How to Make Potting Soil for Indoor Plants- 3 Easy Step!

If you have or just want to get started with indoor gardening, you must find the best potting soil for indoor plants because potting soil is essential for your plants to properly grow so that you can see fluent growth in your indoor gardening project.

A common question that comes to mind of gardeners from beginner to pro is how to make potting soil for indoor plants? And why it holds more significance in indoor gardening.

So, if you are one of those people, then we have got you covered because, in this article, we’ll provide you with a step-by-step process on making potting soil for indoor plants so that you will see perfect growth and improvement in your indoor gardening efforts.

What Is Potting Soil?

Before learning how to make them let’s first shed some light on potting soil and why it is required for indoor plants.

Potting soil or known to many as the potting mix is the medium where plants can grow in a confined environment. The soil here provides the required nourishment and minerals that the plant would get if it were planted naturally and sometimes even better.

What’s ironic about potting soil is that although it is regarded as soil, there is no involvement of soil regarding the ingredients of potting soil.

Nonetheless, once it is adequately created, it will be the perfect medium for any plant to grow as the plant will receive rich essential nourishments, which will help the plant grow faster and healthier.

How to Make Potting Soil for Indoor Plants?

How to Make Potting Soil for Indoor Plants

Here is our guide on making potting soil for indoor plants:

Step-1: Finding the Ingredients

The most important fact of making potting soil is finding the ingredients that will synergize perfectly with your plants. There are three core ingredients that you will need for your potting soil. And they are:

  1. Base
  2. Drainage
  3. Compost or fertilizer
  1. Base

The base is the most critical ingredient of potting soil. And finding the perfect base for your potting soil will either make or break your entire potting soil.

The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that the pH level of potting soil should be around 6.8 to 7.4 for most indoor plants. But it should never be too acidic; if it gets too acidic, use alkyne elements to counter that.

There are two widely popular options that most indoor gardeners use for the base of their potting soil, and they are:

  1. Peat Moss

Peat moss is a common choice for many as this sphagnum serves to make the potting soil retain its moisture along with improving the drainage at the same time.

The downside for some gardeners is that peat moss is a bit acidic so that it might take the pH level of your potting soil a bit higher, and you might have to use alkane on your potting soil, too, to balance it out.

  1. Coco Coir

Many gardeners claim that Coco coir is the best base for potting soil, and we also stand by that statement.

Coco coir is the natural fiber extracted from the outer husk of a coconut. It is an excellent base for potting soil because it provides water retention, aeration and improves drainage.

Step-2: Drainage

The second most important factor regarding potting soil for indoor plants is to make well drained soil for houseplants. And if you can ensure that, you won’t face any issue regarding watering, which every gardener has troubles with.

Two options primarily focus on drainage when it comes to potting soil. These are:

  • Pumice

In our opinion, pumice, this exclusive volcanic rock, is without any doubt one of the best drainage options that you can opt for your potting soil.

It is also what most indoor gardeners prefer for their potting soil.  It creates a solid drainage system and works to prevent compaction.  

  • Perlite

Perlite can also be a good option for your drainage system, but in some cases, it throws the ratio off balance, which by the way, is very rare.

Step-3: Compost or Fertilizer

Last but not least, you need to add good compost or fertilizer to your potting soil so that your plants can get the minerals and nutrients to grow fast and adequately.

That is quite important as too less and your plants might suffer from malnutrition and too much will affect the steady growth and increase the chance of infections.

Step-4: Getting the Proper Ratio

This is crucial for potting soil as the growth of your indoor plants will depend heavily on the ratio of your ingredients.

The standard ratio is to have 3:2 or 60% of the base ingredient and 40% drainage. The fertilization will depend on the plants and the gardener’s preference.

We suggest you do a little bit of research on your indoor plants before fixing upon a ratio.

Step-5: Mixing It up

Now that you have your ingredients and ratio figured out, it’s time to mix the components. And for that, grab the pot or bucket where you will plant your plants, add the components and start mixing. Use water to mix the ingredients.

You can use your hands, a soil scoop, or a hand trowel to mix the ingredients for your potting soil.

And that’s it. That is how you make potting soil for your indoor plants. You can leave the mixed soil for a while or go ahead and start planting your plants.

Why Make Potting Soil Personally?

How to Make Potting Soil for Indoor Plants

Now, you might have been wondering why you go such lengths to make potting soil when you can buy some from your local nursery or other gardening shops. The answer is consistency.

As mentioned before, ratio plays a vital role in potting soil, and this ratio also varies depending on your plant and environment.

But most sellers won’t be providing the optimal potting soil for your plants because they will just follow a standard ratio, and you won’t get the high performance & result that you could’ve obtained from the personally made potting soil.

And also, making potting soil is relatively easy, so why shouldn’t you do it yourself?

Final Thoughts

There is no question regarding the performance and growth that you will witness with properly made potting soil regarding your plant’s growth.

But for many indoor beginners and some veteran gardeners making potting soil by themselves might come off as a daunting task.

But if you have come this far from this article, then it is safe to say that you have learned how to make potting soil for indoor plants.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time for you to get your hands dirty and make the best potting soil for your indoor plants. Best of luck!

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Andrew Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff is here! A well-known gardener and a published author. I have dedicated 17 years of my life to gardening and plantation work. to reveal my expertise, I created an online reading store where plant lovers can shop and read A to Z about gardening for FREE. Stay tuned to know more about me.

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