Creating the Right Soil Mix for House Plants

Have you ever wondered why some house plants seem to grow better than others? While this can happen due to a variety of different reasons, most commonly the reason will lie with the soil mix that you use. Using the proper soil mix is a vital necessity for getting the most out of your house plants; the trick though lies in how to be sure you are getting the proper potting soil. The answer is to make your own. Creating the right soil mix for house plants is really easy, as long as you follow these simple guidelines.

• Get the supplies. The very first thing that you will need to do is to be sure that you get the proper supplies. This will entail that you need to do a little research into the plants that you plan on growing in your home. While there is a lot of overlap between plants in the type of soil you can use, each plant will have its own unique nutritional requirements. Usually you can make some really good potting soil by using garden loam, sand, vermiculite or perlite, and some leaf mold.
• Mix it up. For a good, basic blend mix together two parts perlite, two parts garden loam, and one part sand. On average this mixture will work for a large majority of plant life, however feel free to add to the mixture for specific plants. An example of this would be if you were planting violets or other kinds of plants that prefer a loose and absorbent type of soil, then you will want to add another two parts of peat moss. After adding all the ingredients, mix it all together so that there is one consistent texture to the soil.
• Store it properly. Once you have mixed the soil together, you will need to store it properly. The best way to store a potting mix together is to place it in an airtight container. This will help the soil to last longer, while also staying slightly moist until use.
• Keep it handy. Store your potting mix with your other gardening tools. This will also include that you keep some of it inside, with the tools that you use for your house plants. By keeping some inside, you will have a ready supply of potting soil on hand if you need to repot any of your plants, or if you feel like starting an new planting project.