The soil is the basis of any healthy plant and ensures that our plants feed on their own, receive enough water and all the nutrients they need to produce the greenest leaves and the largest flowers. If you want healthy indoor plants, you need a good potting soil to start with.
Today’s recipe for the land of indoor plants is taken from my book Garden Alchemy. If you want to delve deeper into the soil and other organic gardening recipes and methods, this book is for you! It contains more than 80 indoor and outdoor gardening recipes, all using organic methods.
Can I use any soil for indoor plants?
Compared to the plants in our garden, indoor plants are at a disadvantage. Living in pots, they do not have the opportunity to collect nutrients from the earth and additional moisture contained in the deep soil. That is why it is particularly important that we give them the best possible chances by planting them in high-quality potting soil.
Have you ever noticed how often you need to water your indoor plants? They tend to dry out quickly and need a potted mixture that can retain moisture superior to keep them hydrated. The roots of indoor plants also require air circulation and drainage. Thus, the year-round indoor soil mixture should compensate for the need to retain moisture, create air pockets and allow excess water to flow freely through the drainage holes in your pot. In summary, the three things you need for a good potting soil structure are materials for:
Water retention
ventilation
Drainage
Other key factors of the indoor floor are not about the floor at all, but about what we put the floor in and what we put in it. We need to make sure that the plants have enough space to grow and the right nutrients.
Can I use outdoor soil for indoor plants?
With so much I talk about about the importance of outdoor soil for plant health, you might think that it is also suitable for indoor plants. The goal is to bring a soil already full of nutrients, but also full of microorganisms and soil creatures (such as worms and beetles). By bringing this soil inside, you also bring these organisms….But not their predators. Without the complete ecosystem that exists outside, the population Of organisms can quickly get out of control.
Although I like living creatures in the garden, it is best to keep them there! Otherwise, you can catch pests like fungal midges in the house. Instead, use a recipe for sterile soil for indoor plants and add nutrients to it through a fertilizer for indoor plants.
My indoor plants are absolutely thriving with this houseplant soil recipe and are getting all the nutrients and moisture they need to grow and grow. First, let’s break down the ingredients and learn how to prepare your soil for potting.
Prepare your compost
Making Your Compost
The most important ingredient in this recipe for soil for indoor plants is compost, so you need to make sure that it is done right! Compost is composed of decomposed organic matter, rich in microorganisms, which gives life to the soil. It retains moisture and allows nutrients to be available to the plants; however, the quality varies generously according to the contributions and the composting methods.
Sterilize your compost
Your compost is almost ready. However, it is very important to sterilize the compost before bringing it inside and to keep critters, fungi and bacteria at bay. Properly finished and filtered proportion class compost is the cornerstone of the construction of many potting soils. Sterilization helps to kill harmful bacteria (while preserving good bacteria), keep parasites away and prevent health issues.
I like to prepare compost for the soil of indoor plants by cooking moist compost in the sun. You can use an oven and run it for at least thirty minutes – at 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82 ° C). Be careful, this method gets a little stinky!
Best soil improvers for indoor plants
They have their most important ingredient, compost. So, what else do you need? To create the best soil for indoor plants, you need to incorporate the right ingredients. Together, these ingredients make up my recipe for soil for indoor plants, but if your current soil is not working well, they also make excellent soil amendments for indoor plants.
Sphagnum Alternative Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a natural moisture-retaining material that is free of plant pathogens, weed seeds, mineral salts or heavy metals. However, peat moss harvesting has many sustainability aspects that must be taken into account.
Peat moss comes from peatlands that are excellent for absorbing and storing carbon in order to reduce climate change. When they are harvested, this carbon is released.
In addition, the bogs are also home to many wild and plant species. Unfortunately, many countries have overexploited peat moss and even sustainable harvesting practices still take years to fix while releasing a ton of carbon.
Worm casting
Worm casts are organic materials digested by worms, also called vermicompost. They are rich in nutrients and contain many microbes. Worm casts retain soil nutrients and moisture, so that both are more available for plant absorption. The worms filter out heavy metals and contaminants from the soil, which makes casts an excellent fertilizer for organic gardens. I buy packaged worm casts and not the ones I make at home to make sure that no bacteria, fungi, pests or other organisms get into them. I use my vermicompost instead to feed the plants outdoors.The best soil for indoor plants
Get the information for my houseplant soil in the recipe sheet below.
Remember that this mixture is intended for tropical indoor plants. Make sure that the ingredients you use are sterile to avoid the introduction of plant pests and health issues.
