Loose Well Drained Potting Mix

Most houseplants do best in potting soil that allows water to drain easily.

Loose well drained potting mix.

Yes potting soil. A variety of bagged mixes are available commercially but you can easily make your own mix at home. Perfect potting soil mix qualities how to make your own nutrient rich general purpose potting soil duration. When either is mixed in equal parts with sharp or potting sand a loose well drained quality mix is obtained.

Creating a loose loamy fertile soil is not a one and done garden task. A ph of 7 or less is acceptable but 5 5 to 6 5 are ideal. This blend of coarse materials is designed for many kinds of orchids. The best soil is about half air space and half solid mineral with 2 5 percent organic matter.

Stagnant sticky soil clings to plants and can rot the roots or allow harmful fungal growth. Camellias prefer a well drained soil that is high in humus and slightly acid. The use of coarse peat moss or oak leaf mold provides humus and the acid condition. Organic potting mixes are chemical free and made from natural organic materials.

Well drained soil is a soil where water infiltrates at a medium rate somewhere between running off and draining as though someone pulled a plug. Turning your existing soil into loam is an ongoing process that involves working organic matter into the soil every year. Orchid potting mix usually doesn t have fertilizer or moisture control pellets.