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Home gardening tips: How to create potting soil for hanging baskets and containers

Sunday, April 23, 2023 by: Zoey Sky
Tags: Ecology, environment, gardening, gardening tips, green living, harvest, home gardening, homesteading, how-to, nutrients, off grid, organic farming, preparedness, prepper, prepping, self sufficiency, SHTF, soil health, survival
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(Natural News) You need quality potting soil if you want to grow healthy plants in hanging baskets and containers.
To save money, you can learn how to do this at home using a simple formula. Keep reading to find out how to create potting soil for your home garden. (h/t to OldWorldGardenFarms.com)
Getting started with potting soil

A plant’s root system will thrive below the surface if you use quality soil. And when roots thrive, so will your plant.
But what makes potting soil great?
Potting soil needs to be light, with loose, well-draining soil with lots of nutrients.
These will help plants grow strong and produce flowers or fruit. Simply put, the more energy in the soil, the healthier your plants.
While you can save time by purchasing commercial bagged mixes available available at garden centers everywhere, you can also save money and keep your garden organic by making your own potting soil mix.
Knowing how to make potting soil is important if you grow produce for your own consumption or if you sell it for extra income. Making your own potting soil means you know what is in the soil used to grow your fruits and vegetables.
5 Natural ingredients for homemade potting soil

To make potting soil at home, you need five simple ingredients.
According to Jim and Mary from Old World Garden Farms, their five-ingredient potting mix is the most effective out of all the different kinds of mixes that they have tried using at their farm over the last dozen years.
This peatless potting soil mix will help keep your hanging baskets and potted plants thriving all summer.
To create the soil, use a mix of pulverized topsoil, which you can buy in bags or bulk, compost, perlite, worm castings and spent coffee grounds.
The ratios of each ingredient are discussed in the next section, along with an exact description of each and how it works to nourish your plants.
You can create the mix in any quantity you need, so you can make enough for only one hanging basket or a lot of baskets. Just make sure you keep the ratio of each ingredient for the recipe the same.
If you are going to mix a lot of potting soil, use a large bowl or bucket, then add each ingredient one at a time into a wheelbarrow at the proper ratios.
This method is easier if you have back issues and can help prevent any pain or strain. A wheelbarrow’s height also makes it easy to mix the soil with your hands, a small trowel, or a shovel.
With a big wheelbarrow, it’s also easy to fill baskets or pots directly with your mix.
When selecting baskets and pots, remember a larger basket or pot will hold water better.
Typical hanging baskets are made of materials like coco fiber, plastic, or wire. They are available in diameters of eight to 24 inches.
Use materials like burlap, coco fiber, plastic, pressed paperboard, or sphagnum moss as liners for wire baskets.
When planting in a hanging basket, you shouldn’t overfill the basket. If it looks sparse during planting, it will eventually fill in as the plants grow bigger.
Usually, a 12″-14″ basket can accommodate three to six plants. A 16″-18″ basket can handle at least five to seven plants.
As you insert each plant into the basket, carefully press down the soil around its base to secure it.
Potting soil mix ratios and ingredients

Mixing potting soil isn’t as precise as baking so it’s fine if you are slightly off with a ratio of one or two ingredients. You just need to make sure that you stay as close as you can to the recipe to get a great mix.
Use the following ratios to make potting soil in the quantity you need:

• 4 Parts pulverized soil or topsoil
• 4 Parts compost
• 1 Part worm castings
• 1 Part perlite
• 1/2 Part spent coffee grounds

Pulverized Soil (4 parts)
A quality potting soil mix starts with pulverized topsoil.
You can buy pulverized topsoil in bulk or in bags and it is usually affordable. Make sure you get pulverized soil.
Pulverized topsoil is super-fine and crumbles easily when held.
Start with a fine soil mix and avoid garden soil, fill dirt, or other kinds of soil that are hard and will not break apart easily in your hand.
If you use soil that is too heavy, a plant’s root system will have a hard time expanding as it grows. Heavy soil also makes it hard for plant roots to absorb moisture or nutrients.
Compost (4 parts)
Compost is essential for great potting soil because it is full of life.
Good compost contains life-giving nutrients that plants can easily absorb through their root systems to grow strong. Compost also adds structure and holding power to the soil mix. (Related: Keep your garden soil healthy with crop rotation.)
In fact, compost holds as much as 10 times its own weight in water, so it can help keep your plants protected on hot days. Always use compost that is completely aged and not too coarse.
If you don’t make compost for your garden, you can also buy bagged compost.
Worm castings (1 quart)
Gardeners love worm castings because they are also important for potting soil added to hanging baskets and containers.
Worm castings are added to potting mix, and you can also use them as fertilizer for your container plants during the season.
Like compost and perlite, worm castings are lightweight and absorb water. Worm castings are great for potting mixes because they are a natural, slow-release fertilizer.
Even if you purchase a commercial bagged potting soil mix, adding worm castings will make a significant difference in the performance of your hanging plants.
Perlite (1 quart)
Perlite is a natural and organic substance and it helps make and keep the potting soil light and airy.
You need to add perlite to potting soil to help prevent the soil from compacting around plant roots.
Perlite is a pure volcanic glass that is then heated and popped like popcorn. This produces a substance that is very lightweight.
The open pores of perlite help potting soil with water retention and drainage.
Like compost, perlite can hold water several times its own weight. It keeps the finished mix much lighter than if you only use soil and compost.
Lastly, perlite has a pH of 7, which is perfectly neutral. This means it won’t affect your growing mix at all.
Coffee grounds (1/2 quart)
Spent coffee grounds are great for potting soil because they add nitrogen and other trace minerals to the mix.
Spent coffee grounds also help to hold moisture in, which helps stop the plants from drying out too quickly. As a bonus, used coffee grounds are free.
You need to use spent coffee grounds because fresh grounds are acidic. Fresh coffee grounds are more expensive if you use them in a potting soil mix, and using them will create more acidic soil.
Coffee grounds can also be added to the rest of your garden soil and flowerbeds.
Ensure a bountiful growing year by learning how to make your own potting soil mix for hanging baskets and containers.
Visit Homegardeningnews.com for more tips on how to keep plants in hanging baskets and containers healthy.
Watch the video below for helpful gardening tips for beginners.

This video is from the Deconstructing Conventional channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:

Watering and garden soil: 10 Irrigation techniques to use in your home garden.
Home gardening: 3 Benefits of crop rotation.
Expert recommends incorporating livestock on farmland to improve soil quality.
Sources include:
OldWorldGardenFarms.com
BHG.com
Brighteon.com

Home gardening tips: How to create potting soil for hanging baskets and containers – NaturalNews.com

Outdoor Fireplace by Haugen/Zohar Architects

January 5, 2010
Haugen/Zohar Architects have designed an outdoor fireplace in Trondheim, Norway.
Full description after the photos….

Photography by Grethe Fredriksen & Jason Havneraas

Outdoor Fireplace by Haugen/Zohar Architects
Together with the standard playground facilities we wished to combine an enclosed space for fire, storytelling and playing.
Given a very limited budget, reusing leftover materials (from a nearby construction site) was a starting point that led the design to be based on short wooden pieces. Inspired by the Norwegian turf huts and old log construction, a 5,2×4,5 meters wooden construction was built and mounted on a lighted and brushed concrete base. The structure is made of 80-layered circles. The circles have varied radiuses and relative centre point in relation to each other. Every circle is made out of 28 pieces of naturally impregnated core of pine that are placed with varied spaces to assure chimney effect and natural light.
Oak separators differentiate vertically between the pine pieces to assure airflow allowing easy drying of the pine pieces.
A double curved sliding door was designed for locking the structure.
Visit the website of Haugen/Zohar Architects – here.

22 Cheap and Brilliant Garden Projects Using Twigs

written by Marry Dell 22/02/2023 0 comment

Gardening can be a wonderful and rewarding hobby, but it can also be an expensive one. However, there are many ways to create beautiful and functional garden projects without breaking the bank. One of the most cost-effective and sustainable materials you can use for DIY garden projects is twigs. Not only are they easy to find and collect, but they can also be used in a variety of ways to add a rustic and charming touch to your garden.

Twigs are a versatile and sustainable material that can be used in a variety of ways to create beautiful and functional garden projects. Whether you’re looking to build a trellis, a birdbath, or a natural-looking arbor, twigs can be a cost-effective and charming solution for all your gardening needs. So, go ahead and experiment with free natural twigs to create a unique and personalized display that will make your garden feel more vibrant and alive.

22 Cheap and Brilliant Garden Projects Using Twigs (1millionideas.com)

A Hobbit’s Garden

By Danielcarruthers

I suppose that given that we were not far from Middle Earth – or so the map indicated – I shouldn’t have been surprised to happen upon a garden that gave every indication of being created by a hobbit and a very industrious hobbit at that.



Blurry back view of hobbit – they are very shy

Not only had he planted this extensive hillside garden, he had also built the house which I was given a tour of as part of the admission – and if anyone is after somewhere extremely quirky to stay should they be in this area then this is definitely your place.

The garden climbs the hillside with planting that is abundant and informal – roses weave in amongst cordylines, cardiocrinums tower above surrounding plants, multi-stemmed shrubby echiums buzz with bees as paths weave in and out of the planting, all framed by arches, moon gates and rustic artworks created by the presiding genius.





Hundreds of lilies will come into flower in the next few weeks, spreading their perfume across the garden, but at the moment it is the scent or roses that permeates every corner. I did notice a For Sale sign so I’m not sure how much longer this garden will survive, but I am so glad that I had the opportunity to visit it. It’s a bit bonkers, very beautiful and must represent many years of backbreaking work – Mr Hobbit I salute you.






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