Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
As with any garden, soil preparation is paramount to successful container growth. That is the foundation. It’s a stick of life. Choose your life to give a metaphor, and you will get an idea. How to Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
In other words, if you choose the right potting soil recipe for your plant, they will thrive. When stored on the ground, you will get weak, unproductive plants that require more work to care for and are prone to problems of all kinds of pests. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Organic Potting Soil
What is the perfect mix? How to Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
It depends on every professional gardener has his own “secret recipe”, just as every Italian grandmother has his own way of making tomato sauce. However, most experts agree that a good container medium should be lightweight, well-drained, and contain enough organic material to retain water and nutrients in hot and dry weather. .. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Commercial mixture most off-the-shelf potting mixes are the seller’s best attempt to provide ventilation, water retention and nutrients. Of course, not all commercial floors are made the same. The old adage “You get what you pay for” can actually work here. Avoid cheap soil that has only “topsoil” or “compost” on the label. This mysterious topsoil can be anything, old and tired soil from the land where you worked to death. Bad topsoil can be completely deficient in nutrients, but it is rich in nasty chemicals and herbicides and is another carry-over from farm life. What is simply called “compost” can be made solely from toxic sludge (often called bio-solids) or simply crushed wood chips? Play safely and buy high-quality potting compost. How to Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
How to make your own potting soil
Packaged compost is very convenient, but its cost can quickly increase in a busy garden. I saved money just by making about half of the potting soil I used. When the pile of rotten sawdust matures next year, I hope to be self-sufficient in potting compost. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Self-sufficiency of potting soil is good for purses, plants, and the earth. It will be even more convenient if you have the potting soil ready when you need it. When you have soil and compost, you have the basic ingredients to make your own potting compost. Easily combine with a long list of hardened compost, leaf molds, rotten sawdust (made from untreated wood), or other organic matter instead of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite (the top three components of pouch compost) Material that can be. Prepare a few small batches, mix them with store-purchased materials, add them to the stash, and then gradually move to potting compost, a simple nutrient medium for growing healthy plants and starting seeds. .. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Avoiding exotic planting ingredients At least half of all homemade compost is homemade compost, but most commercial compost is based on a combination of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite. All of these cause soil degradation and pollution during mining, processing, packaging, and shipping. Peat moss comes from the moist swamps of Canada and Michigan. This is unsustainable and can be far from where you live. Many nurseries that grow woody shrubs and trees have found that composted bark and wood chips serve as a great alternative to peat moss. In Walla Walla, Washington, Organic Inc. has developed a technology to convert cow dung used for methane production into a peat-like material sold as RePeat. Coconut, the fiber of the coconut shell, represents peat moss on any day of the week, but unless you live in the place where it was made (India or Central America), coconut is as exotic as possible. For most of us, the best peat alternatives are leaf molds (rotten leaves), rotten sawdust, or a mixture of both. A 4×5 foot pile of chopped leaves takes about two years to break down into leaf shape. In areas where organic rice and other grain shells are available, composting creates lightweight materials for loosening compost. How to Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Abundant organic matter in compost made from rotten sawdust, leaf mold, or garden waste can also make up for the deficiency of vermiculite, a degraded mineral with as many environmental problems as peat moss. .. The protected areas of Montana and Virginia have been found to contain asbestos, making a small area of South Carolina the only remaining safe resource in North America. Personally, I don’t want to spend money to deplete a limited number of billions of years old minerals. Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Basic Container Potting Mix Recipe | How to Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Ingredients
- 1 bucket (10 quarts) coconut coir
- 1/2 bucket (5 quarts) perlite
- 1/2 bucket (5 quarts) vermiculite
- 1/2 bucket (5 quarts) screened compost or composted cow manure
- 2 cups fine sand
- 2 cups pelleted time-release fertilizer
Instructions
Mix thoroughly. Makes enough to fill two 14-inch tubs or five 12-inch hanging baskets. Double or triple recipe for bigger containers.
How Much Potting Mix Do I Need? How to Make Your Inexpensive Organic Potting Soil
Potting mix is sold by volume (typically measured in quarts), and most pots are measured by their diameter. To translate quarts of mix into various pot sizes.
FAQ
- What is organic potting soil?
A. Organic potting soil is a type of soil mix that is made using natural, organic materials and is free of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.
2. Why make your own organic potting soil?
A. Making your own organic potting soil can be more economical and allows you to control the ingredients and quality of the soil mix you are using for your plants.
3. What are the ingredients for organic potting soil?
A. The ingredients for organic potting soil can vary, but typically include a mixture of compost, peat moss, coco coir, vermiculite or perlite, and other organic materials such as leaf mold, composted bark, or sand.
4. Can you use garden soil for potting soil?
A. No, garden soil should not be used for potting soil as it can be too heavy and compact for potted plants and may not drain well.
5. How much organic potting soil do you need for a single potted plant?
A. The amount of organic potting soil you will need for a single potted plant will depend on the size of the pot, but as a general rule, you should fill the pot with soil to about 2-3 inches from the top.
6. How do you mix the ingredients for organic potting soil?
A. To mix the ingredients for organic potting soil, simply combine all of the ingredients in a large container and mix well. The ratios of the ingredients will depend on the specific plants you are growing, but a general guideline is to mix equal parts of compost, peat moss, and coco coir or vermiculite.
7. Can you reuse organic potting soil from previous years?
A. Yes, you can reuse organic potting soil from previous years, but it is recommended to mix in fresh organic matter and fertilizers to keep the soil healthy for your plants.