Red Lava Rock

[DianaNE]

Lowes has bags of red lava rock as landscaping cover. Can that be used in large pots as part of the aerating medium? Light weight and readily available as opposed to pumice here in the north east. Large chunks and hard to break into smaller pieces.

 

[387PETE]

They would be great to use as part of the aeration mix. Too bad they are so big.

 

[sykofan]

They would be great to use as part of the aeration mix. Too bad they are so big.

Can one break them up with a hammer?

 

[DianaNE]

Can one break them up with a hammer?

Probably with a sledge hammer and some muscle.

 

[sykofan]

Probably with a sledge hammer and some muscl

 

[sykofan]

 

[387PETE]

I have a bag i bought a few years ago just sitting in the shed. I think i will put a tarp down and put the lava rock bag wrapped up in it . Then run over it a few times with my pickup.

 

[GoodFriendMike]

Wonder if you could use a tamper to crush them

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tamper+for+soil&adgrpid=1338107349047431&hvadid=83631987060190&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=74253&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83632751751955%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=5403_13190639&mcid=d4f76ee7075b3af9b72f998021f768b5&msclkid=5e5729e4b50b1c4ac84e43f0e0ec70f7&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_2r4z86si0q_e

 

[mech_pa]

I got a bag from tractor supply and tried to hammer them to small pieces. It’s much harder than I thought. So I just use the large pieces as mulch for my trees and mix the small pieces in potting mix.

 

[Charlie Dodgson]

Light weight

Light weight aeration makes you feel better than your plants. I recommend a potting mix of 3 parts cured compost (or bagged soil) + 1 part all purpose sand. For example, a 1.5 cu.ft. bag of potting soil + 0.5 cu.ft. bag of all purpose sand. Both are available at Home Depot.

 

[FruitBrute]

A 100+ gallon container would make those lava rocks look tiny...... no work involved

 

[pjmac]

I got a bag from tractor supply and tried to hammer them to small pieces. It’s much harder than I thought. So I just use the large pieces as mulch for my trees and mix the small pieces in potting mix.

I tried the same they break but it's not easy and seems dangerous.