Lazy Gardener’s Recipe for Homemade Potting Soil

Of course, the easiest way to get potting soil is to buy it from an online store or garden center. But I had some materials laying around and did not want them to go to waste.

So I mixed those materials together to make my own homemade potting soil. It’s a lazy recipe that you might find useful to save some time.

Materials I used

Coco coir

Coco coir gives the potting soil good texture so it retains sufficient moisture but drains the excess. It’s good material for aeration so roots can get the required oxygen. You can use sphagnum peat moss if you have that. I prefer coco coir because it’s cheap and sustainable.

Coco Bliss Coco Coir on Amazon

Compost

Compost gives good texture while adding nutrients to the potting soil. It encourages beneficial organisms in the potting soil that will help plants grow better. I had vermicompost lying around that I used but you can use any compost that you have.

Espoma Organic Compost on Amazon

Garden soil

Garden soil gives stability to the potting soil so your plants have a good base in the container. I used sterile garden soil that is free from pests, diseases, or weeds. Make sure you use the same. Avoid using garden soil you picked from your garden as that might end up harming the plants you grow.

Miracle-Gro Garden Soil on Amazon

How I made the homemade potting soil

I dumped 1/3rd each of the materials into a container. So 1/3rd coco coir, 1/3rd vermicompost, and 1/3rd garden soil. I was lazy enough to do this directly in the container that I’ll be using to grow a pothos plant.

I gave it a good mix so all of the materials are mixed well together to make potting soil I can use for growing any plant in my container garden.

Here’s a video I made that shows exactly how I created my own potting soil in a really simple way.

You can add material such as neem cake powder to the potting soil for protecting against pests and fungal diseases but this is optional. You can add that later as well when you start growing plants in the potting soil.