Soilless Grow Media for High-Efficiency Systems
About Our Ponics Stone™ Pumice
Down deep in the earth, in the fiery heart of a volcano, water mixes with molten rock...pressure builds, rocks split and shatter, finally finding a violent, spectacular release on the surface. The water trapped in the viscous, super-heated rock flashes to steam, blasting the sticky magma into a frothy stone that cools, hardens, and falls to the earth as pumice.
Examine pumice under magnification and what you’ll see is best described as a foamed stone. That frothy matrix of tiny pockets and pits are ideal for capturing and holding moisture and nutrients while providing purchase and support for root systems.
Pumice is abundant and found in many parts of the world, but pumice is not created equal.
In the southeast corner of the State of Idaho, a score of miles northwest of Malad City, lies a vast reserve of white, pure pumice that is in demand all over the world. That demand is the result of two factors: the purity and brightness of the pumice, and the company that mines and refines it: Hess Pumice Products.
The pumice deposit is located on what was once the shoreline of an ancient lake known as Lake Bonneville...a vast, freshwater lake that once covered much of North America’s Great Basin region (most of Utah and parts of Idaho and Nevada). The Great Salt Lake is all that remains of Lake Bonneville. The volcano that produced the pumice is about a mile to the north of the mine. The volcanic ash (pumice) fell into the lake, where relentless wave action gathered, washed and stratified it. This incessant process cleaned the pumice of the undesirable heavy minerals and other impurities that are often found in other pumice deposits.
The pumice from the Hess deposit is fascinatingly versatile, used widely in industry for a variety of processes and products—in personal care exfoliating products, polishing compounds, pencil erasers. It's a functional filler for paints and coatings and a highly-effective concrete pozzolan. It is used as an aggressive filtration media for water, oil, and juices. It's a great soil conditioner, is used as a seed coating, improves the composting process and more.
Ponics Stone™ is sourced from this world-famous Hess Pumice deposit—recognized as the planet’s purest commercial deposit of white pumice.
Horticultural Pumice Disclaimer: Horticultural grade pumice is typically comprised of 98% pumice and 2% other igneous minerals, which are not able to be removed through our mining processes.
About Hess Pumice
In continual operation since 1958, Hess Pumice operates production facilities equipped with the most current refining technology and machinery. Hess Pumice has a stable source of supply, an exclusive focus on producing precisely controlled pumice grades, and the logistical expertise to ship pumice anywhere on the planet. This focus has made Hess Pumice the world’s leading supplier of highly refined pumice products.
DOWNLOAD KNOWLEDGE BRIEF:
Pumice: An Ideal Soilless Grow Media (PDF)
DOWNLOAD TDS:
Ponics Stone Technical Data Sheet (PDF)