Good-value or harmful?
Written: Jul 05 '03 (Updated Jul 06 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use, light (in weight), odourless, resealable bag, inexpensive.
Cons: Very, very low risk of exposure asbestos.
The Bottom Line: Due to its ease of use and low cost, I would definitely recommend this for soil aeration, drainage, and preventing compaction.
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| pinkants's Full Review: Schultz Vermiculite |
Having fallen in love with the enchanting fragrance of lavender while studying the south of France, I could not help but buy a couple of plants. Due to the way-too-much-snow climate of New England, I figured I had better grow these plants in pots.
As lavender prefers well-drained soil, I decided to look into making my own potting mixture. One thing I came across was vermiculite.
So what is this stuff?
Vermiculite is a naturally occurring substance that is a member of the phyllosilicate group of minerals. The U.S. EPA states that vermiculite is "the mineralogical name given to hydrated laminar magnesium-aluminum-ironsilicate which resembles mica in appearance." I had no idea what that meant, and I figured that I did not really need to know. Onto the next part!
Found in various parts of the world, this mineral is produced from mined ore. Some of the major mines are located in Australia, Brazil, China, Kenya, South Africa, USA and Zimbabwe. There are currently four active vermiculite mines in the United States; it has been mined commercially in the United States since the early 1920s.
An interesting fact is that vermiculite comes from the Latin word "vermiculare", which means "to breed worms." The reason for this is that vermiculite has a property called "exfoliation". Basically, it has the ability to expand into worm-like pieces (or expand to many times its original volume) when heated.
How do I use vermiculite?
These light, yellow-brown grain-like things have various horticultural, industrial, and agricultural uses. In my case, I was interested in its horticultural uses, specifically for making my own potting mix.
Vermiculite is generally used to provide good aeration and drainage. You can mix it with soil to loosen it and prevent compaction (so your roots can will not have to "fight" through densely compacted soil). It is highly absorbent so it can help soil retain moisture, or you can even use it for hydoponic growing and water conservation. You can also use it store bulbs or tubers for the winter.
Vermiculite is sterile, free from diseases, and has a fairly neutral pH. This was nice as I would not have to tweak the pH too much (lavender prefers soil that is slightly alkaline).
What is Schultz's Vermiculite like?
Schultz Vermiculite comes in a resealable bag that contains eight (8) dry quarts of vermiculite. The resealable bag is very useful as I was not able to use all of the vermiculite at once. In this manner, the vermiculite can be kept dry until I need to use it again.
Furthermore, the bag "sits" there (nice and squat), all by itself. I can scoop out vermiculite without fear that the bag will tip over. However, the product is very light in general, so if you bumped it, there is a good chance that the contents would spill.
The vermiculite is very light and odourless. It was easily blown away by the wind once I got it out of the bag! You may want to dampen it a little. I did not find it to be very dusty at all, but it did seem to slightly dry out my hands when I did not wear gloves.
I easily found Schultz Vermiculite in a store that had a "Garden Center". You can therefore probably find this at a Home Depot, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Lowe's, Target, etc., though it may not be available during every season (like in the winter).
Does it work well?
Yes, it does! I made a "soiless" potting mixture consisting of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite. The result was a very "airy" mixture that I could easily sink my fingers into. The mixture was so light that I half expected it to be like my orchid mixture--that when I watered it, the water would almost immediately drain from the bottom of the pot.
But nope--since this stuff absorbs water, my mixture was nice and slightly damp without being heavy or compacted. My lavender certainly seems quite content!
Are there any precautions I should be aware of?
Yes! You see, there used to be a fifth vermiculite mine in the U.S. located in Libby, Montana which closed in 1990. In 1999, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published reports about this vermiculite mine that was possibly contaminated with asbestos.
Though the mine closed in 1990, ore may have been shipped from there until 1992. Furthermore, a store in the Seattle area was found to be selling some 10-year-old vermiculite which was mined at the Libby facility; this was reported to contain high amounts of asbestos.
In January 2000, the U.S. EPA started testing lawn & garden products that contained vermiculite to determine if they were contaminated with asbestos. The testing first started in the Northwest, and eventually expanded nationwide.
The good news is that this particular Schultz product had no asbestos detected. However, some other Schultz products did contain an unquantifiable amount of asbestos. Asbestos fibres in the products were tested if they could become airborne and present a potential exposure hazard during use.
The EPA has stated that:
"The results of this investigation indicate that consumers face only a minimal health risk from using vermiculite products at home or in their gardens. Vermiculite may, however, present more serious risks in an occupational setting, where the duration and frequency of exposures are likely to be significantly greater.
"To further reduce the low risk associated with the occasional use of vermiculite products during gardening activities, EPA recommends that consumers:"
• Use vermiculite outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.
• Avoid creating dust by keeping vermiculite damp during use.
• Avoid bringing dust into the home on clothing.
Although EPA does not endorse the use of any particular product, consumers may choose to use:
• Premixed potting soils, which ordinarily contain more moisture and less vermiculite than pure vermiculite products and are less likely to generate dust.
• Soil amendment materials other than vermiculite, such as peat, sawdust, perlite, or bark.
After going through the 205-page EPA report, I believe that the Schultz products that contained asbestos were:
Schultz Seed Starter (tested in the Northwest)
Schultz Horticultural Vermiculite (purchased in Springfield, VA).
** I am not positive about this!! If you are interested in learning more about vermiculite and asbestos, please visit
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/verm.html (there, you will find a link to their report entitled "Sampling and Analysis of Consumer Garden Products That Contain Vermiculite").
This stuff was inexpensive, very easy to use, not dusty or smelly, and helped create a very well-drained potting mixture. You can easily add it to your soil to improve aeration, though you may also want to add some perlite. Just remember to follow the EPA guidelines!
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This review is brought to you by The Three-Legged Write-Off, an event involving the pairing of two members of the Epinions Community offering up tandem reviews because it is fun as well as supports the spirit of working together toward a common goal: Providing consumers and Epinions with a wealth of information. Check out my partner in crime, seahealth, and don't forget cheer on the other team players at:
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Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
pinkants
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Member: Pink Ants
Location: ANTarctica
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 40 members
About Me:
i'm a homeowner--yay! boston property taxes--boo!
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