straight perlite

my first grow, i tried germinating in a paper towel then planting in jiffy cubes, 3 out of 12 survived, though just barely. i transplanted the survivors into a small (maybe 5" across) pot with 100% perlite for a medium, they seem to be getting better now. a friend told me that you can plant in just perlite, that it's actually really good for getting air to the roots and keeping them moist. all the threads i've read here say to mix soil with perlite, but can just perlite sustain the plants by itself?
btw the plants are only a few inches tall, maybe a week or two old, and still only have one set of real leaves, also, i have this "expert gardener" liquid pre mixed plant food from wal-mart. is this stuff any good?

well if its grown in just perlite, how does the plant get proper nutrients? sounds intresting but perlite loosing up soil for the roots to get air also provide key nutrients, lemme know how it goes.

You should get you some hydro nutes.

I believe during germinating it will be ok as it uses the nutrients within the seed to sprout.

However, once they sprout and being rooting, they need nutrients in some form to continue growing.

Don't keep moving germinating seeds, as they have little roots that you cannot see with the naked eye.

I'm no pro, and in my first grow... but that's my .02

I use only quality potting soil ... :smokin:

You know str8jacket you can try it and let us know.

Alga will be a problem and you should check the water run-off to make sure the Ph stay's in check. I can't say good or bad I have never tried it. There is not much there to grab and hold the plant secure once it gets a little larger. If the plant does not have a good strong firm base for support it will stunt is growth and hold back development by nature.

You should post pictures and let everyone see how it goes for you.