rice hulls in media

biscgolf · November 21, 2014

Has anyone used PBH (parboiled rice hulls) in their growing media as a perlite substitute? If so what are your thoughts? We use a lot of soilless mix here on the farm and the price on the PBH sure looks good.

jmsieglaff · November 21, 2014

I haven't used them for that use, but I use them in brewing beer. They are used to give a mash (water + grains) stability and keep the mash from getting "stuck" (compressing on itself preventing the draining of the liquid). So if rice hulls serve that purpose well I would think they would do the same in a potting mix.

bower · November 22, 2014

I'm going to have to look into this - any alternative to perlite would be great.

Cole_Robbie · November 22, 2014

I would like to try them as a hydroponic media.

JamesL · November 22, 2014

I had looked at rice hulls a few years back, but it was easier for me to get perlite and I didn't need all that much.
A couple of links I had saved.
http://www.jollygardener.com/docs/GM...Dec%202010.pdf

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/resea...opezHulls.html

bower · November 29, 2014

Those are excellent links, JamesL, thanks for posting.

On reflection, I think rice hulls may be best for people in rice growing areas. Although perlite is certainly shipped here from I-dunno-where, so far I haven't seen any PBH making it up here. I would try it if I saw it, instead of perlite which I only use for house plants anyway. But maybe I need to dig deeper for a local alternative.

jmsieglaff · November 29, 2014

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/r...adjunct-c.html From homebrew supply stores you can buy them by the pound. A pound is about the volume of a football give or take a bit. @ $2/lb it may not be cost effective. You could also contact a homebrew supply store and see how much a 50 or 55 lb sack would be. At that volume I bet you could get is closer to $1 - $1.25 per lb.

biscgolf · November 29, 2014

They run about $2 per cubic foot from my local greenhouse supplier which means i can probably get them for 40% less than that elsewhere as they tend to be overpriced. Either way it is much cheaper than perlite.

neilsc · December 25, 2014

Anyone know the levels of arsenic in these rice hulls?

November 21, 2014	#1
biscgolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 353	rice hulls in media Has anyone used PBH (parboiled rice hulls) in their growing media as a perlite substitute? If so what are your thoughts? We use a lot of soilless mix here on the farm and the price on the PBH sure looks good.

November 21, 2014	#2
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	I haven't used them for that use, but I use them in brewing beer. They are used to give a mash (water + grains) stability and keep the mash from getting "stuck" (compressing on itself preventing the draining of the liquid). So if rice hulls serve that purpose well I would think they would do the same in a potting mix.

November 22, 2014	#3
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	I'm going to have to look into this - any alternative to perlite would be great.

November 22, 2014	#4
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I would like to try them as a hydroponic media.

November 22, 2014	#5
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	I had looked at rice hulls a few years back, but it was easier for me to get perlite and I didn't need all that much. A couple of links I had saved. http://www.jollygardener.com/docs/GM...Dec%202010.pdf http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/resea...opezHulls.html

November 29, 2014	#6
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Those are excellent links, JamesL, thanks for posting. On reflection, I think rice hulls may be best for people in rice growing areas. Although perlite is certainly shipped here from I-dunno-where, so far I haven't seen any PBH making it up here. I would try it if I saw it, instead of perlite which I only use for house plants anyway. But maybe I need to dig deeper for a local alternative.

December 25, 2014	#9
neilsc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NYC Posts: 22	Anyone know the levels of arsenic in these rice hulls?