cheaply in bulk. I'm having to pay nearly 6 bucks for a little 8 quart bag.

The question is this: Can pure sphagnum peat give good results (peat not the moss, don't have the fresh, just the rotted) ;) I can get a bale of that stuff pretty reasonably.

Or do I really need those little popcorn rocks?  :D I can see how course perlite would breathe better, but...


Anybody got some ideas? Do I need to mix it? Can I use one or the other? Will either work as good? Different requirements?

I take it that peat holds water better, but perlite breathes better. Why not just have peat that is reasonably moist and keep it fluffy? Will that work just as well as the white stuff?

Is peat just right in moisture right at the point it turns dark brown/black and no wetter, or is even that too wet?

I notice it comes in the bale a little dry and light in color. Is this a bit too dry, or do figs like it pretty dry?

How much water do you use in perlite
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pitangadiego

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
The short answer is that you can use anything, as long as you control moisture and have sufficient air in the root zone. Particle size is a huge factor.
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fignutty

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
I think peat is going to be hard to keep at the right moisture level. It's too dry when light colored and can be too wet when dark. Pro Mix Hp that I've been using is a peat and perlite mix. It can be too wet. But I think what really hurts is too wet combined with too cold. I'm upping my rooting setup to no colder than 78F using heat mats. We'll see if that helps. I think it will but lots I've tried this winter hasn't worked too well.
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Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a
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hoosierbanana

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
Try some ~1 gal fabric containers Steve. Most likely the heat mats are helping because they are speeding up evaporation. It is tough to get used to watering them so much more, and maybe that will be an issue for you, but you can always slip them into hard containers later on after they are established. I have both going and have not watered the solid containers in 2 weeks but the fabric containers needed it 2x. With something like peat it is a huge benefit to have air penetrate from all sides.
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chrisb9341

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
I use a 50 50 mix of Promix BX and perlite. So it ends up being about 60 40 perlite to peat. Vito recommended this to me. Seems to work great. I wet it pretty well then maintain at 75 degrees and 80-85 percent humidity.
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Chris
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fignutty

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoosierbanana
Try some ~1 gal fabric containers Steve. Most likely the heat mats are helping because they are speeding up evaporation. It is tough to get used to watering them so much more, and maybe that will be an issue for you, but you can always slip them into hard containers later on after they are established. I have both going and have not watered the solid containers in 2 weeks but the fabric containers needed it 2x. With something like peat it is a huge benefit to have air penetrate from all sides.


Thanks for the suggestions. I do have the 1 and 2 gal fabric pots arriving soon from the GHMS. So many possible things to try.
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Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a
Wish list:  Sangue Dolce, Siblawi, Victoria, Emalyn's Purple, Colonel Littman's Black Cross
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