Viewing post #1029593 by DavidLMO

William said:Sandy, I actually have never used vermiculite at all, so not the right person to ask. However I respect both David's and Ken's thoughts very much and their opinions here make much sense to me. I have sand for free, but even if you would need to buy some. it would be a lot cheaper than vermiculite as that is usually a very expensive product, at least here it is. Just make sure there isn't any salt in the sand and you will be fine. I heard the recommendation to taste the sand to make sure there is no excessive salt in it, but I'm not prepared to go that far myself

Thanks William. And I respect you.

Your comment about sand is spot on. I usually wash, drain and dry mine. I usually use a bleach solution. Depending on the application, I sometimes boil it.

If you buy the products called Soil Cover, they are very clean. And very expensive! Much of the sand sold in my area is dredged from the Missouri or Mississippi and only the Lord knows what might be in there. Very cheap though.