There is nothing more important to the health of
your plants than the soil in which they grow. There are an infinite
number of soils of every possible make-up and consistency.
Some are
sandy, others heavy with clay-some are rich and others barren. They
range from desert sands in which only certain forms of cactus and sage
will grow, to the deep loamy soil of the Midwestern plains which will
grow any plant that will live in the climate.
Even the variations to be found in the make-up of potting soils are
tremendous. If you look in ten different gardening books, the chances
are you'll find ten different recipes for the best all-around potting
soil - and the strange thing about it is that they would all be equally
good.
In theory, almost every plant grows best in a specific soil made
up of an exact proportion of several different constituents. In
practice, luckily for us, almost all plants adjust to a good basic soil
combination of loam, sand, humus and fertilizer, plus small amounts of
bone meal and sometimes peat moss.
If you plan to mix your own potting soil, the best way to go about it
is to choose one of the basic mixtures, collect your materials and
start to work. A good general mixture is made up of 2 parts loam to one
part sand and one part humus. Into this should be mixed one-half part
cow manure and a sprinkling of bone meal.
You will need a pretty
spacious place to work - probably in the cellar or the back porch,
because it's difficult to handle buckets of dirt and sand, bags of
manure, etc. without spilling some here and there. We're not making
this job sound appetizing, frankly, because it isn't. It's messy,
wasteful and smelly and not particularly efficient. But there's a
solution. . . .
Just as most of us don't make our own soap any more, because it's less
time consuming and therefore cheaper to buy it already packaged at the
neighborhood grocery store, so we don't have to mix our own potting
soil, as it can be easily and inexpensively purchased at the
neighborhood ten-cent store, super market or garden supply store.
There
are a number of commercially packaged potting-soil mixtures on the
market, some better than others, but all of them more than adequate for
the job.
These soils have even greater advantages over do-it-yourself potting
mixtures than just those of cleanliness and efficiency. Packaged
potting soil is properly sterilized and therefore free from pests and
mites and larvae.
Here are some common brands
If you are looking for a potting mix for a
specific plant,
here are some mixes that you might be interested in:
Frequently the gardener who makes up his own potting
mixture using garden soil finds that he has brought in an infestation
of insects as well as dirt. Further, you are sure that the soil you are
giving your plants is one that has been mixed by professionals
expressly for the purpose.
Potting soil is inexpensive to buy and easy to use. Unless you are
planning to start a real greenhouse (in which case there's still a good
deal to be said for it) it's a worthwhile expense. There is no sense in
making it difficult either for yourself or for your plants when the
means are at hand to do a better job more easily.
Because African Violets require a soil with a higher percentage of
humus that most house plants, there are special African Violet soils
available for sale on the market. This same soil can be used for good
effect with ferns and other tropical plants and Begonias.
Humus
Humus is made up of decayed organic matter such as grasses, leaves and
weeds which, because of its richness and ability to contain moisture,
is used in a fairly heavy proportion with newly potted plants.
A humus
which has been made with a fairly heavy proportion of peat moss instead
of other vegetable material will work more effectively than one made
without it. Your garden supply store can provide you with a packaged
humus in containers of from one to fifty pounds.
