Temperature retention vs material & texture.

maxjohnson · November 14, 2016

Just a musing post. This may turn out to be a broad and pointless and gets no replies.

I basically went and remixed all my containers yesterday with additional vermiculite because all of them were more compacted than they needed to be. In the end I got extra mixes from un-compacting.

I wondered does some materials retains heat better than other? Which type of consistency would distribute a more even temperature throughout and retains heat better (more compacted or more porous). And is more wet or less wet better for heat retention. Then there is the microbes activity that influences it.

Yes, I know how big the container is and the material it's made of makes difference as well. But just in general, I'm more interested in how the actual make up and texture of the mixes can influence it, or not all? Or maybe it makes so little difference that it doesn't matter compared to more impacting factors like the sun and the container itself.

Obviously you don't want something that overheats also, I have a feeling it was better for me to have added more aeration to my mixes.

November 14, 2016	#1
maxjohnson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: OH 6a Posts: 592	Temperature retention vs materials & texture? Just a musing post. This may turn out to be a broad and pointless and gets no replies. I basically went and remixed all my containers yesterday with additional vermiculite because all of them were more compacted than they needed to be. In the end I got extra mixes from un-compacting. I wondered does some materials retains heat better than other? Which type of consistency would distribute a more even temperature throughout and retains heat better (more compacted or more porous). And is more wet or less wet better for heat retention. Then there is the microbes activity that influences it. Yes, I know how big the container is and the material it's made of makes difference as well. But just in general, I'm more interested in how the actual make up and texture of the mixes can influence it, or not all? Or maybe it makes so little difference that it doesn't matter compared to more impacting factors like the sun and the container itself. Obviously you don't want something that overheats also, I have a feeling it was better for me to have added more aeration to my mixes. Last edited by maxjohnson; November 14, 2016 at 11:03 AM.