Free Draining Soil Mix

There are a few different ones that will make your soil drain better and perhaps help with nutrition at the same time.

Free draining soil mix.

Soilless potting mix starting seeds in soil. Fill the hole with water then allow it to drain completely before filling it again. 1 part commercial potting soil. A simple test to find out if your soil is well draining.

Dig a hole 30 centimetres deep and wide. A soilless mix gives you more control. The essential element in well drained soil is oxygen. Commercial nurseries often sell pre mixed bags of special soil but this is often at a premium.

This will create concrete. Dig a hole once the soil and compost are completely combined that is 12 inches square and about 12 inches deep. Sphagnum peat moss is mixed into sandy soils to help hold moisture and into clay soils to loosen the soil and improve drainage. If the water drains from the hole in 10 minutes or less you have fast draining soil.

This is the most common and well known additive to improve soil drainage. Coir is the coarse fiber from the outer husk of coconuts. Sphagnum moss is also used as a liner for hanging baskets of plants. With a neutral ph perlite is easy to find at nurseries and garden centers.

The fifth and final way to improve soil drainage is to use additives in your soil. Bark is added to. I like it because it loosens up the mix while adding a bit of water retention. Disease spores bacteria plant eating insects weed.

Check out this earlier post about coir. Use additives to improve soil drainage. Mix the native clay half and half with coarse sand or crusher fines. 1 besides being free of disease and other contaminants you can.

You don t know what s coming in with it. It holds three to four times its weight in water increases pore space and improves drainage. How to mix your own cactus and succulent soil. Don t use fine sand.

Cacti and succulents thrive better in soil that drains easily and doesn t retain a lot of water. When planting perennial plants that like well drained soils in clay the best thing to do is to create a raised bed or berm mounded pile of soil. One popular brand of perlite is espoma perlite. Perlite helps aerate the soil hold water and keep soil from packing down.

If your soil is well draining the time the water takes to drain. In contrast to peat coir rewets easily and doesn t compress as readily.