The Easy Homestead

Homesteading | Homestead Blog

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Homesteading
    • Farm Animals
    • Gardening
    • Homestead Reflections
    • Homestead Blog Hop
    • How to / DIY
    • Natural Home/Health/Body
    • Raising Kids
    • Tips for the Home
    • Using Essential Oils
  • Recipes
  • Homemade Items
  • – Resources/Tools –
You are here: Home / Homesteading / Gardening / DIY Potting Soil

DIY Potting Soil

By Jen Sharpin 10 Comments

DIY Potting Soil | The Easy Homestead (.com)

Real dirt smells so good I could eat it….

But I won’t. ;). Kinda. But for reals y’all- when you get that perfectly smelling soil in your hands you can hear the angels singing from above. This is what we had at our old homestead. But, since we recently moved  we are dealing with 42 acres of unworked soil. Fun.

Just kidding. Not. Fun. At. All.

So, it came time to plant our seedlings and Beau knew of a DIY potting soil that included peat moss. Mama here didn’t want to use peat moss. There’s been debates going on for years whether it’s a renewable resource or not. I choose not to use peat moss due to the fact that it compacts easily which reduces the drainage and aeration of the soil. Not cool.. And since I have a black thumb I don’t need or want to set myself up to fail. Ya hear me?! 

DIY Potting Soil

Beau and I have exact measurements that we use but for simplicity’s sake I will just convert what we use into parts. That way you can make a large or small amount.

To Make DIY Potting Soil You Will Need:

–  1 Part Vermiculite
–  1 Part Pre-Soaked Coconut Coir Brick  (bricks will expand depending on size)
–  2 Parts Compost (we use our own but you can buy it)
–  1 cup of Worm Castings per 5 gallons of DIY Potting Soil (we use our own but you can buy it)

* Note- do not use coconut coir CHIP bricks (don’t ask how I know)
* Read the coconut coir brick because each brand expands to a different amount (each one of our bricks expanded to about 4ish quarts)
***
Parts don’t have to be exact.

How to Make DIY Potting Soil

It really is super duper easy and for that I am thankful!

1. Follow the directions on your coconut coir bricks to expanded them. This is done by soaking them in water. We used 5 gallon buckets for this.

coconut coir

Unwrap label

 

bricks 2

Throw bricks into specified amount of water. You can always add another brick if there is too much water- or add more water if there isn’t enough.

 

bricks 3

After 5 minutes (we added another brick)

 

bricks 4

Finished product

 

2. Now that your coconut coir is expanded you will just mix all of the ingredients together. We used a 5 gallon bucket to “measure” parts and poured them into a wheelbarrow to mix them together.

Pouring vermiculite into the wheelbarrow. Finished coconut coir is already in.

Pouring vermiculite into the wheelbarrow. Finished coconut coir is already in.

 

compost

Adding compost and worm castings.

 

soil done

All finished! DIY Potting Soil.

 That’s it folks! Easy peasy. Now go get dirty and make your own DIY potting mix!

postsig

 

Shared On: Clever Chicks, Maple Hill Hop, Home-making Monday’s, Tuesday’s with a Twist

 

Homestead-Resources-and-Tools

You May Also Like:

  • Homestead Blog Hop #26
  • Fermented Chicken Feed
  • DIY Fruit and Veggie Wash
  • Cheap DIY Chicken Brooder

Filed Under: Gardening, Homesteading, How to / DIY

« Homestead Blog Hop #26
Why We Grow/Raise Our Own Food- America is Failing »

Comments

  1. Melanie says

    April 16, 2015 at 1:34 pm

    I just put together my raised garden bed last weekend and am ready to get started — I just didn’t know what to use for my soil and this sounds perfect!!! Do you think this would be good as the top layer for my raised bed? I’m going to start with cardboard, newspaper, straw underneath but wasn’t sure on the soil. I too have a black thumb so I need to set myself up as much for success as possible lol!! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Melanie says

    April 16, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    (I’ve already got my seedlings turning out nicely!!) 🙂

    Reply
    • Jen Sharpin says

      April 18, 2015 at 7:24 am

      Yeah!!

      Reply
  3. Regina says

    April 17, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    I’m just curious to know how this worked out with your plants. Every time I use compost, either prepared or purchased, in potting soil, it caused all my seedlings and plants to damp off and smell terrible.

    Reply
    • Jen Sharpin says

      April 18, 2015 at 7:24 am

      Hi Regina. So sorry to hear that. It worked fantastic for our seedlings this year!

      Reply
  4. daisy says

    April 21, 2015 at 8:45 am

    Thanks for showing the coconut coir. I’ve never seen the steps to expanding it. So cool. Do you drain off the excess water, or dry it or anything? Looks like you’ve found your magic mix. Enjoy gettin’ dirty! Thanks for joining us this week on The Maple Hill Hop!

    Reply
    • Jen Sharpin says

      April 22, 2015 at 12:23 pm

      If you have excess water just throw in another brick! If you don’t have another brick then you can drain off the excess water. We mixed it until it was light and fluffy (by adding an extra brick) so we didn’t have to drain anything!

      Reply
  5. Gentle Joy says

    April 21, 2015 at 9:25 am

    This looks like great growing medium! I have never heard of the coconut brick.. new to me and I will have to look into this. Thank you for sharing this… I hope your garden is wonderful this year! 🙂

    Reply
  6. pam (Sidewalk Shoes) says

    April 21, 2015 at 11:18 am

    This is something that I’ve always wanted to try! I would love it if you would link up to Garden Tuesday at Sidewalk Shoes today!

    Reply
  7. Anna says

    June 22, 2015 at 9:50 am

    This is a fantastic recipe for potting soil! Thank you for sharing it with us!

    Your problem with damping off of seedlings may not be your compost Regina. You may have a fungus or bacteria that lives in your home that does it. When you introduce wet and warm soil into your home to start seeds, the fungus or bacteria will colonize in the moist seed starting mix that you use and damage seeds and seedlings. A friend of mine had this happen to her yearly. One winter they replaced the furnace filters in their home and I remember that year she had no problems with losing seedlings. Also try to not over water your seedlings- and try adding some gentle air movement around them after they emerge with a small fan.

    Good luck!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Come Hang With Us…

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

!About-Me2 a79b8a 300x300

Homestead

Pin With Us!

Books I LOVE

fromscratch

Affiliates

Blogger Blueprint

Learn Herbs As Food And As Medicine in the Online Herbal Course

The Easy Homestead is a division of Sharpin Enterprises Inc. 

Paid endorsement disclosure: In order to support my blogging activities I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. I really appreciate y’alls support!  The Easy Homestead/Sharpin Enterprises Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

The opinions expressed on The Easy Homestead are based on my own research, thoughts, knowledge, and experiences. I am NOT a doctor. I cannot prevent, cure, diagnose, or treat any disease. No statements made on this site have been evaluated by the FDA. Do not ask me for medical advice. 

PRIVACY POLICY

© 2014 –2021 The Easy Homestead | All Rights Reserved | Design by Moonshiners Media | Built on Genesis Framework