Create Your Own Organic Potting Soil

Soil for your indoor and outdoor potted plants can be made up of many different ingredients, so tailor make the one that fits your needs best. Making your own potting soil is not only easy but it can save you money by cutting out a trip to the store. Instead, you will buy bulk ingredients that you can also use as fertilizer in your garden.

Potting soil usually contains 1 part loamy topsoil, 1 part sphagnum moss or peat moss, and 1 part perlite, vermiculite, or sand. Other nutrients such as compost and organic fertilizers may also be added.

Heavier soils hold more water and need less watering. However, it is a good idea to lighten soil to give the plant roots room to breathe. Mixing sand or vermiculite helps breaks up the heaviness. Vermiculite holds a lot of water, so it’s a good idea to use this material to help prevent the mixture from drying out too fast.

Plastic pots don’t allow for water evaporation, and plants in them will need less water than those in clay pots. If you need the insulation factor that a clay pot gives, then, before planting, line your plastic pot with newspaper or bubble wrap. You can also plant in the plastic pot and then place it inside a clay pot. Mix small amounts of potting soil by shaking ingredients in a plastic bag. Use smaller sealed bags for leftover mix.

Soil Mixes For Different Uses

Outdoor container mix: An easy mix for outdoor plants is 1 part loamy soil, 1 part organic compost, and a well-balanced (15-15-15) fertilizer.

Plant propagating mixes: For root cuttings try peat, perlite, or sand as a base.

Seed-starting mixes: Commercial varieties are usually light, retain moisture well, and are sterilized to prevent fungal diseases. For your own, try soil, sand or peat, mixed with vermiculite. For example, mix 1 part vermiculite with 1 part compost, and sprinkle the top with sand to discourage fungal diseases after planting seeds.

Soilless potting mix: Plants actually do not need soil to grow, they need air, water and nutrients in the soil. Soil just happens to be the perfect medium to keep plants anchored in the ground. Indoors, try sphagnum or peat moss, perlite, or vermiculite
alone or mixed together, along with a bit of fertilizer.

Guest post by Go Organic Gardening.com. View the site to find more information on organic plant food and soil mixes.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, May 4th, 2008 at 7:03 pm and is filed under Gardening General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.