Want to learn how to make potting mix at home? This one-of-a-kind, double-sided and laminated Guide shows you how to make a durable, high quality potting mix. In just 4 easy steps with illustrated instructions and tips. This Potting Mix Recipe is ideal for most plants and allows you to customise it to your own needs. You’ll learn what specific ingredients to include to supercharge your potting mix to make it last longer and provide vital nutrients for healthy plants.
A handy chart will help you choose the best ingredients to substitute or add to suit your requirements. You’ll also learn how to adjust the soil pH level of your mix.
The Conversion Chart makes it quick and easy to follow the quantities in this recipe and measure them in Litres, US or UK Gallons. No guessing needed!
BONUS: Includes 5 Organic Seed Raising Mix Recipes. [Scroll down to read more]
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How to Make Potting Mix at Home
This DIY Potting Mix Recipe has important properties for growing healthy plants. The ingredients in this recipe play vital roles including drainage, aeration, water and nutrient retention, plant food, root support, microbes, durability and thermal insulation. When you control the quality of your soil health, your plants will also be healthy. That means less pest and diseases to manage and greater joy as a gardener! You’ll learn what specific ingredients to include to supercharge your potting mix to make it last longer and provide vital nutrients for healthy plants.
What are the Benefits of Making your own Potting Mix?
You save money compared to buying many commercial premium quality potting mixes.
You can also save money by adding ingredients to make your potting mix last longer.
Safe ingredients – you control the outcome you want with no hazardous chemicals.
Save time and reduce water usage – your own potting mix will NOT dry out quickly or repel water like many commercial mixes based on cheap pine bark. This recipe holds moisture longer, requiring less frequent watering.
It’s convenient – you can make up exactly the quantity you need.
It’s satisfying, fun and rewarding being self-reliant and you can share these skills with others.
are a gardener at any skill level wanting to make your own soil mix recipes;
are a garden club member wanting to optimise results for competitions or your own garden;
are a teacher/educator and want an indestructible teaching aid for student gardening classes;
want to grow nutrient-dense food and healthy plants in a high quality soil that holds nutrients and moisture longer;
are sick of using expensive bagged potting mix or have poor soil that dries out too quickly;
want to avoid chemicals and have total control over the soil your plants grow in;
need to save money by making your own soil mixes;
want one recipe that enables you to make a variety of potting mixesfor different plants;
want an easy-to-use potting and organic seed raising mix recipe guide to use year after year;
are looking for the perfect present for gardening friends and family.
How to Make Potting Mix at Home – Guide Features:
The guide has a laminated surface so it’s easy to tick boxes and wipe clean
List of equipment and materials; ingredients; and optional nutrients and soil amendments.
Laminated for long-term, practical use indoors or out in your garden shed.
Tick boxes so you can mark off each ingredient, equipment and materials with a whiteboard marker pen [not included] to make sure you have everything ready. Wipe off after use.
Detailed, illustrated step-by-step instructions with tips.
Instructions on how to change the pH of your potting mix if required.
Conversion chart for measurements used in this recipe, making it quick and easy to convert litres into US or UK gallons.
Comparison chart showing you the valuable roles each ingredient plays in your mix. The chart enables you to easily substitute or add ingredients to your recipe that best suit your needs and budget.
This attractive guide makes an economical gift that will last for years.
Compact size for keeping on your fridge with a magnet [not included].
Looking for an organic seed raising mix recipe? In addition to the DIY Potting Mix Recipe, with the many variations you can create, this Guide also has five easy organic seed raising mix recipes. These seed raising mixes contain a key ingredient that helps boost seed germination. So, if you want to successfully raise seeds and healthy seedlings, these recipes can help improve your success.
This double-sided, laminated guide is a great value tool that you can use year after year. A sustainable choice!
Product specifications: A4 size; double-sided; laminated; full colour; waterproof.
FAQ
I live in the US/Europe. Will the measurements in this recipe work for me?
The Conversion Chart provides a list of volume measurements in litres and gallons (both US and UK). So this makes it super easy for you to customise the recipe to units of measurement you’re familiar with.
What if I want to make a larger or smaller quantity of potting mix?
This recipe makes a total of 36 litres = approx 9.5 gallons (US) or 8 gallons (UK). So you can simply halve, double or multiply the quantities to suit your needs. Generally, this quantity of potting mix is suitable for most people to fill several average sized pots. So you can make a batch at a time and use it all at once or store it. No expensive equipment is needed and the weight/volume is easily stored, even in small spaces. Because it’s lightweight, this potting mix is also easy to carry, even if you make a large quantity. Perfect for balconies and rooftop gardens.
How do I know if this Potting Mix Recipe will suit my needs?
Generally, this Potting Mix Recipe suits most plants and has been designed so you can adapt it to suit many different situations. For example: Are you time poor and want to water and feed your plants less often? Need a heavier mix for an exposed windy area so your pots don’t fall over? A moisture-holding recipe for thirsty plants in a dry climate? A more acidic or alkaline soil for specific plants? No problem! Because there are a variety of optional ingredients you can add to your mix to suit these and many other conditions, this recipe is really flexible.
How do I source the ingredients in this recipe?
The ingredients in this Potting Mix Guide are easily available at most hardware stores, nurseries, horticultural supply/produce stores and on Amazon. This Guide has been designed so you can succeed by following principles. You will also receive bonus tips and a shopping list helping you source ingredients if you don’t already have them. Even if you can’t find one ingredient, it’s not a problem, because by using the comparison chart in this Guide, you can still make a high quality potting mix.
The comparison chart lists 10 commonly available ingredients that perform a wide variety of roles to help you make the best choice for your location and budget. So this makes it easy for you to substitute with another ingredient that will do a similar job. This chart also enables you to confidently adjust the soil mix, so you can make up a variety of different potting mixes, and know they will work. If you still need help after purchasing your Guide, simply email me and I’ll assist you in sourcing the ingredients personally.
I usually buy a bagged potting mix. Can I improve it by using this Potting Mix Recipe?
Absolutely! If you find it convenient to start with a commercially available potting mix, you can always improve the characteristics of this mix. So, for example, you can increase the moisture and nutrient-holding capacity of your regular potting mix. Use the Guide to add some or all the suggested ingredients in this recipe that perform those roles. This will be very useful to stop your bagged mix becoming hydrophobic (repelling water). It can also reduce the frequency you need to fertilise. If your regular potting mix does not contain slow-release nutrients, you can use the recipe to guide you what to add to feed your plants over time.
Does this Potting Mix recipe contain garden soil?
No! This is a soil-less growing medium designed for growing plants in containers with a balance of ingredients that are lightweight, provide excellent drainage, aeration, moisture retention, nutrients and neutral pH suited to growing most plants. It can also be used to plant straight into in raised beds as a solution to poor quality garden soil. The texture and properties of garden soils vary widely so are not generally suitable for container plants. Garden soil may not have the ideal particle structure for optimum drainage, have poor moisture-holding capacity and can contain pathogens, weed seeds and pests. Not what you want to introduce into your pots, especially if you’re growing indoors.
Potting mix is not the same as ‘potting soil’ or ‘garden soil’ which is generally sold as a commercial bagged mix containing a portion of garden soil along with other ingredients like sand and cheap organic material like composted bark and manure. This type of ‘garden soil’ or ‘potting soil’ is better suited to planting into garden beds as it’s a coarser mix.
I’m interested in making my own seed raising mix. Can the recipes in your Guide save me money?
There are 5 recipes you can choose from with low-cost or homemade ingredients, so you can tailor to your own budget using materials you may already have or make easily for free. This allows you to grow a more sustainable garden rather than paying for packaged seed raising mixes, with the embodied energy in manufacturing and transport. You can also sprinkle your own seed raising mix blend into your garden for sowing seeds directly.
Can’t I just make my own seed raising mix by sifting garden soil?
These recipes are soil-less. This ensures no soil pathogens are present that could cause damping off and other diseases that stop germination or healthy seedling growth. Pathogen-free growing media is essential for successful seed raising. By making your own blend, you control the growing environment. So you are more likely to avoid potential problems with soil-based mixes. Predominantly sandy soils won’t hold moisture or nutrients sufficiently. Clay soils may not contain adequate oxygen and air spaces for roots to breathe and can become waterlogged. Customers who have had poor germination previously, have shared their success stories by using the recipes in this Guide.
How was this Guide developed?
This unique recipe, comparison chart and instructions were developed as a result of three years of tried and tested research. It has been endorsed by Australia’s foremost potting mix guru, John Daly who makes commercial potting mix blends for major Australian company brands as well as his own.
Is this product sustainably produced?
We are proud to partner with Snap Maroochydore, a local printing company that focuses on sustainable printing practices and has Sustainable Green Print Certification. This includes measures to improve environmental impacts, such as the use of certified forest fibres, alternative renewable energy sources, and reducing chemical, energy, water usage and effluent. Sustainable Green Print (SGP) is a nationally recognised environmental certification program based on the ISO14001 framework and focuses on compliance with environmental policies and risks. We are proud to work with a business that aligns with our sustainability values. This laminated guide is waterproof, long-lasting and designed for you to buy once and use forever. If your product does not last the distance, we’ll happily replace it. We also ship this guide in FSC packaging, supporting responsible forestry. So there is no net loss of forest over time. Plant and animal species are also protected along with local communities.
I have another question not answered here. Can you help?
Of course! Click on Discussion (just above this product description) and Leave a Comment with your question or use the Contact Form to send your query. You can also read tips in my article on making potting mix.
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