My homemade potting mix recipe, and the truth about Chaos Gardening

(Alicia Christin Gerald)

Hi, guys!

If you’re gearing up to fill containers and hanging baskets, it’s perfectly fine to buy bagged potting mix; I do it all the time.

But if you have a lot of pots to fill, pre-made media can get expensive. When that’s the case, I make my own, combining ingredients in a 5-gallon bucket, wheelbarrow or open pile on a piece of tarp, depending on how much I need.

Yes, you’ll have to purchase the individual ingredients, and they’re not especially cheap, but it’s a lot more cost-effective when compared to buying large quantities of the bagged stuff. Plus, you’ll know exactly what’s in it.

Here’s my recipe:

Ingredients

• One-third peat moss, coco coir or rice hulls (if using peat, add ¼ cup of garden lime per 6 gallons to balance the pH of your final product)

• One-third compost

• One-third vermiculite (replace with perlite if planting succulents, cacti or other plants that require quick-draining soil)

• A slow-release, balanced fertilizer (read the label for quantity based on the volume of mix you’re making)

• Optional, but highly beneficial: Add a generous helping of worm castings. No need to measure; I usually toss in an amount roughly equal to half the amount of compost used.

Combine ingredients well, breaking up any lumps, then moisten slightly, mix a bit more and pot it up.