Perlite

Bought others but you end up with smaller bags, so in reality this is well worth it. Better value, better size, better quality, and quantity.

Good value: A nice big bag. If you haven't used perlite before be aware that it is naturally very dusty... I carefully put some into an empty bucket and wet it with water before mixing with compost. This damps it down so you don't get big clouds of dust when mixing. I use up to 50% with compost (depending on plant needs), it helps bulk out the compost so you do not need so much, but make sure you feed plants regularly after about a month to keep them looking healthy.

Good value. Does the job. But as others have noted it is rather dusty so best to put on your old covid mask when using it.

I buy in bulk as it's better value than the 10l bags in garden centres. It lasts me a good couple of seasons for raising seedlings and growing on

Good quality large bag. A must when preparing a flower bed

Good value for money. Very quick to deliver .

How to use As someone getting into gardening, I've realised how helpful perlite can be. Perlite is lightweight sterile volcanic glass what pops into the granule on very high heating. Perlite when mixed into potting or seed starting mix (or even clay soil) helps the soil to not compact down as the perlite granules aren't compactable. This means when you water this soil mix, water can travel through the pot and out the bottom if it needs to (providing pot has holes in bottom). This prevents waterlogging and root rot. But rest assured that if there's enough compost or coconut coir in the mix that not all your water will run through and enough water will still be held within the mix. This is particularly useful in outdoor pots coping with heavy sustained rainfall as excess water easily drains away. This item is 100L worth of perlite granules. I'd previously bought a 10L bag, but as I've started growing more, 10L was quickly not enough. I bought this bag a few months back and currently have used about 1/4. Obviously how long it lasts depends on the size of your garden and ratio of perlite in your potting mix. I tend to use about 10-20% perlite to rest compost. I add to compost and then water well before mixing in to prevent dust clouds. Initially I used scissors to cut an opening wide enough for a 500mg yoghurt pot to get inside. I didn't open wider to minimise the dust that can escape and also hopefully keeps perlite within bag better in case it fell over. I store the bag in conservatory but would be fine in shed as because sterile it can't rot. Pros 100L is much cheaper than buying 10x 10L bags. Quick delivery and came in black bag which saves on cardboard. A few reviews have said they've found a lot of dust instead of granules, I'm only 1/4 of way into bag but the size of granules has maintained so far. I will update review if I find differently further down the bag. Can use really for any plant types, but especially plants that don't like waterloggin. Neutral Dust- probably an unavoidable part of the manufacturing process, make sure to wear a mask whenever using it! Definitely want to avoid that going into your lungs. Packaging- although less cardboard some may find the bag rips in transit as just a simple black bin bag. Summary Really glad I bought in bulk. It works out as approx £3 for 10l so about 3 to 4 times cheaper than 10x 10L bags. As it's sterile and won't rot, you can always store this for years use, providing you have the space for it. Would recommend.

If you use a lot of perlite this is much more economical than buying the small bags from the garden centres. The granule size is variable (as described), with the largest granules probably a little bigger than those in the garden centre bags, but all very usable and I was able to mix it with compost easily to create a well-aerated mix. Inevitably there’s some dust, but so far no worse than any other perlite I’ve used (may get dustier as I work down the bag). The perlite sack was delivered inside a bin bag as noted by others and some buyers have commented on the bags splitting. So far I’ve had no problems, but the bag doesn’t seem particularly robust, so retaining the outer (bin) bag or putting it in another container is probably sensible. Based on experience to date, I’ll be ordering again when this has been used up.