Tyler
Favorite potting soils/mixes?? I need to switch it up I think.
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Favorite potting soils/mixes?? I need to switch it up I think. | Equipment & Materials | Planta-fællesskab
15 kommentarer
Claytonii13I’m sure you’ve used this one but I find miracle grow potting soil has worked for me, they have a succulent and tropical plant mix too. I’ve tried other pre mixed stuff and I even got mycelium in one of those mixes that messed up some of my plants. I add some leca and perlite and my plants are pretty happy. For succulents and cactus I use the succulent mix and add more perlite and they’re happy with it
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TimmyturnerOrchid bark, perlite, potting soil and banana peel cuttings (optional) also put plantbiotics in the mix as well and everything I have is thriving except my wandering Jews 🤔🤷🏻♂️😂
5 likes- Tyler
Thank you!! Is there anything similar to the PlantBiotics that you know of? It’s all sold out at the moment it looks like! Maybe I just have to be patient :)
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Amie206If you’re not looking to make your own soil, the Sol Soils have a lot of different pre-made mixes for all the different plants you might have
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Plant Fatheri make my own media with ingredients sourced from various places. i make my own base potting soil with coco coir, worm castings and fine perlite. for plants that need an airier mix like succulents, i’ll add plenty of pumice and coarse perlite (from sol soils as mentioned by amie). for epiphytes, i use a coco husk or fir bark based media with worm castings, pumice, and perlite. my coco husk chips come from repotme dot com. if you’d rather a premade mix, both sol soils and repotme have great premade mixes for various families of plants. repotme also has plenty that are specialized for specific species. my biggest piece of advice, as someone who relied on miracle-gro potting soil for years, is to stay far away from miracle gro. their soils are often full of fungus gnat eggs and larvae, and may contain other pests as well. i’ve heard of people getting thrips from miracle gro. many of their soils also have horribly misleading labels, like their succulent mix which claims to be well draining but is about 90% organic matter and 10% perlite. a well-draining mix should be at least 50% inorganic matter like pumice and perlite.
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maxare there any pre-mixed soil brands you do recommend?
2 likes- Amie206
Plant Father can you just come and do my repotting chores for me?! 🙃🤣 Thanks for the other resources on where you get your supplies. I’ve been looking for coco husk locally for a year! It’s the one thing I hadn’t been able to find to tweak my mixes
1 like - Plant Father
haha i’d love to. getting my hands in the dirt is therapeutic for me. i’ve been thinking about offering plant-care services locally but i’m working on my horticultural certification first. repotme’s coco chips have gone up in price a bit since i purchased them last, $25 per gallon bag. i know they’re higher quality and pre-rinsed but i’ve decided i can’t afford them and have been looking into other brands— i’ve heard good things about cocobliss and grow!t brands and will likely be purchasing a compressed block from one of them next.
1 like - Plant Father
max, i highly recommend checking out repotme dot com, they have quite the collection of specialized media. sol soils also has some good mix though i prefer their amendments individually as it seems their media are designed for people with a tendency to overwater. i’ve also heard good things about bros with hoes “dirt bag”
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KatThere’s a lot of hate for Miracle Grow but I personally have never had any issues. I use the regular potting soil, orchid bark, cactus/succulent mix, perlite, and tropical mixed soil from MG!
2 likes- Plant Father
i’m glad miracle gro has worked well for you, you’re definitely a lot less likely to encounter issues with their soil if you’re mixing with additional drainage material. my biggest issue with them is the misleading labels. their cactus and succulent mix especially is way too moisture retentive for an indoor succulent mix
2 likes - Kat
The cactus and succulent mix I only use with full sun that way the soil is not staying wet too long. Mine only stay wet for maybe two days after watering then they’re fine
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V.curiosI mix Foxfarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil (have had no fungus gnat problems, maybe just luck), perlite, pumice, Orchiata Orchid Bark ¼” to ⅜”, activated charcoal, and aquarium sand –at different ratios depending on the plant. I also will randomly mix in worm castings or Mycorrhizal Fungi if I have any around. All this might be overkill, but I’ve got some happy plants.
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AdrianI currently stick to the Espoma Organic Cactus and Succulent Soil and their All-Purpose Potting Mix, and I’ve tried Miracle Grow’s succulent soil, mixed it with an entire bag of perlite for extra measure, and it was horrifically moist for way too long. I’m talking I watered one of my succulents I repotted in it ONCE, and after TWO WEEKS the soil was STILL MOIST. It nearly killed 2 of my plants that I know I practically underwatered after hearing about Miracle Grow’s problems, I watered both plants only once and they went from perfectly healthy plants with absolutely no pest issues, disease, or root issues to developing root rot within A WEEK after potting it in their all-purpose mix with added perlite and found when repotting them today that their soil was still completely soaked. I cannot ever recommend miracle grow for that reason, but I can recommend Espoma. You can get an 8-quart bag for about $8-9 where I live, and I’ve never had issues with them. Miracle Grow is readily available (cause they have deals to be sold in box stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot), but they’ve become infamous in recent years for being plant killers. Especially for new planters that don’t know everything about plants, I’d hate for them to assume they’re the ones doing something wrong and thinking they don’t have a green thumb and dismissing any continuance into a really wonderful hobby, when in reality it’s their soil that’s killing their plant before they even get the chance to learn how to care for any plants.
1 like- Adrian
I haven’t tried Foxfarm, but the nurseries I live by all vouch for it, along with Espoma (they also hate Miracle Grow with a passion).
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