5 Super Simple DIY Potting Soil Recipes

High-quality potting soil is crucial for successful container gardening, seed-starting, and growing houseplants. However, it can be surprisingly expensive to purchase by the bag at your local plant nursery or garden supply store. When you make your own DIY potting soil, you’ll save on your gardening costs and be able to customize your soil blend for various plants.

Potting soil differs from regular garden soil in several ways. Firstly, it’s much more lightweight, allowing for better drainage and aeration. It also has a more uniform consistency and is free from rocks and other obstructions, making it easier to work with. Plus, it’s easier to control your potting soil’s nutrient content and density by preparing a customized blend for your intended purposes. Keep reading to discover how to make DIY potting soil perfectly tailored to your gardening needs.

How to Make DIY Potting Soil

Making DIY potting soil is a straightforward process. If you’re preparing a large batch, use a compost tumbler or cement mixer to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Prepare smaller quantities in a wheelbarrow or large tub, and use a garden fork, shovel, or your hands to work everything in. Always mix your homemade potting soil evenly to get a consistent end product.

If you have any DIY potting mix left over, store it in a sealed plastic bag or lidded container in a cool, dry location for up to 12 months. Heat and direct sunlight cause the nutrients in potting soil to break down, so keep it out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources.

It’s also possible to revive old potting soil by mixing it with some fresh growing media, as long as the plants growing in it previously didn’t have weeds or suffer from pest or disease problems. As a general rule, incorporate one part new material for every two parts of old potting soil. As you prepare the mixture, break up compacted clumps and remove old roots, dried-out stems, and other debris. Adding a half-cup of fertilizer for every five gallons of potting soil will replenish the nutrients.

DIY Potting Soil Recipes

One of the best things about using homemade potting soil is being able to customize the mixture for the specific types of plants you’re growing. That way, you can provide the right consistency and nutrient levels to help your plants flourish. Here are some of the best DIY potting soil recipes.

All-Purpose Potting Soil

Use this easy-to-make all-purpose potting soil for growing your houseplants, potted annual or perennial flowers, and container-grown herbs and vegetables. It’s lightweight, drains well, and contains all the organic nutrients most plants need to flourish throughout the growing season.

• 6 gallons of sphagnum peat moss and/or coconut coir
• 4 gallons of perlite
• 6 gallons of organic compost
• ¼ cup of garden lime
• 1.5 cups of all-purpose, organic granular fertilizer

DIY Soil for Succulents and Cacti

Succulents and cacti come from dry environments that typically have sandy soil and low rainfall levels. As such, it’s best to mimic their natural growing conditions as closely as possible when growing them as houseplants. This DIY potting soil blend is porous, drains well, and contains a lower percentage of organic matter than most standard potting mixes.

• 3 gallons of sphagnum peat moss or coconut coir
• 1 gallon of perlite
• 1 gallon of vermiculite
• 2 gallons of coarse sand
• 2 tablespoons of garden lime (if using peat moss)

DIY Potting Mix for Trees and Shrubs

Container-grown trees and shrubs require a specialized potting soil mixture. It should be well-aerated, well-draining, and contain generous amounts of organic matter. In addition, it’s essential to provide a balanced blend of nutrients to ensure that the plants can thrive long-term. Here is an ideal DIY potting soil mix for potted shrubs and trees.

• 3 gallons of organic compost
• 2.5 gallons of coarse horticultural sand
• 3 gallons of sphagnum peat moss or coconut coir fiber
• 2.5 gallons of composted pine bark solids
• 3 gallons of perlite
• 2 tablespoons of garden lime
• 1 cup of organic granular fertilizer

Optional: 1/4 cup of organic cottonseed meal for acid-loving trees and shrubs (Ex: azaleas, blueberries, gardenias, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, Japanese maples, pines)

DIY Seed Starting Mix

There are numerous advantages to starting your vegetable seeds in a specialized seed starting potting mix instead of using regular garden soil. In fact, most seed-stating mediums don’t actually contain any soil. A high-quality seed starting blend is lightweight, well-aerated, well-draining, and free from weed seeds, insects, and pathogens. This encourages the seedlings to grow quickly and uniformly. Furthermore, seed-starting blends don’t need to be very nutrient-rich, as the seeds naturally contain all the nutrients the baby plant needs for its first few weeks of growth. If you’re starting a lot of seeds at home, it’s often more cost-effective to make your own DIY seed starting potting soil instead of purchasing it by the bag from your local plant nursery. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 gallons of compost
• 2 gallons of sphagnum peat moss, coconut coir, or decomposed leaf mold
• 1 gallon of perlite

Orchid Potting Mix

Orchids are unique and beautiful plants that have specialized growing needs. Most orchid varieties come from the tropics, although these plants grow on every continent except Antarctica. Over 70% of orchid species are epiphytes, meaning they grow on trees or other plants instead of in soil. However, some types of terrestrial orchids grow on the ground. Orchid potting mixes must provide sufficient air circulation, retain moisture, drain excess water quickly, and break down slowly. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial for making your own DIY orchid potting mix.

1. Primary potting material for aeration and drainage

• Large park pieces
• Fir or redwood bark fines
• Coconut husk chips

2. Secondary potting material for moisture retention

• Sphagnum peat moss
• Coconut coir
• Perlite

3. Activated horticultural charcoal to regulate moisture/nutrient levels and reduce the risk of plant diseases

Mix the ingredients until well-blended using the following ratio: four parts primary material, one part secondary material, and one part charcoal. In general, terrestrial orchids prefer a denser mix and benefit from having one part coarse sand incorporated into the potting mix. In contrast, epiphyte-type orchids usually grow on mossy tree limbs and thrive in lighter potting mixes that consist primarily of bark pieces or coconut chips.

Common Potting Soil Ingredients

If you’ve ever read the ingredients list on a bag of potting soil, you might have been surprised to discover that it doesn’t actually contain any soil. In fact, potting mix differs significantly from the regular old dirt in your garden. Actual soil consists of naturally occurring minerals and humus, which is decomposed plant and animal matter. Garden soil is usually much denser than potting soil, and it may also contain weed seeds, insect eggs, and plant pathogens. In contrast, potting soil contains sterile ingredients and is more lightweight and aerated. These factors promote faster and more uniform root growth. Here are some of the most common potting soil ingredients.

Sphagnum Peat Moss

Sphagnum peat moss is an essential ingredient in many potting soil blends because it is a stable material that’s slow to break down. It also retains moisture well while efficiently draining excess water. Moreover, sphagnum peat moss aerates your potting soil and adds bulk to the mixture without making it too dense. However, it has an acidic pH between 3.5 and 4.5. To neutralize the pH level of your DIY potting soil, add 1/4 cup of garden lime for every six gallons of sphagnum peat moss.

Coconut Coir Fiber

Coconut coir fiber makes an excellent eco-friendly alternative to sphagnum peat moss for making homemade potting soil. It provides excellent aeration, drainage, and moisture retention while giving your growing medium ample and lightweight mass that encourages fast and uniform root growth. In addition, coconut coir has a neutral pH, lasts longer, and is an agricultural byproduct that would otherwise be discarded.

Compost

Compost contains beneficial microbes and organic nutrients essential for healthy plant growth. It also helps to break up heavy soils by making them more porous, which improves moisture retention while allowing excess water to drain away. Therefore, compost is a crucial ingredient in most DIY potting soil recipes.

You can make compost at home from your food scraps and yard waste or purchase it from your local garden center. Many landscape supply stores also sell composted leaf mold or wood chips. These materials are lower in nutrients than regular compost and mainly provide improved moisture retention and soil structure.

Fertilizer

Depending on what you plan to use your DIY potting soil for, you may need to add extra fertilizer to the mixture. Providing the correct nutrient levels for the types of plants you’re growing is vital, especially for heavy feeders like fruits and vegetables. Container-grown plants often need extra fertilizer because nutrients get leached out of the soil as excess water flows out through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pots.

Plant fertilizer contains three primary macronutrients: nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Nitrogen encourages robust leaf and stem growth. Potassium supports the plants’ vascular system and stimulates fruiting and flowering processes. Phosphorus promotes root growth and seed development. If you’re interested in learning more about the nutrients in plant fertilizer, check out this article from the West Virginia University Extension.

In most cases, adding organic, all-purpose fertilizer to your homemade potting soil is sufficient. Leafy greens benefit from high-nitrogen fertilizers, while root vegetables need more potassium and phosphorus. You can purchase it by the bag from your local gardening supply store or make your own customized DIY plant fertilizer.

Perlite

Perlite is a common addition to potting soil and soilless growing mediums. It’s made from mined volcanic glass, which then gets heated during production to expand into small, porous particles. Perlite is lightweight and sterile, has a neutral pH, and holds up to four times its weight in water. These qualities make it a valuable component of potting mixes because it helps to aerate the soil and improve drainage. It also retains moisture and nutrients that the plants’ root systems can absorb as needed.

Vermiculite

Adding vermiculite to potting soil blends improves aeration, drainage, and moisture retention. In addition, it makes the soil more porous and absorbs excess nutrients, storing them for the plants to take up as needed instead of allowing them to drain away along with excess water. Vermiculite also helps to make the soil’s texture lighter and uniform, enabling plants’ root systems to grow more quickly and evenly.

Vermiculite is a mined mineral with a similar consistency and appearance to mica. It gets processed into a silver-grey, flaky material via extreme heat and pressure treatment. It works similarly to perlite as a soil amendment but provides more moisture and nutrient retention. As such, vermiculite is particularly helpful for growing plants that need consistent soil moisture, starting seeds, and propagating plants from cuttings.

Rice Hulls

Rice hulls are an eco-friendly alternative to perlite and vermiculite in DIY potting soil. These byproducts of rice milling are lightweight, porous, and have excellent water retention properties. When incorporated into homemade potting soil, rice hulls provide aeration to plants’ roots while improving drainage. Additionally, using rice hulls promotes sustainability by repurposing agricultural waste.

Creating your own DIY potting soil offers a rewarding and cost-effective solution for nurturing your plants. By blending ingredients like peat moss, coconut coir, perlite, and compost, you can tailor your DIY potting mix to suit your gardening needs. Whether you’re growing plants that need consistently moist soil or thrive in well-draining environments, you can create the perfect growing medium to help them flourish. Homemade potting soil saves you money and allows for customization, ensuring optimal growth and health for your beloved plant babies.

Have you ever tried making DIY plant soil? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! If you enjoyed this guide for making DIY potting soil, remember to spread the word by sharing it with your fellow gardeners. Happy planting!