Choosing the right potting mix is essential for successful container gardening. Potting mix holds the life of a plant beneath the soil. Potting mixes are like the body of your plant where your plant’s health and growth are processed. To keep your plants healthy and lush, choose the right potting mix. The healthier the potting mix, the more your plants thrive you can have a green thumb.
Potting mixes are different from Garden soil. I have already explained this in my previous post. Garden soil is heavier, hard to drain, and holds moisture. These characteristics of garden soil are unsuitable for growing plants in pots. Potted plants need light-weighted soil so you can move pots easily, and hang them in hanging pots, heavier pots might damage the floor and walls for a long time.
The other important thing is the drainage in container gardening the space is limited so garden soil without proper drainage only leads to root rot. And heavy soil becomes harder which makes the plant roots harder to spread. Potting mixes are light-weighted, well-drained, and have better aeration and porosity these qualities make your potted plant thrive.
In this blog post, you can get some clarity and understanding about the best potting mix ingredients and how to use them for your plants. After reading the full blog, you can learn how to make the potting mix that your plants love to thrive.
WHAT ARE POTTING MIX?
Potting mix and its components.
Potting mix is a combination of water retention amendments like coco peat and peat moss and vermiculites, nutrition amendments like compost and manure, drainage and amendments like perlite, sand, pumice and pine park. These components make the soil nutrients, aerated by creating air pockets, well-drained and water retention and all these are weighted as well.
Why garden soil is not ideal for containers
Garden soil is ideal for ground gardening because the space is not restricted so no water drainage issues the water needed is high in ground gardening because of the less water retention, but in container gardening the space is limited so heavier soil holds excess moisture and that leads to root rot.
Garden soil is heavier than is suitable for ground but in containers, it makes pots heavier and harder to move, and heavyweight pots might damage the floor for a long time. Garden soil becomes harder over time which makes it hard to spread roots. Garden soils are less aerated; this thing also makes it hard for roots to spread freely.
Benefits of Potting Mix
Potting mixes are naturally light-weighted so you can move around easily, potting mixes are high in porosity and aeration so the roots spread easily. With the right soil components, you can make potting mix well-drained and water retention.
And you can tailor the potting mix based on your plant needs with minimal costs. In-ground gardening, you need a large quantity of manure or compost to make the soil fertile, but in container gardening you need less amount of manure and compost even for high-quantity plants compared to ground gardening.
For example, you need at least 10 bags of compost or manure to fill 10 10 land that can grow 30 plants. But in container gardening you need only 2 bags maximum to fill 30 plants along with coco peat.
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD POTTING MIX
The concept of potting mix is to create a structure in soil with air pockets so the roots spread easily, hold moisture to feed the plant’s water needs and drain out the excess moisture with drainage components so the soil is not going to be soggy and not get affected by root rot. The below ingredients have their unique characteristics to do the job of creating a structure in the potting mix.
Peat Moss or Coconut Coir
Peat moss is an organically acidic and lightweight water-absorbent potting ingredient, preferable for acid-loving plants and mostly used to propagate plant cuttings because of the water retention amendments. Peat moss is mostly used for quick-drying plants to retain moisture. Peat moss doesn’t have any nutrients itself so you can use peat moss along with manure or compost, for the propagation process you can spray liquid fertiliser along with water to boost root growth.
Cocopeat is my personal favourite. I adopted coco peat as an alternative for garden soil. You read it correctly, cocopeat doesn’t have any nutrients itself but it holds moisture and creates air pockets in the potting mix that create a structure and aeration in the potting mix and coco peat is made from coconut husks so sustainable amendment that holds moisture without turning heavy. So, you can add cocopeat along with manure or compost instead of garden soil.
Perlite or Vermiculite
Perlite is made of volcanic rock and has the characteristics of creating porosity that creates air pockets so the roots can spread throughout the pots and access oxygen, nutrients and water in the whole pot. Perlite helps to keep the potting mix well-drained so the soil is not going to be soggy and perlite prevents soil compaction.
Vermiculites have two characteristics, one is little help to drainage and holds moisture as well. Vermiculites have a spongy texture; it holds moisture and is drained as well. Vermiculites also hold nutrition amendments, so if you feel your plants are not getting enough nutrients add some vermiculites. Also, this is ideal for seedlings to grow.
Organic matter
The cocopeat, peat moss or garden soil itself doesn’t have nutrients. It’s a medium to hold moisture and nutrition that can be absorbed by roots. To fertilise the potting mix you need to add some organic matter and nutrients. Manure and compost are the organic matter that can fertilise the potting mix and create an ecosystem in pots.
Compost is made from Kitchen waste that contains beneficial microorganisms in it. Compost can be brought from stores or you can make compost using a compost bin and repurpose your kitchen wastes and avoid landfill. Compost also retains moisture and creates structure to potting soil.
I’ve been using compost and manure for years and I saw the difference of using organic matter after using it. I saw high yields, better blooming and lush plants after adding organic matter to the potting mix. Not only this, I frequently see earthworms every time I repotting.
Manure is an extract from animal waste mostly from cow dung. Sounds stinky right but it’s black gold and creates a structure, beneficial microorganisms and a great slow-release fertiliser. I was using manure and compost in equal ratio in the potting mix you can add a small amount in the potting mix or you can add a handful of manure after planting for 6 months once.
POTTING MIX FOR DIFFERENT PLANT TYPES
Every plant type has its unique potting mix some plants dry quicker, some plants need moisture some plants prefer well-drained soil, and some of them love acidic soil. In the above paragraph, you already know about the benefits of potting mix and the different characteristics of potting mix ingredients. Now you have to know about different plant types soil needs and how to make it.
Potting mix for Succulents and Cacti
Succulents and cacti are hardy and heat-tolerant plant types. So, you don’t have to add much quantity of organic matter to the potting mix. But make sure the potting soil is well-drained and has aeration. You need 70% of the drainage components (perlite and sand) 20% (cocopeat or peat moss) of moisture retention and 10% of nutrient amendments (manure or compost). Don’t add too much organic matter because compost or manure holds moisture in the potting mix.
Potting mix for Flowering Plants
Flowering plants love nutrient-rich slightly moist potting mix. So, you’ve to add 40% of compost, 30% of coco peat or peat moss, 10% of perlite, 10% of vermiculite and 10% of sand for extra drainage. Compost provides nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium that boosts the plant’s health and bloom. Coco peat holds the moisture the plants need. Flowering plants can’t be dry but also, they don’t like soggy soil.
Potting mix for Herbs and Edible plants
Herbs and edible plants dry quickly and need more nutrients than other plants, particularly in the blooming period. 50% organic matter (split it with manure and compost), 30% of cocopeat to hold moisture, 10% of perlite or sand to create aeration,
10% of vermiculite to hold nutrients and aeration. To get better yield add slow-release fertilizers once a month or add a spoonful of fertilizers with potting mix while planting. Edible plants and herbs are moist but not soggy so, don’t forget to add perlite or sand for aeration.
Potting mix for Indoor Plants
Indoor Plants are mostly in the shade and receive less sunlight. So, the potting mix dries slower than outdoor plants’ potting mix, so the possibility of root rot and soggy soil is higher. Try to make a well-drained, lightweight potting mix. For Indoor plants, you can make a tailored potting mix or you can shift your entire plants to LECA (Light expanded clay aggregate) balls with water if you consistently facing root rot issues and underwater issues.
For Indoor Plants Potting mix reduces the moisture-holding amendments like coco peat or peat moss and compost or manure adds more quantity of drainage amendments that create porosity like perlite, coarse sand and vermiculite you can also add LECA balls in the bottom of the pot for better drainage along with the potting mix make sure pots have drainage holes and water only if you feel the top layer of the soil dry. 40% of perlite, 10% vermiculite, 10% coarse sand, 20% compost or manure and 20% cocopeat.
DIY POTTING MIX
You can make your tailored potting mix with the above ratio or you can create your potting mix by with experimenting different combinations. The above-mentioned ratio is a commonly used ratio you can adjust percentages based on your local climate and gardening issues faced by you. I already said the characters of basic potting mix components and combinations so, it’s up to your gardener’s mind to experiment with things.
If you facing moisture issues try to add more perlite and reduce moisture-holding components. For lack of nutrients add manure and compost along with slow-release fertilizers. For quick dry plants reduce perlite, and add cocopeat and manure to retain moisture. If you facing slow growth check the soil and add perlite and sand for more porosity in the potting mix.
There are a variety of potting mixes available in the market you can buy quality potting mix if you have minimum plants. But it is not suitable for huge collections sometime potting mixes are not enough for your plant needs. It is better to buy things separately based on your plant types and making the potting mix is a better solution to avoid most of the plant issues in future. Making your potting mix is not only effective but also cost-efficient.
TIPS FOR STORING AND REUSING POTTING MIX
How to store potting mix
It’s important to know about how to store potting mixes. Little strategies make the shelf-life of potting mix longer. I always keep a bucket of potting mix based on the plants currently i growing in high quality or the plants I plan to plant. And keeping a set of cocopeat, manure, compost, perlite and other slow-release fertilizers in stock. It’s better to store it in a dry and cool place, you can use an old bucket, containers or you can buy a new one. For coco peat blocks pour water to expand and dry the cocopeat in sunlight store coco peat in a powder form in a dry consistency that expands shelf life and lightweight (easy to carry).
For Organic matter like manure and compost use buckets or containers with lids because these two attract bugs and reptiles don’t use your bare hands in compost or manure. Organic matters have an odour so it’s better to use them with containers with lids and try to keep them in partially open spaces to avoid odour. Try to keep the organic matter moist not soggy it is effective when it is moist. For Perlite and vermiculite, you can keep them in containers with lids. Make sure the containers are dry and clean, when using perlite try to use masks or keep them away from the face because of the powder and chemical dust use gloves. You don’t have much maintenance for sand just keep it in dry containers. To store peat moss use bins with lids and store in dry bins keep in shade areas.
Peat moss has 98% organic matter and microbial activity the shelf-life is 6 months. It’s better to buy only the needed quantity. You can store mixed potting mixes in greenhouses, but it is better to store all the above components in separate places like garages or some other cool and dry places. The above-mentioned potting mix ingredients are 90% organic has a microbial activity they’re pest-attracting naturally, so try to keep them away from greenhouses or near plants to avoid ants’ attacks and any pest attacks.
How to reuse potting mix
To reuse the potting mix, you’ve to follow some little strategies. First, simply sterilize the soil and sundry the soil for a few days until it’s completely dry. After the sterilizing remove stones, dry roots or any dead parts of plants and debris (don’t use bare hands use gloves) in the soil. After this process, you can store this potting mix and use it along with organic matters like compost and manure, perlite and slow-release fertilizers. Used potting mixes lose their nutrient it is important to add organic matter and fertilizers to reuse them.
CONCLUSION
I hope you will get to know about what is potting mix, what ingredients are in potting mix, how to make potting mix and how to reuse potting mix in this blog. This info’s – benefits – the importance of potting mix guide helps you through the entire process of making potting mix. If I had this info in one place before I might save my time and money wasted on useless products and saved my plants as well.
As a gardener, it is important to know how to make potting mix for your plants, this potting mix making helps you to cut off the money wasted on buying large quantities of readymade potting mixes and avoid using nutrient-less garden less. Experiments make you better garden so get your hands dirty with gloves. And shoot your question about potting mixes in the comment section.
HAPPY GARDENING!
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