How Making Potting Soil

celticman · February 4, 2007

I read several treads of folks making their own potting soil. Now my frugal nature leads me to ask is this less expensive than buying the stuff and my long honey do list ask is it worth the time.
So here's my question for those how make potting soil: What do you mix together make potting soil? (peat moss, perlite vermiculite sand .......) Is it less expensive than buying it premade and how much time does it take?

Tom C zone 4/5 · February 4, 2007

It's only a 'maybe' as far as a savings goes. I do mix up my own soil for potted trees and have always stretched my soiless mix with sifted compost for seedling annuals.

MawkHawk · February 4, 2007

I mix my own only because I've had poor results with bagged soil, but that may be due to my own incompetence....

I mix about 1/3 bagged potting soil, 1/3 coarse sand and 1/3 pine bark chips. I dunno if it is cheaper or not.

feldon30 · February 4, 2007

It may help to know if you are talking about soil for container growing, in-ground growing, or potting up 4" pots?

For container growing, spudleafwillie's recipe was:
20% peat moss
20% sand
20% sheep, or composted cow manure
20% potting soil (Pro-Mix?)
20% pecan shells for drainage

I suppose pine bark could be substituted for the pecan shells. Sheep and rabbit manure can be used fresh, cow and horse cannot.

For potting up 4" pots, a block of compressed peat moss, a bag of vermiculite, optionally a bag of perlite (some people don't like it), and a few drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent can be all that is needed. I do about 1/2 peat and 1/4 vermiculite and 1/4 perlite, and then soak it in warm water with a few drops of soap as a wetting agent. My seedlings have taken to it like a duck to water.

Frustrated with how clumpy the peat moss was, even after I broke it up by rubbing it together with my hands, I did sift it first with a kitchen sifter. I loved the results of the silky smooth soil that resulted (even with all the dust that was generated). Now I just need to figure out a way to mass-produce sifted peat moss.

As for seed starting, I've already mentioned that I had trouble with 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 perlite but this may have been remedied by pre-sifting the peat moss, or it may have been microbes in the soil that the seeds did not like. I will probably always start seeds in MG or Scott's seed starting mix. $3.50 for a couple of 72 cell flats doesn't bother me.

celticman · February 5, 2007

Thanks for the reply I figuire out the cost of vermiculite and perlite from some farm supply place and go from there.

garnetmoth · February 5, 2007

If youve got compost worms, adding some vermicompost isnt a bad idea either. Seedlings just kinda come up in vermicompost (even in the dark!)

Ive had mangos, sloppy green onions re-generate, potato chunks come alive.... it seems to be good stuff for encouraging sprouting.

I dont have any finished vermicompost right now, one of my bins had a die off before winter and theyve just now gotten back up to speed in the garage.

johno · February 7, 2007

I use equal parts:
cotton compost
worm castings
composted manure
perlite
vermiculite
and peat moss,
and throw in a little bone meal and even less wood ashes. This is a rich mix, and works well for heavy feeders (like tomatoes...) As a lighter mix, I leave out the composts. I always use worm castings, though. They are not cheap to buy (of course, you can make your own,) but they drastically improve the growth rate of my seedlings. It's a good idea to pre-wet the peat.

February 4, 2007	#1
celticman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NC Posts: 170	How Making Potting Soil I read several treads of folks making their own potting soil. Now my frugal nature leads me to ask is this less expensive than buying the stuff and my long honey do list ask is it worth the time. So here's my question for those how make potting soil: What do you mix together make potting soil? (peat moss, perlite vermiculite sand .......) Is it less expensive than buying it premade and how much time does it take?

February 4, 2007	#3
MawkHawk Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Metro Detroit/Z6 Posts: 168	I mix my own only because I've had poor results with bagged soil, but that may be due to my own incompetence.... I mix about 1/3 bagged potting soil, 1/3 coarse sand and 1/3 pine bark chips. I dunno if it is cheaper or not. __________________ Mark

February 4, 2007	#4
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	It may help to know if you are talking about soil for container growing, in-ground growing, or potting up 4" pots? For container growing, spudleafwillie's recipe was: 20% peat moss 20% sand 20% sheep, or composted cow manure 20% potting soil (Pro-Mix?) 20% pecan shells for drainage I suppose pine bark could be substituted for the pecan shells. Sheep and rabbit manure can be used fresh, cow and horse cannot. For potting up 4" pots, a block of compressed peat moss, a bag of vermiculite, optionally a bag of perlite (some people don't like it), and a few drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent can be all that is needed. I do about 1/2 peat and 1/4 vermiculite and 1/4 perlite, and then soak it in warm water with a few drops of soap as a wetting agent. My seedlings have taken to it like a duck to water. Frustrated with how clumpy the peat moss was, even after I broke it up by rubbing it together with my hands, I did sift it first with a kitchen sifter. I loved the results of the silky smooth soil that resulted (even with all the dust that was generated). Now I just need to figure out a way to mass-produce sifted peat moss. As for seed starting, I've already mentioned that I had trouble with 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 perlite but this may have been remedied by pre-sifting the peat moss, or it may have been microbes in the soil that the seeds did not like. I will probably always start seeds in MG or Scott's seed starting mix. $3.50 for a couple of 72 cell flats doesn't bother me. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

February 5, 2007	#5
celticman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NC Posts: 170	Thanks Feldon Thanks for the reply I figuire out the cost of vermiculite and perlite from some farm supply place and go from there.

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February 4, 2007	#2
Tom C zone 4/5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SE Ohio Posts: 253	It's only a 'maybe' as far as a savings goes. I do mix up my own soil for potted trees and have always stretched my soiless mix with sifted compost for seedling annuals.

February 5, 2007	#6
garnetmoth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: cincinnati, oh Posts: 492	If youve got compost worms, adding some vermicompost isnt a bad idea either. Seedlings just kinda come up in vermicompost (even in the dark!) Ive had mangos, sloppy green onions re-generate, potato chunks come alive.... it seems to be good stuff for encouraging sprouting. I dont have any finished vermicompost right now, one of my bins had a die off before winter and theyve just now gotten back up to speed in the garage.

February 7, 2007	#7
johno Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arkansas zone 6b Posts: 441	I use equal parts: cotton compost worm castings composted manure perlite vermiculite and peat moss, and throw in a little bone meal and even less wood ashes. This is a rich mix, and works well for heavy feeders (like tomatoes...) As a lighter mix, I leave out the composts. I always use worm castings, though. They are not cheap to buy (of course, you can make your own,) but they drastically improve the growth rate of my seedlings. It's a good idea to pre-wet the peat.