Where Do you get Your Vermiculite at

I been looking around and wanted to know where everyone gets their Vermiculite from locally. i want something cheaper than Hatchrite this season.

If there are Southern States stores in your area you can get it there in large quantities. If you need smaller quantities, try a local garden store. In my area Home Depot and Lowe's do not carry it, but I have had luck as smaller gardening shops.

This will be my first year trying Vermiculite so i need to know what i am looking for and not buy something that will kill my eggs.

I order mine. www.uline.com

I dont need that much at all as i have no room to store them bags. im looking for something local so i dont have to be dependant for online orders in case of emergencies.

U-Line's prices seem pretty fair, too. Most small garden shops will charge you $6-8 for a small bag. A 4 cu. ft bag from Southern States or U-Line is more economical if you are incubating several clutches.

The number one mistake people make with incubation media is to get it too wet. I mix 3 parts coarse-grade vermiculite with 1 part perlite (optional). I weight it and then add 50-70% water (by weight). I vary the amount of water by how dry the vermiculite and perlite are to begin with. This isn't something I can easily describe so you should err on the side of using less water. You can always add a little bit of water later if necessary. As an example, I will measure out 750 grams of vermiculite and 250 grams of perlite and then add 500-600 grams of water.

Also, don't put a lot of holes in your incubation box. I have one hole in my boxes. In the past I used two. Too many holes allows too much air flow and the eggs can get too dry.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

I dont need that much at all as i have no room to store them bags. im looking for something local so i dont have to be dependant for online orders in case of emergencies.

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If there are not Southern States in your area look in the phone book for a farmer's co-op and contact them. There should be something around. If that fails, call a garden shop and ask them for suggestions. It's likely they can refer you to someone local.

I can't find it anywhere locally, even at the mom and pop shops. I ordered some this year from online. But I ended up with way too much, if you want, I can send you some - I'll send you a PM.

i dont use holes at all in my tubs. Ill be using the Vermiculite with a light diffuser on top to keep the eggs away from the moisture directly. And u-line and southern states are out of question. Im only going to have 2 clutches this breeding season coming. so 4cu ft bag is not economical for me just yet.

lowes website sells a bag of it and wondered if its okay to use.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...-1321-50801727

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

lowes website sells a bag of it and wondered if its okay to use.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...-1321-50801727

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I can't give a reason why that mulch from Lowe's would be bad.