What is Utelite made of?

The extreme firing temperature also vitrifies the shale, much as clay vitrifies into ceramic pottery, creating a hard ceramic shell. These attributes account for the materials lightweight, high strength, acoustic, insulative and fire resistant qualities.

What is Utelite soil conditioner?

Utelite Soil Conditioner is pure Utelite expanded shale. Incorporating the Soil Conditioner into heavy clay or compacted soils will provide an optimum environment for plant establishment and garden maintenance. Extremely heavy clay might require a higher application rate.

What is expanded shale used for?

Expanded shale is used by orchid and bonsai enthusiasts to create lightweight, aerating, water retentive potting soils. It can be used with other containerized plants as well.

How much does expanded shale weigh?

around 1.7 pounds per liter
Will it float? Depending on the moisture content, Expanded Shale weighs around 1.7 pounds per liter (0.77kg/liter) when dry. Because of its porous nature, a very small percentage will float.

What is soil builder?

Soil Builder is a natural, carbon-based food source for microbes in the soil which promotes soil aeration and healthy plant growing. By feeding the microbes living in the soil, Soil Builder breaks up the hard clay and reduces compaction, improving the growing characteristics of the soil.

Does shale drain well?

The clay soil holds water well, but is not ideal for drainage, because the clay is heavy and sticky due to its density in the wet state. The first thing to do after testing the pH of the soil is to reduce the density of the clay to get a loose soil texture. …

What is shale good for?

Shale has many commercial uses. It is a source material in the ceramics industry to make brick, tile, and pottery. Shale used to make pottery and building materials requires little processing besides crushing and mixing with water. The petroleum industry uses fracking to extract oil and natural gas from oil shale.

Does expanded shale hold water?

Expanded shale is shale that has been kiln fired, causing it to expand. As it cools, gases escape leaving cavities in the material. The result is a more porous and light weight rock capable of holding water, which it can then release slowly into the ground.

Can you use shale in concrete?

When properly used, they produce dry concretes weighting form 90 to 100 pounds per cubic foot, as compared with 140 to 150 pounds per cubic foot for concretes made with most natural aggregates. These expanded materials make it possible to reduce weight without sacrificing strength.

What is bumper soil?

Master Nursery® Bumper Crop® Organic Soil Builder is a soil building blend of manure and high organic nutrient content of shellfish compost, dark, rich earthworm castings (adds minerals and biology), kelp, peat, aged bark, and lobster – inoculated with endo and ecto mycorrhizal fungi to improve root function.

What is a good soil amendment?

Sphagnum peat is an excellent soil amendment, especially for sandy soils, which will retain more water after sphagnum peat application. Sphagnum peat is generally acid (i.e., low pH) and can help gardeners grow plants that require a more acidic soil.