Quote Originally Posted by melodious fellow
Also, apparently vermiculite contains asbetos and causes cancer. And apparently perlite is way better anyway.
Perlite often times sends airborne particulates right into your face, too... which I'm sure isn't healthy by any standards. Any time I mix soil, I always wear a dust mask. The cheap, disposable ones you can buy at the grocery store. I also like to add blood/bone/kelp meal to my soil, and stirring everything up can cause a nasty, multicolored dust storm to blow up right in your face.

If you want to continue adding vermiculite to your mix, just wet it first before handling it. Same with perlite. This tends to drag all the minute particles to the bottom, leaving you with MUCH less dust.

...and, agreed. It doesn't sound like that shop owner will be in business for much longer. It might do him some good to actually read up on the products that he's selling. It would make him look much less like a total ass.

Take care. :jointsmile: