DIY Potting mixture

 

DIY Potting mixture

Are you a big fan of container gardening or you love to grow indoor plants or otherwise, you live in an urban area, and due to limited space you are compelled to grow plants in the containers? Then you must of well aware of the importance of potting mixture. The potting mixture is a well-blended mixture of the growing medium and nutrients. The potting mixture can contain soil or sometimes they can be made without soil. A good quality potting mixture should be able to sustain the plants grown in them. The mixture should provide well aeration to the roots of the plants and just able to maintain optimum moisture required by the plants. Alongside, they should allow excess water to drain out to avoid the rotting of plants. Different plants may need different potting mixtures but the common of experts is that that a good quality potting mixture should be lightweight and drain well, yet contain enough organic matter to hold moisture and nutrients.

Most commercial potting mixtures claim to provide for aeration, water retention, and nutrients and of multipurpose use. But it is well known that not all commercial mixtures are the same. Commercial potting mixtures are generally expensive and it will make a big hole in your pockets if have many pots to fill and you love to grow plants in containers. So here, a DIY potting mixture can rescue you from buying an expensive potting mixture every time you fill new pots or change the old potting mixture.DIY potting are inexpensive and easy to prepare and it serves as equally good to the commercial mixtures available in the market if you are not looking for specific requirements

Basic ingredients for a potting mixture are:

1 part garden soil

1 part well mature compost

1 part cocopeat

Mix the above ingredients thoroughly with your hands. Before filling the potting mixture directly into the pot, spread a layer of gravels or pebbles on the bottom this will help in drainage. Then fill the pots with the DIY potting mixture plant your desirable plants. The mentioned ingredients of potting mixture are inexpensive and easily available. But if you want to grow succulents then perlite or vermiculite can be also added. In case garden soil is not available then sand can also be used by increasing the quantity of compost. Sphagnum moss if available can be also used instead of cocopeat.

Preparing a good quality potting mixture is not difficult then why spend money buying them online. We can also make a good quantity of them and store them to use whenever required.