A Recipe for Homemade Potting Soil
If you have lots of containers to fill, especially large pots and planters, save money big-time by blending your own potting soil. It takes just minutes!
By Veronica Lorson Fowler
The Iowa Gardener
2 parts compost
2 parts sphagnum peat moss
1 part perlite
Blend together with a trowel or small spade in a wheelbarrow. Adjust proportions as desired to create a consistency you like.
Variation: If desired, add Osmocote or another granular fertilizer as directed on the package and mix in. It will slow feed your plants for several weeks.
Variation: If desired, add water-retaining polymer crystals to the water, as directed in the package. (Be careful not to put in too much or you'll have a mess once you water. Use very, very sparingly, following package directions.) I find this cuts my watering by as much as half.
* Preferably from your compost heap. Or purchase in bags. Read the labels carefully—they're confusing. Go for a product labeled simply "compost." Avoid products labeled as a composted manure since it will be too rich.
