Mother Earth Perlite Size 3 Large & Coarse | 4 cu ft, pH 7.0

What Makes Mother Earth Perlite #3 the Chunky Grade

The whole line starts as naturally occurring siliceous rock, kilned at 1600 F until it pops and expands up to twenty times its volume. The result is sterile, inert and sits at a neutral pH of 7.0, which is why perlite buys drainage without shifting a feed recipe. Where the grades differ is particle size, and that is the only decision on this page. Size 3 measures around 1/2 inch across. Size 4 runs to about 1 inch and the plain Coarse grade sits down at 1/8 to 1/4 inch. This bag holds 4 cu ft of the middle-to-large size, which is the one that stays visible in a mix rather than vanishing into it. Larger particles mean bigger air pockets and fewer of them, so the air they hold survives repeated watering. Mother Earth publish one part perlite to three or four parts potting soil as a starting point for drainage. A heavy peat-based mix usually wants the ratio pushed harder than that.

Using Size 3 Perlite Without Losing It Off the Top of the Pot

Large particles float, and that is the trade you accept for the extra air. In a hand-watered pot the biggest pieces work up to the surface over a few weeks. That looks untidy and does nothing for the root zone. Top dressing or a thin layer of finer media over the fill keeps them where you put them. The upside is that this grade does not slump. A fine perlite blended into peat packs down over a long flower cycle and quietly halves your air porosity. Chunky grades hold the structure open to the end of the crop. That makes it the sensible choice for long-cycle pots and for anyone reusing a mix. It also runs well as a straight medium in a bucket or bato. The gaps are big enough that a drip line never ponds. Wet it before you pour, since dry perlite dust goes everywhere and a mask is the normal precaution. Bear in mind that it brings no nutrition and no buffering of its own, so everything the plant gets comes from your feed. Growers blending media by the yard should look at the pallet listings instead of carrying thirty bags one at a time.

Key Features

• Size 3 grade: Screened to roughly 1/2 inch, the large and coarse option.
• 4 cu ft bag: A single bag, rather than the pallet quantities of the same line.
• Neutral pH of 7.0: Adds porosity without pulling the feed solution off target.
• Sterile and inert: Brings nothing into the mix and no buffering capacity either.
• Expands up to twenty times: Kilned siliceous rock, which is where the air space comes from.
• Resists slumping: Chunky particles hold air porosity through a long flower cycle.
• Published mix ratio: One part perlite to three or four parts potting soil.
• Runs as a straight medium: Big enough gaps that a drip line will not pond in a bucket.

Technical Specifications