{"id":445020,"date":"2022-01-18T13:46:13","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T18:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.familyhandyman.com\/?p=445020"},"modified":"2025-03-28T14:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T18:03:16","slug":"how-to-garden-with-vermiculite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.familyhandyman.com\/article\/how-to-garden-with-vermiculite\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Garden With Vermiculite"},"content":{"rendered":"In 1824, scientist Thomas H. Webb named a mineral compound vermiculite, combining Latin and English words that roughly translate to \"a rock that looks like a mass of small worms.\" That aptly describes what vermiculite does when heated \u2014 it expands into low-density, worm-like strands.\n\nToday, vermiculite is used as filler for paints, plastics and insulation. And in the garden, vermiculite's texture makes it an excellent moisture-retaining soil additive.\n\n\"Vermiculite can also increase nutrient retention and soil aeration, resulting in healthier, more robust plants,\" says Kelly Funk, president and expert gardener at Park Seed<\/a>.\n

What Is Vermiculite?<\/h2>\nVermiculite is a popular soil additive that improves soil quality and helps seedlings root. It is a naturally occurring silicate mineral, mostly made up of hydrated magnesium iron aluminum silicate. In the ground, it looks like mica with a golden to dark brown color.\n\n\"Unlike perlite, which is bright white, vermiculite can be hard to identify in the potting soil it's mixed with,\" says Funk.\n

How Is Vermiculite Made?<\/h2>\nVermiculite is mined, most often in Russia, Brazil, Uganda, Australia and the U.S. Then it's heated and expands into accordion-shaped granules through a process called exfoliation. After that, it's sorted and sold in four different grain sizes.\n

What are the Benefits of Vermiculite?<\/h2>\n\"Vermiculite is best used for plants that require soil to stay damp,\" says Funk. \"It can absorb water three to four times its volume. It holds it like a sponge until the soil begins to dry out, and then it acts as a slow-release watering system.\"\n\nBesides water retention, vermiculite's other benefits for gardeners include:\n