Make your own Soils - Recycle, Clean, Low Maintenance

Why Make your own Soil?

Use of recycled materials
Less Messy than earth and dirt
Can be made from household items
Doesn't require much fertilizer
SAVE MONEY.
CONVENIENT. Making a batch and storing it saves time. This way, you always have some on hand for mini projects
SAFE INGREDIENTS. Many non-certified organic commercial mixes contain water crystals or soil wetters. These are made from chemical polymers. Making your own potting mix recipe, you know exactly what’s in it and can control the outcome you want with no hazardous ingredients.
SELF-RELIANCE. Making your own supplies is incredibly satisfying and you can share these skills with others.
LONGER LASTING. By choosing the right ingredients, you will get more mileage out of your own potting mix recipe, than a bagged mix based on bark. This ingredient quickly decomposes and becomes moisture resistant.

Growing medium: Garden soil from a home center, which is pre-sterilized to remove weeds or disease.
Moisture retention: Spaghnum peat moss. It is harvested from bogs that have been drained, so the moss has dried and turned a light brown color; you may need to lightly moisten before mixing the potting soil.
Drainage: Perlite, vermiculite, or sand. Perlite is made by heating bits of a glasslike mineral until they expand into puffy, lightweight particles. It holds no water, aside from the little that clings to the surface of each particle.
Mix those three ingredients in equal proportions, adding more of any ingredient until you have a loose, but clump-able, mix.

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