Uses of vermiculite

Vermiculite has been used in various industries for more than 90 years. It has been used for construction, agricultural, horticultural and industrial applications.


AGRICULTURAL

1- Animal feed
2- Poultry litter
3- Fertilizers
4- Pesticides
5- Soil conditioner
6- Seed encapsulants


CONSTRUCTION

1- Soundproofing material
2- Heat insulator
3- High room temperature insulator
4- Low room temperature insulator
5- Fireproofing
6- Naval applications
7- Single-layer mortar
8- Lightweight aggregates
9- Ceramics


INDUSTRIAL

1- Absorbent packing
2- Dispersions
3- Drilling mud
4- Filtration
5- Fireproofing
6- Fixation of hazardous material
7- Furnaces
8- Insulation blocks & shapes
9- Insulation - high & low temperature
10- Molten metal, glass insulation
11- Paints
12- Products with mould
13- Absorbent perfume
14- Fillers (plastic texturisation)
15- Medium density aggregates
16- Sealants


HORTICULTURAL

1- Hydroponics
2- Sowing and cutting
3- Seed germination
4- Seedling mixes
5- Sowing composts
6- Bulb planting
7- Substrata
8- Potting.


HORTICULTURE

Vermiculite has the property of improving soil aeration while retaining the moisture and nutrients necessary to feed roots, cuttings, and seeds for faster growth.

Vermiculite is clean, non-toxic and sterile. It will not deteriorate or rot. It is neutral (pH = 7.2).

When mixed with peat, composted bark, organic compost, or natural soils, vermiculite helps promote faster growth, and gives anchorage to young roots. This mix helps retain air, food, and moisture, which are essential for plant growth.

Because vermiculite is very light and easy to handle, it easily mixes with soil, peat, composted pine bark and other composted organic materials, fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.

Root Cuttings: medium grade vermiculite is the standard for many horticultural uses including the insertion of cuttings. Like fine grades of perlite, these finer grades of vermiculite may be used directly as poured from the bag. Simply water the vermiculite and insert the cuttings. If the container has sufficient drainage, over wetting or watering normally is not a serious concern..

Soil amending or Soil conditioning: where the soil is heavy or sticky, gentle mixing of vermiculite in proportions over half the volume of the soil is recommended. This creates air channels and allows the soil to mix and breathe. Using vermiculite in flower and vegetable gardens provides the necessary air to maintain vigourous plant growth, and when the soil is sandy, vermiculite helps the soil hold the water and air needed for growth.

Seed germination: vermiculite used alone or mixed with soil or peat requires very little watering. You will notice that the needs germinate much faster. When vermiculite is used alone, seedlings should be fed with a weak fertilizer solution when the first true leaves appear. A tablespoon of soluble fertilizer per 3.5 litres of water is enough.

When vermiculite is mixed half and half with soil, peat, composted pine bark, or other properly composted soil materials, no additional feeding is required during the transplanting time. In mixes with vermiculite, seedlings can be removed with little danger of breaking off hair roots, and the dense root growth enables young plants to take hold immediately.

House plants and pots: vermiculite eliminates the problem of compacted soils in flower pots. Mixed with soil, peat, or composted soil products, it provides excellent aeration and moisture control. Its light weight allows larger pots to be hung from the ceiling. It also allows roots to grow quicker and provides proper aeration in flower pots.

Storing bulbs and root crops: pour vermiculite around bulbs placed in a container. If clumps with bulbs are dug out, allow to dry for a few hours in the sun and then place them in cartons and cover with vermiculite. The absorption power of vermiculite acts as a regulator that prevents mildew and moisture fluctuation during the storage period. It will not absorb moisture from the inside of tubers, but it does take up free water from the outside, preventing storage rot. Tubers are protected from any temperature changes.


HYDROPONIC GROWING:

What is hydroponics?

Hydroponics is a technique that studies growing in water. It comes from the Greek Hydro (water) and Ponos (labour or work).
Hydroponic growing involves growing plants using an artificial system based on perlite or vermiculite substrates.
A nutritious solution that contains the essential elements that a plant needs to grow and develop is required. The roots are placed on a substrate, which should be solid and porous (perlite or vermiculite) so that the solution can flow and does not stagnate.

There are several irrigation methods. The most common are continuous or discontinuous surface irrigation, salt spreading followed by water sprinkling, subirrigation or deep, constant-level circulation (upwards movement)

Other factors that should be taken into account for the plant to perform better are light, temperature and humidity, which vary from plant to plant.


Advantages of hydroponic growing

Hydroponic growing has many advantages over traditional growing.

1. Hydroponic systems allow growing in environments in which growing is usually impossible, due to the soil being eroded, arid, a lack of nutrients or any other reason.
2. Hydroponic systems allow out-of-season plants to be obtained, which grow, flower or produce fruit in a season other than their genetics allow, since the necessary conditions for this to occur are created artificially.
3. Greater productivity without having to wait for a specific time of the year.
4. Possibility of planting species from a different ecosystem.
5. Control of the nutritious solution, which increases the crop's quality and productivity compared to the traditional system.
6. Greater precociousness without a drop in quality, for instance, tomato and cucumber plantations are productive after nine and seven days respectively.
7. Less workforce and space is required to grow than with the traditional system.
8. A same species can be grown several times because, unlike soil, the substrate does not wear out or become used up.
9. Better control of phytosanitary conditions.
10. Less water consumption since losses through evaporation are limited.
11. Eliminates the appearance of plagues, since perlite and vermiculite have a neutral pH.