"...... chemically treated to make it hydrophobic", not fire retardant. Perlite is already fire retardant w/o treatment. Not ALL companies chemically treat insulation grade perlite so it resists absorbing water, but many DO. ... glad the stuff you have is ok, though. Al

I apologize for bringing up an older topic, but I was looking for a source of coarser perlite (other than the orchid supply co.). Here is the MSDS for Schundler: http://www.schundler.com/msdsperl.htm While it's not "deadly," meaning that you won't keel over from exposure, it's also not healthy to breathe in that grit. You'll notice that the MSDS recommends a dust mask and eye protection. There are a number of lung diseases caused by breathing various types of dust. The rescue workers at Ground Zero suffered permanent lung damage which is believed to be caused by the dust exposure. It just makes sense to me to take the simple precaution of wearing a mask when working with dusty, gritty perlite. Diana in PA

I know there are snails, but I don't see any evidence of slime or shells. And I also thought this looked too big for slugs or snails. I thought rats because we have palm rats in the neighborhood. I have fought them for years. Unfortunately, my next door neighbor does nothing about them and she has an untamed jungle. Rats have even eaten large parts of her garage door! I haven't seen any squirrels, but we have opossums and even skunks (I have smelled these guys!). I don't think the various lizards - anoles, iguanas or monitor lizards - will eat the plants. My sedums and aloes are fine. Maybe I can set the security camera to record out there and I can catch a glimpse of what is doing it. Worth a shot, I guess. Thanks! I didn't really think it was rot, either.

I used vermiculite for literally decades starting 50 years ago, until I couldn't find it reliably any more starting about 25 years ago. I swore by it. And for a long time I couldn't come up with anything better. But now it is nearly impossible to find in the very coarsest grade - I haven't seen anything I'd call anything but medium grade for decades. It breaks down rapidly in soil and I would never even consider using it in a raised bed, it just breaks down too fast. And it's always been too expensive in the quantities I would need to add at least every other year to a garden-in-the-ground! For me at least. Not saying to dig up plain dirt to fill a raised bed, but use something the worms will help turn into friable fertile soil over time. Like bark and peat. Dirt on the ground needs to be friable soil, not container mix. I loves me some earthworms! And all their soil flora and fauna kith and kin. Keeping in mind I mean a raised bed on the ground. Now if you're talking raised beds as in a box that is up off the ground, like a container - for that I'd go with a Growstone based mix. Lightweight even when wet, very friable, its a very very usable container mix. I know the Turface based gritty mix is very nearly sacrosanct on these forums, but (1) I've never had access to Turface in less than pallet quantities, and seldom that, and (2) that mix is SUPER DUPER heavy. I've tried all the other container mix ingredients/soil amendments I could lay my hands on. Calcined clay, crushed pumice, etc etc. None of them worked as well as my peat-bark-vermiculite (I have always hated and avoided perlite) Cornell container mix. Until now. Growstone is saving my container plants, LOL! But it is too expensive and fragile to put in the ground. And just not necessary - using mulch and cardboard as a weed blocker (which also eventually is pulled down into the soil by the worm armies) improves all soil types, even heavy clay, much quicker than double-digging and and cover crops and constantly adding compost ever did for me. I have never understood why Mel was so set on vermiculite for raised beds on the ground. It never lasts more than a couple of seasons at best, and if you don't need it later (as the soil "matures"), you didn't really need it to start with. Since I've been getting along without it for over 20 years, and NEVER used it in the ground anyway, it just isn't necessary. Worms do all my work for me. Worms, and cardboard to keep the weeds out. If you're prone to slugs its a bit more complicated, but I've done it that way (cardboard covered with wood mulch) even in Portland OR, slug capital of the US, and Ohio, close second in that category, LOL!