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Question:

Found something odd in my houseplant's soil...I think my plant is making its own metal?

I have a Kohleria plant and a C. Lindenia (two tropical plants not normally found in nurseries; both are related to each other; found them at a plant show) I found metal pieces/flakes in the soil that I do not think were there when I first got them. I watered them yesterday and they both smell like iron/metal. The water that ran through them is yellowish in color. Is my plant making its own metal?

Answer:

Vermiculite is good but it does not have as high an R factor as cellulose or fiberglass.
don't use vermiculite,it was good years ago(it was all they had)but there are so many better options today. I would take a good look at spray foam myself.
vermiculite is indeed a very good insulation,years ago it was used for texture,to spray on ceilings as insulation as alternative for asbestos if you can find a way to CONTAIN it should work yery well
It may be a lot more expensive than other types of insulation to get the same R factor. Its not what the material is but how much air it can hold. Its the air that is the insulator, Thats why you can't put insulation made for a 6 space into a 3 wall. You are forcing out the air and losing the R factor by forcing out the air. We have two large greenhouses at the farm and blow two layers of poly with about 6 inches of air. This keeps the heat in and the cold out. We save about 40 percent on fuel by double layering the poly houses with air.

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