# charcoal as perlite



## epicstuff (Nov 14, 2012)

I've been struggling to find a mix to act as a perlite substitue.

 today I found a big pile of small and fine charcoal dumped outside my house. its not Ash  but looks like the left overs from making charcoal the stuff they cant sell.   no idea where it came from ... whether its been put there on purpose of someone has dumped it I dont tknow but I nicked a few bucket falls anyway.....The texture and size looks perfect for mixing in the soil.. I've tried to research if it would be a good  mix and found some saying it has many benifits , for drainage, holding nutients and bacterial +  making the soil cleaner and giving better taste in weed  others saying it jacks up the PH  and not to use it .  has anyone had any 1st hand experience or knowledge on this?  Is it worth experimenting at least ?:icon_smile:


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## ziggyross (Nov 14, 2012)

I have heard it is good for general gardening. If it jacks up PH just add some lime.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Nov 14, 2012)

Here is a link on using charcoal to improve your soil.  There is a lot of info on the web if you Google it.  I am n ot sure if it will actually take the place of perlite, but it will improve the soil.  It does raise the pH, so I am sure that you are going to need lime.

hXXp://homeguides.sfgate.com/improve-garden-soil-charcoal-21913.html


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