How to make DIY potting soil mix at home for a fraction of the cost of store bought mix

In this video I show you guys how to make your own potting soil from home that is either the same or better quality than the bagged potting soil you will find in the store and show you how to save a ton of money by doing this!! I see a lot of beginner gardeners getting discouraged about gardening because it costs too much. I hope you guys enjoy!!

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[surferdude-llqu]

Not reinventing the wheel but there's always new bees such as myself and I appreciate this video more than you could imagine.

[otpyrcralphpierre]

I'm a scrounger. I bought a HUGE amount of pearlite from a local hardware store because the bags
were torn open by a passing fork-lift. I have a swamp nearby that I can harvest all of the peat that
I can use. Of course, I've been saving compost for years.
The only thing I have to buy is fertilizer. To add Calcium to my mix, I buy a bottle of carpenters
chalk dust at the big box store (white). I start my plants in free cardboard boxes. When they're ready
to plant, I put the whole box in the ground. Diggit!

[jonathanw]

Something I suggest too that I've been doing is keeping a couple five gallon buckets of last year's spent soil to fill a third or half of the pot and putting the new mix on top. If you're growing from seed or starts, they don't really care what's at the bottom. I've been doing that for about three years now and haven't noticed any negative effects

[rg-mihh]

We make compost in a plastic tub with a lid. We use leaves, peelings from veggies and fruit, egg shells that have rinsed out, and sometimes tea bags and coffee. Stir weekly.

[fredscott]

Yucca, is a perennial plant that has extremely tough, fibrous leaves. In fact, the leaf fibers can be and have been used for centuries to make cordage. The roots are high in saponins and can be used as a type of soap. The flowers are edible and the flower stalk, harvested after the flowers have fallen and the stalk is dry, can be used as a spindle in a bow drill friction fire making system. Sorry for the long winded comment.

[rebeccakleitz]

Last year I discovered the joys of making my own planting/potting mix. Now, it's my favorite part of gardening!!! There is something theraputic about getting your hands right down there in the soil! Love it!

[joebob]

This is the most "straight to it" video on making homemade potting mix. Thank you, this is really helpful.

[grinningintheirface]

Thank you Man, great job! Peat moss is freakin 23 bucks now! It was 13 two years ago. They are starting to mak us pay a premium to grow our own food. All prices are now ridiculous.

[k.s.k.]

One addition I make to any potting soil, whether I buy or make my own, is ground minerals. Most soils are very defficient in minerals any more, so I buy a 5 lb bag of Azomite every couple of years and add a few heaping Tbl to a batch of soil. Really improves the health of my plants, and for edibles, increases the nutritional value. Cheap to add, great for all plants.

[Yaqeen]

I made my own with 1 part sand, 1 part coco coir, 1 part soil, 2 parts compost. I use 2 tablespoons powdered fish fertilizers and 2 tablespoons neem powder. I also use it to start sweet corn seeds and it worked with 99% success rate.

Living out in the country and having raised beds to garden in I go through a large amount of potting mix/compost. I find it cheapest to go down to the nearby mulch plant and buy a dump truck load of compost that's mixed with chicken manure for around $20 something a yard. I get 16 yards and let it rot down for at least six months and it's ready for raised beds or pots. You can purchase large sacks of perlite online for less than the small bags at the nurseries if you want to lighten the soil a bit. My winter garden in raised beds has been overflowing with mustards, collards, kale, chard, turnips, and spinach all winter long. I generally add a top dressing of fresh compost and a bit of fertilizer each season to continue to have good harvests.

[Gwytherinn]

I spent all last night running numbers to try to figure out how to afford to expanding my garden and felt exactly that - so discouraged and frustrated at the cost! This is amazing. Thank you so much.

[AcornHillHomestead]

I just made this today. It has a nice texture and feels just like the store bought mixes. Menards sells bulk perlite for about $17 now. This is a much better deal than those 8 qt bags. Watering the peat moss worked great. I wish I had known this years ago. I have spent thousands on potting mix over the years too.

[jguitarz]

Something to keep in mind, Perlite is to help with drainage., Pots that do not have good drainage. If your pots, cups etc have plenty of drainage, vermiculite is what you want to retain water.

[kd-ydpk]

Thank you so much for this knowledge. Potting soil is very expensive and this will help to make gardening more affordable.

[dongyoonlee]

I don’t need potting soil right now. But I love this kind of ‘never thought’ subjects’ videos. I will save a lot of money in my future garden project! You’re a true rural King! Thanks!!

[washmonument]

I agree with other commenters that this is a good tutorial. He gets right into and gives you the info you need. Thank you! I will probably come back to this again and again.

[gotowork]

Great job filming during an earthquake!

[mgpc.]

Thanks for the great tips.
You have so much grassy area. You could convert much of it to wild flower area/meadow. It supports biodiversity and is a joy to be in when it's abundant with pollinating creatures. ❤

[diannereneetodd]

I USE GROW BAGS FOR MY GARDEN TO SAVE SOME MONEY AND SPACE AND NOW I CAN MAKE MY OWN CONTAINER MIX TO SAVE EVEN MORE MONEY. GREAT IDEA AND THANKS FOR THE VIDEO!!!