How to Prepare a General Flower Potting Soil Fertilizer
Today, I will explain in detail how to prepare a general flower potting soil fertilizer and share a complete collection of homemade flower soil recipes for plant cultivation. Let's dive into the comprehensive introduction.
I am sharing some universal soil preparation solutions for flower cultivation, which are some of my own experiences over the years. Many people like to dig soil directly from their gardens or vegetable gardens to plant, but this soil can easily kill the flowers. This is because this soil may carry germs or eggs, leading to plant diseases and insect pests.
That is the decomposed leaf soil.
Soil dug directly from the outdoors does not have good breathability and drainage. After a period of flower cultivation, the soil will crack and gradually harden, which is very unfavorable for plant root growth.
I. How to Reuse Potting Soil?
Many friends may wonder if old soil from dead plants can be reused. It is quite a hassle to buy new soil or prepare it each time. During the cultivation of flowers, it is inevitable that some plants may die, whether due to weather conditions or improper care.
Especially for flower lovers living in the city, throwing away old soil would seem quite wasteful. However, I would recommend discarding the old soil that has caused the death of flowers, and buying new potting soil for flower cultivation is the best choice.
1. Disinfection
This old soil must be disinfected before it can be reused because it may carry germs and eggs, especially from plants that died due to diseases.
The method of disinfection is simple, such as pouring boiling water (100 degrees Celsius) over the soil to completely saturate it, which can clean the soil of germs. Of course, you can also spread the potting soil out and expose it to the hot sun for a few days to achieve a disinfecting effect.
For the eggs in the soil, you need to use some systemic insecticides to remove them. This means directly sprinkling some insecticide in the soil. For example, in a 25 cm diameter pot, you would sprinkle one to two grams of the insecticide.
2. Mixing with New Potting Soil
How to Prepare a General Flower Potting Soil Fertilizer
Additionally, after the old soil has been disinfected, it should be mixed with some new potting soil when reused. The proportion of old soil in the new soil should not exceed 40%. This new soil mix can also be blended with some beneficial microbial fertilizers to ensure the soil has sufficient nutrients, making it suitable for planting new plants.
In summary, after disinfecting the old soil, mix it with some new potting soil, add some good draining materials such as bark, coconut fiber, or coarse sand, and then blend in some beneficial microbial fertilizers.
Usually, when we care for potted green plants at home, if we are planting resilient ornamental plants like pothos or hanging basket plants, we can indeed plant them well with soil dug from the garden.
II. Guide to Potting Soil Preparation
If you are planting ornamental plants such as roses, clematis, or hydrangeas, you definitely need to prepare some suitable soil on your own. When you water the garden soil thoroughly, you may find that the water is difficult to penetrate. After a while, unless there are cracks in the soil, it is hard for water to渗透, which is caused by poor breathability and drainage of the soil.
That is the general nutrient-rich soil.
There are also many brands of nutrient-rich soil on the market. Some low-quality brands' soil is difficult for plants to survive because the mixture ratio is not good or the materials used are of poor quality. Therefore, if you want to grow good flowers, don't buy overly cheap nutrient-rich soil. However, high-quality brands' good nutrient-rich soil can be quite expensive.
1. Universal Soil Preparation Solution