Recipe #1:

Ingredients

  • screened homemade compost*
  • leaf mould (composted leaves)
  • clean sand

Directions

  1. By volume measure out equal parts of screened compost and composted leaves. Combine these two and mix well.
  2. Measure out and add one handful of clean sand per quart of soil mix. Mix well.

Notes:

  1. Homemade compost should be pasteurized (but not sterilized) before using it for potting soil…especially if the potting soil will be used for sowing seeds and / or potting up young seedlings. This is to ensure there are no harmful bacteria or fungi which could harm your plants. (For “How To” instructions for pasteurizing compost, please follow the link here.)
  2. If you assuredly hot compost your compost pile to the recommended 65.5 °C (150 °F)…you can skip the pasteurizing step, as you will already have dealt with those harmful bacteria and fungi.
  3. Leaf mould is a substitute for peat.
  4. Clean sand is a substitute for perlite.

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Recipe #2:

Ingredients

  • screened homemade compost* (see notes above)
  • leaf mould (composted leaves)
  • composted sawdust*
  • clean sand

Directions

  1. By volume measure out ½ screened compost, ¼ leaf mould, and ¼ composted sawdust. Combine these ingredients and mix well.
  2. Measure out and add one handful of clean sand per quart of soil mix. Mix well.

Notes:

  1. Homemade compost, see notes in Recipe #1.
  2. Composted sawdust – it is a good idea to let your sawdust pile compost for a few months so the microorganisms can use up some of the carbon. Carbon provides energy for microorganisms…something you really do not want in your potting soil. Also, if there is too high a level of carbon in the sawdust when it is added to the potting soil mix, any nitrogen fertilizer added to your mix, or in the fertilizer you may feed to your potted plants will gravitate towards breaking down the carbon in the raw sawdust…instead of feeding your plants as it was intended.
  3. Do not use sawdust from cedar or walnut. Not good for plants.
  4. Composted sawdust is a good substitute for vermiculite.
  5. Clean sand is a good substitute for perlite.

 

 

Posted on February 2, 2017