You are so right about what they sell for potting soil this day and time ,the last bag that I bought I actually felt like it was a oversite / error the content looked exactly like the bags that say mulch and that I had received a bag of mulch, but it said organic potting soul, so I too am now making my own rich dirt and I love it. It’s a little extra work, but it is a savings to my pocket and it gives me the satisfaction of what my plants actually need.
Great video! I've been watching so many trying to use the bags of top soil, compost, and raised bed soil to make a cheap and easy potting soil and in ground soil. Thanks to your video, i'm halfway there. You also reminded me that I have a tray like the one you used to mix in.
Fabulous video. I’ve been making mine 50% peat 25% mushroom or black cow and 25% topsoil. I’ll have to try your method. I usually add a handful of a 5-5-5 fertilizer with garden lime and powdered eggshells.
Thanks. Your recipe sounds perfectly fine! It doesn't have to be anyone's precise recipe, just do what works for you and do it better than store bought junk!
Louise, I understand completely! It's so frustrating for a bag to be labeled "premium" and be nothing more than ground sticks and debris from the ground. I will not go back to buying it anymore.
Thanks for making this so much easier to understand than some other videos. Some youtubers go into too much detail, it gets overwhelming for a beginner. One question I have is some I've watched put a handful of garden lime when using peat moss because they said it's so acidic. Mine would be used in fabric containers with vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, kale, etc.
Deborah, thank you for that. Simple is best in most cases IMO. Use sphagnum peat moss, which is usually "Neutral" in moss cases if purchased from a nursery or garden center. I guess I actually forgot to mention the sphagnum part. There is a difference between that and straight peat moss which is acidic. Sometimes people will hear a part of something and just go with it without knowing the details, thereby potentially giving peat moss in general a bad rap. Coco coir is another option but I stick with the sphagnum peat moss. Remember, it's supposed to be neutral.
@@kanddshomestead2839 thank you so much for explaining this and answering so quick since I'm going shopping for it soon. This has been a real learning experience for me. It's hard for me because I'm an overthinker which gives me anxiety. This is why I really appreciate your video, like you said simple is better 💚 I'm so excited about gardening and growing my own vegetables and a few flowers 🥰 Thanks again and have a great growing season 🌻🌱
@@Cat32215 you're very welcome. Keep this in mind when you say you're an over thinker: while success in gardening is surely lots more fun, there are no failures in gardening, there's just learning curves and experiences to carry into the next garden season. Just try, and enjoy, good or bad. I wish you the best of luck with your new gardening. I'm available via email and if I don't know the answer, maybe I can help you find the answer.
@@kanddshomestead2839 thank you for reminding me of this, yes I've heard people say they have been doing it 50 years and still learning. Thank you 😊, I will reach out to you if I have any major issues with this new exciting hobby. You are too kind 💚
Thank you so much for sharing your potting soul mixture, I have used mushroom Mulch before, please keep sharing any tips that you have for saving money especially and making good potting soul. I really like your tone of voice it’s easy to understand.😊
Your concret mortar pan I use and love. I attached a rope on one end and you can pull as a sled through the grass very easy. I just drilled two homes and rows on a rope and I can pull my soil to where I need it. Or other supplies.
Awesome! If I didn't have so far around my property to walk, that'd be perfect for me as well. I however use my mower or tractor to carry everything. I put a hitch on my mower that allows me to hook up my gorilla wagon and pull behind carrying my tools and supplies. I am going to buy a few more of the pans tho to use within my gardens to place collected veggies in. I'm planning on drilling holes in one to create a giant colander to wash my veggies in as I harvest them before bringing them inside. You can never find large enough strainers and colanders!
I started making my own this year. I use 2 parts sphagnum peat moss, 1 part of the expert gardener potting mix from Walmart, it’s really cheap and crappy but it makes a good compost then 1 part manure oh don’t forget the pearlite. When it’s all mixed up it has a PH of 7. This works great for pretty much anything except acid loving plants like cacti or blueberries.
GREAT VIDEO! I MAKE MY OWN AS WELL .. I HAVE FOUND THAT BY ADDING EPSOM SALT I USE 1/2 C. FOR THAT CONTAINER , WHICH I USE THE SAME CONTAINER.. AND 1/2 C. BONE MEAL I ONLY USE WATER TO WET PLANTS AND NO NEED FOR FERTILIZERS. UNTILL THEY ARE ANTED IN THE SOIL OR GIVEN AWAY.. I AM ZONE 7B N. CAROLINA where are you located?? GREAT JOB!
Thank you and thanks for the idea of Epsom. I have added organics like bone or blood meal, depending on what I was using it for. Sometimes I do things up front and sometimes I do it on the back end. I'm zone 8a, SE NC
It's not. Standard Miracle Grow potting mix has synthetic fertilizer in it, organic Miracle Grow would be too expensive vs the bulk amount you can get from making your own with these ingredients. It is however as airy, and holds the moisture you need, depending on how dense you make it. I don't use Miracle Grow potting mix but don't have any opinions one way or the other if someone does, too each their own. I like making it so I have bulk amounts on hand at most given times and I feel it's more price effective. I will on rare occasions use Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer on my flowers "only" that don't grow in my medicinal garden but never on my vegetables. Have a wonderful day!
There are so many alternatives to peat that don’t destroy the peat bogs. Many are even waste products that need to be disposed of but are beneficial in your soil.
must use a little more water to keep that dust down because it is bad for the lungs. I mix our potting and planter soil with a cement mixer. I purchase the large bales of Promix or Sunshine mix as a base. I add garden compost/horse manure compost, a little perlite, and recycled mix from the planters and pots of previous years that are just dumped on a pile to break down in the open weather. Everything except the perlite is screened before being added to the mix. This is a highly nutritive blend for potting up seedlings to 3.5" and 6" pots. I grow tomatoes up to four feet in a six inch pot. Sometimes they are setting tomatoes when they finally get out to the gardens.
I do agree ,, for seedlings ,, this is a decent more cheaper way , than buying premade potting mix. BUT , when it comes to growing Vegetables & Fruits. Nothing beats , sand , silt & clay aka dirt in the Yard. You can always add alittle perlite & coco coir if you grow in Buckets. You will save money , in buying fertilizers & KNOW its very healthy. I hear chickens in the back ,,& the poop makes good fertilizer ,, just not fresh. It could burn the roots or plant. Ha ha
I do use chicken poop and pine shavings I clean out of the coop but it sits in it's own separate compost pile away from my every day compost til it ages for a few months, then into my reg compost pile and mixed in. I use that in my outdoor gardens (raised beds) for veggies and flowers.
I use homemade compost from outside that includes grass clippings I collect via a mower bagger and yard sweeper, along with leaves, plant waste and brown paper and shredded cardboard, wasted hay from the goat house and chicken bedding. I age it all, water it, turn it and build it up. Takes time to break down but have all my raised garden beds full. When needed, I top them off. My compost pile is in one of the recent videos somewhere.
I bought it from Lowe's, "Premier Peat Moss" 3 cu. compressed. This is my go-to bag but I use others if they are out. This brand is organic. Not terribly expensive and goes a long way.
It's a sad state of things that you have a hard time not purchasing sticks. I think it has to do with including a lot of filler and less actual product. A money thing. Not all products are terrible tho, but I just prefer making it how I like it.
Have you used bricks of cocoa coir bricks that you soak in water to rehydrate them instead of peat ( because peat takes a long time to become peat and is not sustainable) cocoa coir is more environmentally friendly! Do you ever use sand!(cocoa coir, sand, perlite and some top soil) God Bless!
Environmentally friendly? No. How about the transporting of coco coir from india? How much fossil fuels are burned during that process. Also, coco cour is known to have salt.
Where do you buy your peat moss? I've been watching videos of people buying like 3 cubic foot bags for $13 at lowes but where I'm at it's $25 for those bags lol, is there anywhere that you know that sells wholesale at good prices?
I'm sorry I can't give any names at this time because I too have bought my bags from Lowe's. I also hate those prices and plan to look soon at some nurseries. I don't have any nurseries near me and will have to do a bit of travel but it is on my agenda. I wonder about those new large Ace hardware stores, which wouldn't be wholesale but maybe more product for the money.
@@kanddshomestead2839 I found out that Tractor Supply Co has 2.2 CuFt bags of the OMRI peat moss for $14.95 which isn't great but definitely better and best price I've found so far. Only issue is they charge $30 for delivery so you'd have to go to a store if you don't want to pay that. Hope that info helps you as much as it helped me lol
@@MoneyGuil I am not a fan of TSC, however, I do have to shop there because I have to get my chicken and goat feed from them due to lack of choices. When I find a better choice, I'll be sure to post it. We all need better bang for our buck!
@@kanddshomestead2839 Hey quick question if you don't mind, so I just got my bag of peat moss and I've been reading that it's on the acidic side so I wanted to ask what do you use to raise the PH? I've been looking at 2 different options, Oysyer Shell Flour and Garden Lime, which do you think would be better?
When you add the cost of the peat moss, the labor to break it all down, the cost of the compost, the labor to mix it up, the cost of the vermiculite and the cost to mix it up, you'll end up with a product that costs more than the one at the store! Your labor is not free.
My boyfriend runs a landscape/hardscape company. He just came by the house to dump another yard of soil for my garden and as always he says "You do realize they sell vegetables at the store and they are not expensive" Vegetable gardens are definitely something you do to enjoy not save money. If I had to pay retail for everything, I wouldn't/couldn't justify the money.
@@stayathomecichlidmom3579 do some research on soil depletion in commercial farming. The nutrient profile of produce grown in carefully labored home gardens is far above that which you can buy.
Yes, I agree. I choose the perlite for better drainage rather than it holding water as it can with vermiculite. I'd rather not take the chance of things becoming too wet and retaining too much water that can lead to root rot. It does require more frequent water however using the perlite since it does drain so well. That works for me since most of my potted plants are in my greenhouse where I'm tending every day anyways. It would be beneficial for anyone to try both ways and see what works for them and their watering schedule. Plant needs plays a role in the choice as well of course.
You are so right about what they sell for potting soil this day and time ,the last bag that I bought I actually felt like it was a oversite / error the content looked exactly like the bags that say mulch and that I had received a bag of mulch, but it said organic potting soul, so I too am now making my own rich dirt and I love it. It’s a little extra work, but it is a savings to my pocket and it gives me the satisfaction of what my plants actually need.
Great video! I've been watching so many trying to use the bags of top soil, compost, and raised bed soil to make a cheap and easy potting soil and in ground soil. Thanks to your video, i'm halfway there. You also reminded me that I have a tray like the one you used to mix in.
I love those trays, they are useful all over the garden for many different reasons! I need to own more!
Stephanie, how's it going? Did you make any yet for yourself?
This is fantastic.
being an amateur gardener, I love learning new tricks and methods. I will definitely give this a try
Thank you, I hope you have a wonderful growing season!
Fabulous video. I’ve been making mine 50% peat 25% mushroom or black cow and 25% topsoil. I’ll have to try your method. I usually add a handful of a 5-5-5 fertilizer with garden lime and powdered eggshells.
Thanks. Your recipe sounds perfectly fine! It doesn't have to be anyone's precise recipe, just do what works for you and do it better than store bought junk!
The potting soil I use has increasingly adding more sticks. This year it looks like 1/2 mulch. From now on I’ll make my own. Thanks for the video.
Louise, I understand completely! It's so frustrating for a bag to be labeled "premium" and be nothing more than ground sticks and debris from the ground. I will not go back to buying it anymore.
I'm loving how your garden is looking ❤😊🍅🌶🌿🌾🌷🌼🌻
Thank you! I just uploaded my first garden tour, check it out if you'd like.
Thanks for making this so much easier to understand than some other videos. Some youtubers go into too much detail, it gets overwhelming for a beginner.
One question I have is some I've watched put a handful of garden lime when using peat moss because they said it's so acidic. Mine would be used in fabric containers with vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, kale, etc.
Deborah, thank you for that. Simple is best in most cases IMO. Use sphagnum peat moss, which is usually "Neutral" in moss cases if purchased from a nursery or garden center. I guess I actually forgot to mention the sphagnum part. There is a difference between that and straight peat moss which is acidic. Sometimes people will hear a part of something and just go with it without knowing the details, thereby potentially giving peat moss in general a bad rap. Coco coir is another option but I stick with the sphagnum peat moss. Remember, it's supposed to be neutral.
@@kanddshomestead2839 thank you so much for explaining this and answering so quick since I'm going shopping for it soon. This has been a real learning experience for me. It's hard for me because I'm an overthinker which gives me anxiety. This is why I really appreciate your video, like you said simple is better 💚 I'm so excited about gardening and growing my own vegetables and a few flowers 🥰
Thanks again and have a great growing season 🌻🌱
@@Cat32215 you're very welcome. Keep this in mind when you say you're an over thinker: while success in gardening is surely lots more fun, there are no failures in gardening, there's just learning curves and experiences to carry into the next garden season. Just try, and enjoy, good or bad. I wish you the best of luck with your new gardening. I'm available via email and if I don't know the answer, maybe I can help you find the answer.
@@kanddshomestead2839 thank you for reminding me of this, yes I've heard people say they have been doing it 50 years and still learning.
Thank you 😊, I will reach out to you if I have any major issues with this new exciting hobby. You are too kind 💚
@@Cat32215 🌷
Thank you so much for sharing your potting soul mixture, I have used mushroom Mulch before, please keep sharing any tips that you have for saving money especially and making good potting soul. I really like your tone of voice it’s easy to understand.😊
Your concret mortar pan I use and love. I attached a rope on one end and you can pull as a sled through the grass very easy. I just drilled two homes and rows on a rope and I can pull my soil to where I need it. Or other supplies.
Awesome! If I didn't have so far around my property to walk, that'd be perfect for me as well. I however use my mower or tractor to carry everything. I put a hitch on my mower that allows me to hook up my gorilla wagon and pull behind carrying my tools and supplies. I am going to buy a few more of the pans tho to use within my gardens to place collected veggies in. I'm planning on drilling holes in one to create a giant colander to wash my veggies in as I harvest them before bringing them inside. You can never find large enough strainers and colanders!
Thanks for making this video! Very helpful ! Definitely making my own
I usually use my wheelbarrow but hey...ive got a Cement Mixing Trough👍💚👍💚👍in the garage somewhere 😊
Thank you. I was going to buy 6-8 bags of potting soil today, but I like your recipe better.
I started making my own this year. I use 2 parts sphagnum peat moss, 1 part of the expert gardener potting mix from Walmart, it’s really cheap and crappy but it makes a good compost then 1 part manure oh don’t forget the pearlite. When it’s all mixed up it has a PH of 7. This works great for pretty much anything except acid loving plants like cacti or blueberries.
Love it!
GREAT VIDEO! I MAKE MY OWN AS WELL ..
I HAVE FOUND THAT BY ADDING EPSOM SALT I USE 1/2 C. FOR THAT CONTAINER , WHICH I USE THE SAME CONTAINER..
AND 1/2 C. BONE MEAL
I ONLY USE WATER TO WET PLANTS AND NO NEED FOR FERTILIZERS.
UNTILL THEY ARE ANTED IN THE SOIL OR GIVEN AWAY.. I AM ZONE 7B
N. CAROLINA where are you located??
GREAT JOB!
Thank you and thanks for the idea of Epsom. I have added organics like bone or blood meal, depending on what I was using it for. Sometimes I do things up front and sometimes I do it on the back end. I'm zone 8a, SE NC
Make mine the same as you. I started adding some vermiculite to my mix
Just in time video, I’ll be shopping dirt Tuesday!
2:55 - wow, that potting soil looks just like MiracleGro potting soil! Oh, I'm taking notes on the rest of this video, FOR SURE.
It's not. Standard Miracle Grow potting mix has synthetic fertilizer in it, organic Miracle Grow would be too expensive vs the bulk amount you can get from making your own with these ingredients. It is however as airy, and holds the moisture you need, depending on how dense you make it. I don't use Miracle Grow potting mix but don't have any opinions one way or the other if someone does, too each their own. I like making it so I have bulk amounts on hand at most given times and I feel it's more price effective. I will on rare occasions use Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer on my flowers "only" that don't grow in my medicinal garden but never on my vegetables. Have a wonderful day!
Good idea!👍🙂😘
There are so many alternatives to peat that don’t destroy the peat bogs. Many are even waste products that need to be disposed of but are beneficial in your soil.
Mind sharing what those things are? I am aware you can sub peat for coconut. Anything else?
@@paulajohnson1096he’s got nothing 😂
Great video! Thanks for sharing!
must use a little more water to keep that dust down because it is bad for the lungs. I mix our potting and planter soil with a cement mixer. I purchase the large bales of Promix or Sunshine mix as a base. I add garden compost/horse manure compost, a little perlite, and recycled mix from the planters and pots of previous years that are just dumped on a pile to break down in the open weather. Everything except the perlite is screened before being added to the mix. This is a highly nutritive blend for potting up seedlings to 3.5" and 6" pots. I grow tomatoes up to four feet in a six inch pot. Sometimes they are setting tomatoes when they finally get out to the gardens.
That sounds awesome. I'm sure your plants thrive in that.
I do agree ,, for seedlings ,, this is a decent more cheaper way , than buying premade potting mix.
BUT , when it comes to growing Vegetables & Fruits.
Nothing beats , sand , silt & clay aka dirt in the Yard.
You can always add alittle perlite & coco coir if you grow in Buckets.
You will save money , in buying fertilizers & KNOW its very healthy.
I hear chickens in the back ,,& the poop makes good fertilizer ,, just not fresh. It could burn the roots or plant.
Ha ha
I do use chicken poop and pine shavings I clean out of the coop but it sits in it's own separate compost pile away from my every day compost til it ages for a few months, then into my reg compost pile and mixed in. I use that in my outdoor gardens (raised beds) for veggies and flowers.
@@kanddshomestead2839
Lucky you.
Im about to make some bio char.
Next week .
Lately ,, i know , its much cheaper , but im staying away from peat & use Coconut Coir.
I actually, like much better too.
I understand that completely. I support anyone who chooses what they think is good for them. May I ask where you find your coco coir?
Thank you, very helpful, only bag mix I like is Black Gold, very expensive so I will try your recipe.
I hope you like it. Just try a small amount first, to see and you can use a ratio that fits your needs,
Thanks for sharing!
Very nice. Thank you.
Thank you too!
What do you in garden beds?😊
I use homemade compost from outside that includes grass clippings I collect via a mower bagger and yard sweeper, along with leaves, plant waste and brown paper and shredded cardboard, wasted hay from the goat house and chicken bedding. I age it all, water it, turn it and build it up. Takes time to break down but have all my raised garden beds full. When needed, I top them off. My compost pile is in one of the recent videos somewhere.
What's the name brand of sphagnum peat you're using...😊
I bought it from Lowe's, "Premier Peat Moss" 3 cu. compressed. This is my go-to bag but I use others if they are out. This brand is organic. Not terribly expensive and goes a long way.
Peat comes out of Canada or Europe. Brand is not important. Spend per your budget.
Black cow in my area looks like a lot of sticks and sawdust.
It's a sad state of things that you have a hard time not purchasing sticks. I think it has to do with including a lot of filler and less actual product. A money thing. Not all products are terrible tho, but I just prefer making it how I like it.
Have you used bricks of cocoa coir bricks that you soak in water to rehydrate them instead of peat ( because peat takes a long time to become peat and is not sustainable) cocoa coir is more environmentally friendly! Do you ever use sand!(cocoa coir, sand, perlite and some top soil) God Bless!
Coco
@@iwona4685 ...... You are right! They are not edible!!LOL!
Environmentally friendly? No. How about the transporting of coco coir from india? How much fossil fuels are burned during that process. Also, coco cour is known to have salt.
Would have been great to know the ratios of the ingredients .
Sounds like Mel's mix 1/3 peat, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 blended compost look it up
Where do you buy your peat moss? I've been watching videos of people buying like 3 cubic foot bags for $13 at lowes but where I'm at it's $25 for those bags lol, is there anywhere that you know that sells wholesale at good prices?
I'm sorry I can't give any names at this time because I too have bought my bags from Lowe's. I also hate those prices and plan to look soon at some nurseries. I don't have any nurseries near me and will have to do a bit of travel but it is on my agenda. I wonder about those new large Ace hardware stores, which wouldn't be wholesale but maybe more product for the money.
@@kanddshomestead2839 I found out that Tractor Supply Co has 2.2 CuFt bags of the OMRI peat moss for $14.95 which isn't great but definitely better and best price I've found so far. Only issue is they charge $30 for delivery so you'd have to go to a store if you don't want to pay that. Hope that info helps you as much as it helped me lol
@@MoneyGuil I am not a fan of TSC, however, I do have to shop there because I have to get my chicken and goat feed from them due to lack of choices. When I find a better choice, I'll be sure to post it. We all need better bang for our buck!
@@kanddshomestead2839 Yea for sure and I'll do the same if I find something else too
@@kanddshomestead2839 Hey quick question if you don't mind, so I just got my bag of peat moss and I've been reading that it's on the acidic side so I wanted to ask what do you use to raise the PH? I've been looking at 2 different options, Oysyer Shell Flour and Garden Lime, which do you think would be better?
watch out with the mushroom compost over time u will have a problem with sald deposits
When you add the cost of the peat moss, the labor to break it all down, the cost of the compost, the labor to mix it up, the cost of the vermiculite and the cost to mix it up, you'll end up with a product that costs more than the one at the store! Your labor is not free.
My boyfriend runs a landscape/hardscape company. He just came by the house to dump another yard of soil for my garden and as always he says "You do realize they sell vegetables at the store and they are not expensive"
Vegetable gardens are definitely something you do to enjoy not save money.
If I had to pay retail for everything, I wouldn't/couldn't justify the money.
@@stayathomecichlidmom3579 do some research on soil depletion in commercial farming. The nutrient profile of produce grown in carefully labored home gardens is far above that which you can buy.
@@MrKevinStraub
I thought the same thing, I'd have a fortune in it because I would have to buy it all.
Vermiculite holds water
Perlite drains water
So I guess it depends if you want we roots
Yes, I agree. I choose the perlite for better drainage rather than it holding water as it can with vermiculite. I'd rather not take the chance of things becoming too wet and retaining too much water that can lead to root rot. It does require more frequent water however using the perlite since it does drain so well. That works for me since most of my potted plants are in my greenhouse where I'm tending every day anyways. It would be beneficial for anyone to try both ways and see what works for them and their watering schedule. Plant needs plays a role in the choice as well of course.
👍👍🇺🇸