perlite
pumice
crushed lava
bark fines
turface
rice hulls
These would be some alternative products to look for.
(I doubt that turface would be cheaper than vermiculite,
but it should last a long time.) Over time, bark fines and
crushed lava (small size red or black lava) may change
the pH of your beds.
There is still a rice grower over in Darlington, SC, by the way.
I do not know if they have mountains of rice hulls that people
can load up for free. Bark fines are simply pine or fir bark in
fairly small pieces (screened to remove big chunks).
The idea of vermiculite is to provide something with a larger
particle structure than most sand (to add air spaces to the
soil and improve drainage) that still holds a little water. You
could check local landscape materials suppliers to see if they
have pumice, but unless you have a nearby volcano, I doubt
that this will be cheaper than vermiculite.
Your best prices on bagged products will probably be perlite
or bark fines.
(I see bagged gypsum sometimes that has particles about the
right size for this. Adds calcium, too.)
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