Pumice Alternatives SoCal

[Tropic5oh]

After seeing Gary Matsuoka’s videos on soil
(I’m still a huge newb and learning) I’ve been amending my soul for drainage when I plant Tropicals in my yard. I’ve been having problems finding ground pumice (for in-ground…I’ve been using perlite for pots) in larger quantities. Gary’s top pot soil is great, but gets expensive for larger projects outside and for amending in-ground soil.  Does anyone know where I can find ground pumice in SoCal? Or will decomposed granite do the same thing? I’m trying to stick with permanent type soil and mulch heavily from the top down.

[pagnr]

Any inert rock minerals with the same particle sizes will do the same thing.
Perlite floats to the surface with watering.
Pumice is very light, floats less and will lessen the weight of pots or density of garden beds.
Some people even use expanded styrofoam beads, ie from before compression to styro boxes, or bean bag pellets. These float out on the surface.
Aquarium gravel is similar particle sizes to pumice and as inert and non toxic. Zeolite has positive benefits in cycling nutrients.
Granite and Basalt gravels can contribute useful minerals.
Charcoal is similar density to pumice, but may be alkaline, affecting pH at high rates. Maybe ok in acid soils.
Fired clay beads or bits are also a possibility.
Graded pine bark, say 5mm to 10 mm is also in the particle size range.
Any gravels that contribute excess minerals ( ie limestone, high in Calcium Magnesium, raises pH ), or other Volcanics high in Zinc, Manganese etc might be avoided.

[Seanny]

I buy pumice at Orange County Farm Supply.
50 lb/$18.

[spaugh]

Where are you located? Native decomposed granite is fine.  The stuff they sellmat rock shops is really coarse, I dont thing thats what you want. 

[hammer524]

I can't even find large quantities for sale in PHX. A local nursery near me sells it at $10 a 5gallon bucket but they seem to be out. Probably going to have to special order large quantities through my local hydroponics shop

[pagnr]

I can't even find large quantities for sale in PHX. A local nursery near me sells it at $10 a 5gallon bucket but they seem to be out. Probably going to have to special order large quantities through my local hydroponics shop

Do you not have larger bulk gravel, sand and landscaping suppliers in the area, ie gravel driveways and front lawn alternatives ?

[Enkis]

Don't overdo with amendments. If your mix is much more free draining than your native soil the hole you dug might fill with water when it rains making it possibly worse. If you think your soil is really a problem you can also consider raising the tree by creating a small mound.
A possibly cheaper solution for you might be wood chips, even after decomposing the soil will still retain a better texture. Be aware that this is a bit controversial, some will say that wood would "deplete" the nitrogen in the soil but my understanding is that it's not completely true. Other members here maybe can comment on this.

[Bush2Beach]

Pumice is mineral nutrient rich so way better than the alternatives you mention.
It's like $50 - $100 for a truckload. so find an aggregate supplier that has it.
Use black instead of red.

Any inert rock minerals with the same particle sizes will do the same thing.
Perlite floats to the surface with watering.
Pumice is very light, floats less and will lessen the weight of pots or density of garden beds.
Some people even use expanded styrofoam beads, ie from before compression to styro boxes, or bean bag pellets. These float out on the surface.
Aquarium gravel is similar particle sizes to pumice and as inert and non toxic. Zeolite has positive benefits in cycling nutrients.
Granite and Basalt gravels can contribute useful minerals.
Charcoal is similar density to pumice, but may be alkaline, affecting pH at high rates. Maybe ok in acid soils.
Fired clay beads or bits are also a possibility.
Graded pine bark, say 5mm to 10 mm is also in the particle size range.
Any gravels that contribute excess minerals ( ie limestone, high in Calcium Magnesium, raises pH ), or other Volcanics high in Zinc, Manganese etc might be avoided.

[othater]

Original poster: I see your in Pomona.
There's a seller (Eric) on Offer up selling pumice I think is reasonable. $10 approximately 5 gal but bagged.
He's located in San Dimas-Covina area.

[Tropic5oh]

I buy pumice at Orange County Farm Supply.
50 lb/$18.

Thank you! I just called today and they said they had 2 CUFT bags for $17. I was hoping to find larger quantities cheaper but this might have to work!

[Tropic5oh]

Where are you located? Native decomposed granite is fine.  The stuff they sellmat rock shops is really coarse, I dont thing thats what you want.

Thanks! I might give Decomposed granite a try, since it’s a lot cheaper than pumice and more readily available at HD and big box stores. I’ll stick with lighter pumice for potting

[Tropic5oh]

I can't even find large quantities for sale in PHX. A local nursery near me sells it at $10 a 5gallon bucket but they seem to be out. Probably going to have to special order large quantities through my local hydroponics shop

I head out to northern Arizona monthly and heard about ACME Rock in Tucson. They apperently have it for $30/a truck full if that’s true. Not sure if it is though. I was going to call/check it out next time I’m out that way.

[Tropic5oh]

I can't even find large quantities for sale in PHX. A local nursery near me sells it at $10 a 5gallon bucket but they seem to be out. Probably going to have to special order large quantities through my local hydroponics shop

Do you not have larger bulk gravel, sand and landscaping suppliers in the area, ie gravel driveways and front lawn alternatives ?

I was thinking gravel would be too large, but once again I’m a newb lol. I might give that a try too! Thanks, appreciate it!

[Tropic5oh]

Original poster: I see your in Pomona.
There's a seller (Eric) on Offer up selling pumice I think is reasonable. $10 approximately 5 gal but bagged.
He's located in San Dimas-Covina area.

AWESOME! Thank you! I’ll check Offer up tomorrow! This forum is great lol.

[Tropic5oh]

Pumice is mineral nutrient rich so way better than the alternatives you mention.
It's like $50 - $100 for a truckload. so find an aggregate supplier that has it.
Use black instead of red.

Any inert rock minerals with the same particle sizes will do the same thing.
Perlite floats to the surface with watering.
Pumice is very light, floats less and will lessen the weight of pots or density of garden beds.
Some people even use expanded styrofoam beads, ie from before compression to styro boxes, or bean bag pellets. These float out on the surface.
Aquarium gravel is similar particle sizes to pumice and as inert and non toxic. Zeolite has positive benefits in cycling nutrients.
Granite and Basalt gravels can contribute useful minerals.
Charcoal is similar density to pumice, but may be alkaline, affecting pH at high rates. Maybe ok in acid soils.
Fired clay beads or bits are also a possibility.
Graded pine bark, say 5mm to 10 mm is also in the particle size range.
Any gravels that contribute excess minerals ( ie limestone, high in Calcium Magnesium, raises pH ), or other Volcanics high in Zinc, Manganese etc might be avoided.

Thank you!! I didn’t know black or red existed lol, I just knew about the white. Will either add alkalinity to my soil? Trying to avoid that for sure.

[K-Rimes]

DryStall. It's a pumice they use for horse bedding / flooring. I think I was paying $17 for 50lb of it, but that was a few years back. Tack shops or Tractor Supply will have it, but call ahead.

[Japachumi-Jagua]

What's the pH of Pumice???

Pumice is mineral nutrient rich so way better than the alternatives you mention.
It's like $50 - $100 for a truckload. so find an aggregate supplier that has it.
Use black instead of red.

Any inert rock minerals with the same particle sizes will do the same thing.
Perlite floats to the surface with watering.
Pumice is very light, floats less and will lessen the weight of pots or density of garden beds.
Some people even use expanded styrofoam beads, ie from before compression to styro boxes, or bean bag pellets. These float out on the surface.
Aquarium gravel is similar particle sizes to pumice and as inert and non toxic. Zeolite has positive benefits in cycling nutrients.
Granite and Basalt gravels can contribute useful minerals.
Charcoal is similar density to pumice, but may be alkaline, affecting pH at high rates. Maybe ok in acid soils.
Fired clay beads or bits are also a possibility.
Graded pine bark, say 5mm to 10 mm is also in the particle size range.
Any gravels that contribute excess minerals ( ie limestone, high in Calcium Magnesium, raises pH ), or other Volcanics high in Zinc, Manganese etc might be avoided.

[Bush2Beach]

at $10 for 5 gallon. That sounds like you could get 100 5 gallons out of a truckload . that's $1000. Maybe you can't get 100 , I didn't check the math, maybe it's more.
It's less than $100 a truckload from an aggregate yard, call around. There are lots of cinder cones and pumice naturally in CA.
Good hustle
If I can find a truckload in Oakland and Watsonville, surely it exists in LA/SD .

Original poster: I see your in Pomona.
There's a seller (Eric) on Offer up selling pumice I think is reasonable. $10 approximately 5 gal but bagged.
He's located in San Dimas-Covina area.

[John B]

I add pumice to all my potted and raised bed plants. Have been for 20 years. As mentioned above, You can find it in large bags agricultural and animal feed supply stores. Otherwise you can get it a little more expensive at the plethora of hydroponic shops. At $10 for 5 gallons is a bit of a rip off, but understandable if you need small quantities.

[Tropic5oh]

Thanks everybody! I’ll try a horse feed shop and call some more rock places around here. The bonsai/cactus shops just had smaller bags for an arm and a leg. I checked our offer up and there weee some good deals on there as well locally. I’ll give it a try and purchase some on offer up and report back tomorrow or Tuesday!

[hammer524]

so I had no luck calling a few local landscape suppliers and horse feed stores. I'm aware of the ACME supply in Tucson but I dont own a truck. At last I found a bagged cubic foot for $18.

Future reference for Zona peeps. Treeland Nursery in Mesa carries pumice