I looked at the Wikipedia article on vermiculite, and it wasn't clear whether it contained asbestos or not. Would it be safe for me to put on a mask and scoop the stuff up, then vacuum up the rest?
Make your own. Use compost and some slightly acidic peat. Make sure it drains easily.
vermiculite will give you some air pocket in the soil for air exchange and the peat will hold the water to keep the plants from drying out so fast. but once the peat drys out it is a little hard to get it to be wet again. to get it moist again you will have to soak the peat for a day in some water and this also depends on the size of the pot you are planting them in. dont use terriacota pots that really dry out plants it nice but unless you seall the out side it will dry out the plants and peat quickly. keep in mind how long it may take for t he redwoods to spout also. you need to go the a web site for trees and look up redwoods and see how long it take to germiate the seeds. Oh ya you can mix the to medium.
