Logan's Trading Post. Go figure.

:)

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/sqfoot/msg0313401022170.html

If only they were in Durham... or I had thought of this before I drove all the way down there last week!!

Odd, I just read an ad for a lawsuit against vermiculite producers who promoted it as loose fill attic insulation because of its asbestos contents. Last page of the current National Geographic magazine (appropriate to GW with a sprouting plant on the cover).
WR Grace Bankrupcy for selling the stuff ..some of which contains naturally occuring asbestos..

Just a thought that using vermiculite to loosen soil or mix into potting soils..might think of using a mask when working with vermiculite.

Heh. There is a *lot* of discussion about the asbestos stuff on the forums that use it more (square foot gardening, seed sprouting i think). Apparently it's a lot of bad press stemming from one bad company about 10 years back, and now any vermiculite mine/vein is regularly tested for asbestos.

Having said that... Stone Brothers in Durham has 4 cf bags of coarse vermiculite -- and a lot of other miscellaneous garden stuff :) -- and I am seriously considering wearing a mask when I mix the vermiculite in tomorrow morning. Better safe than sorry, and I hear it's dusty until it's been wetted properly.

A 3 to 1 ratio of perlite to vermiculite mix is an excellent soil less growing medium for top drip Dutch bucket systems. See the following:

Here is a link that might be useful: Dutch Bucket Hydroponic Tomatoes - Home Made System