---
title: Rice hulls in a terrarium | Glass Jar Garden
description: Rice hulls: Light husks that stop soil from packing down. In the jar it has holds water 20 % by volume, pore space 85 % by volume, weight 110 g/L.
url: https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/rice-hulls/
---

Soils and layers

# Rice hulls

Light husks that stop soil from packing down.

## What the simulation uses

- Holds water: 20 % by volume (Water it keeps after draining; the rest runs down to the drainage.)

- Pore space: 85 % by volume (Room for air and water between grains; low means roots suffocate when wet.)

- Weight: 110 g/L (How heavy a litre is.)

- pH: 6 to 7 pH (How acid it keeps the soil.)

- Mould risk: low (How much fresh food it gives white mould; high-risk soils fuzz over in the first weeks.)

- Breaks down in: 1 to 2 years (How long it lasts before rotting down to fine soil.)

- Nutrients: low (Plant food it brings.)

- Presses down to: 40 % of its loose depth (How far pressing can pack it, keeping its weight.)

## Description
Light husks that stop soil from packing down. They break down within a year or two, so the effect is temporary.

Also called parboiled rice hulls.

Estimated, where sources were thin: values estimated from hobby and horticultural references; not measured.

[Grow it in a jar](https://glassjar.garden/?guide=soils/rice-hulls)

[Pumice](https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/pumice/) · [River pebbles](https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/river-pebbles/) · [All soils and layers](https://glassjar.garden/guide/soils/)