Nature's Footprint Pumice Soil Amendment, 5-Gallon (5PU)

I don't like using perlite for many reasons and found this to be a great substitute. I have ordered it four times already and plan to continue doing so. Perlite floats to the top of the soil surface more readily than this pumice, although it still tends to work its way to the top eventually. I usually top off my outdoor potted plants with a layer of pure compost anyway, so that isn't a big issue for me. The compost holds the pumice in place under the surface.It is porous, like perlite, allowing water, nutrient and aeration. Aeration of the roots is vital to prevent root rot. Roots, like any other part of the plant, need to breathe. Without the ability to do gas exchange (O2/CO2), the cells will begin to die and microbes in the soil will begin breaking them down, causing rot (I'm a nerdy biologist). The pores can also hold onto water as a "reserve" for when the soil begins drying out, keeping it moist just a little bit longer. Nutrients can also enter the pores and stay there until a root enters the pore. This provides the plant a more consistent source of nutrients between fertilizing.I don't like using perlite because of the dust it creates, it floats to the top of the soil easily, in breaks down much easier than pumice, the size of the pores is smaller, and the size of each granule tends to be smaller than pumice. I even bought extra course perlite once instead of this pumice and regretted it. There was so much dust that I had the wear a dust mask, keep it damp at all times, and wash it before each use. I ended up coughing for the next few hours if I don't wear a mask. It was such a pain to use.I would say the size of the pumice ranges from 1/16th of an inch to 1/4th inch diameter. Most of the pumice is between 1/8th to 1/4th inch. I've never received dust or powder, like others have said. I'm not doubting their claim, it's just never happened to me.The only downsides I can come up with are:1) Price - it is more expensive than perlite but I find it worth it for many of my outdoor container plants. I will use perlite for indoor plants to offset some of this cost.2) Weight - this can be a positive or negative thing. It does weight more than perlite. This means the container will be harder to move it it is large. However, if you grow a lot of top heavy plants, sometimes the weight is needed. My plumeria trees need to go in and out of the greenhouse depending on the season. It is a big pain to move such heavy pots. BUT, because plumeria are very top heavy plants, the weight keeps the pot from tipping over in the wind.Overall, I recommend at least trying the pumice to see if it works well for your needs. I love it and will order it again and again.

I BOUGHT THIS LESS THAN SIX MONTHS AGO FOR $36 DOLLARS Now suddenly the price is double for the exact same weight and volume??? That has earned this product a horrible rating since it is a terrible value. There is absolutely no reason for the price of this to have doubled in less than a year. I will NOT recommend this product to ANYONE, and I will never buy this product again. I will also do a review of this company for their ridiculous price hike.

In the sturdy “bag in a box” I received adult teeth sized pumice stone and smaller . There was even fine crushed pumice in the package . It was exactly what I needed for my home made potting mix. All the different sizes adds to the structure of the soil Along with mineral content.Highly recommend this product. Ignore the bad reviews, they expected a bag full of perfect, identical rocks.

This is my first time attempt to use pumice as a replacement for perlite for my indoor container soil mix. Looking at this particular product I wonder if I purchased the correct type of pumice. I don't know. I sifted approximately 20 scoops resulting in equal parts of fines and medium sized rock (fines < 1/16", medium <1/4" >1/16"), and approximately 2/3 volume of large (>1/4") when compared to the volume of sifted medium and fines. Hope this makes sense for those trying to determine what comprises what's in the box. Other's mileage may vary with their boxFor my needs I prefer to have kept with the perlite for indoor container gardening. Any other so-called benefit of using pumice as an aeration amendment can be overcome with quality compost, rock dust, and EWC in addition to perlite. Otherwise the product is "as advertised".EDIT: 5/10/16 Update: I am satisfied with the pumice as an aeration component. Further, I'm confident this package will last a long time, fines and all. I would purchase this product again if I could not source it locally.

This pumice is far coarser than I thought it should be. I got out my hammer and have been pounding it down to more usable size. I am using it for mesembs planting and it is far too big as it is. It looks like none of the photos in the ad. Most pieces weee a little smaller than marbles. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!

The media could not be loaded.  Product is listed as 5 gallons of pumice. But, what I received only partially fills a 5 gallon volume. Roughly 4.1 gallons of pumice was delivered to my home.There's going to be some selling during shipping. But, even if the box we're packed full it would still not be 5 gallons.

Mine had very little dust considering the large size of the bag and how much jumbling I'm sure it got as it made its way to me. Some I've even used after sifting it to 3 different sizes but felt good about the low level of dust at the top of the bag so I didn't bother with the rinsing step that removes dust. I'll definitely rinse the bottom and probably the middle, but that is to be expected as pumice rubbing pumice naturally creates dust. I'll definitely buy this again once I've made my way through this giant bag! Thanks!

A lot of small pieces, but works for what I need, it was pretty close to a full 5 gallon bucket. I think if you sift it for size you need would still be cheaper than others selling it. But if you don’t want any small pieces then probably not for you,