Why does nobody talk about switching from store bought soil to making your own

I used to grab bags of potting mix from Home Depot every spring, but after my ferns kept dying I started mixing my own with compost from my backyard pile. It took me about six months to figure out the right ratio of sand to peat moss, has anyone else noticed a big difference after making the switch?

3 comments

3 Comments

david70313d ago

Six months of tweaking ratios sounds about right for a hobby that should be simpler than baking a cake. I guess the bagged stuff is fine if you enjoy playing "will my plant wilt this week" roulette. Must be nice having that kind of patience for dirt while the rest of us just buy the mystery mix and hope for the best.

olivia67013d agoMost Upvoted

Nope hard disagree. Six months of dialing in ratios means you actually know what you're doing instead of just crossing your fingers.

alicer5313d ago

Honestly, I spent seven months testing different ratios of perlite to coco coir before I felt like I had it right. That's not "being slow," that's being thorough. I tried the bagged stuff from the garden center once and ended up with root rot in three weeks because the drainage was terrible. So yeah, I will take my time figuring out what works for my specific setup instead of just dumping something in a pot and hoping for the best. Patience is what keeps plants alive, not guessing.