In previous posts, I talked about mixing my potting soil. In general, plants you purchase from typical roadside and riverside nurseries in Cairo will be potted in the dark rich clay soil. Clay soil possesses some properties that make it a superior farming medium: it is highly fertile and is more resistant to erosion than sand and silt soils.
However, clay soil also also possesses other properties that make it less suitable or desirable as a container plant growing medium: it is considerably heavy, and will become too firm when dry (the timeless image of Egypt's unchanging farmer ever plowing the dark land comes to mind). In this post, I describe the basic ingredients to mixing potting soil and their function in the mixture.
Potting mixtures will most commonly be made up of some type of peat, sand, and perlite. A number of ready mixtures are sold on the market. Personally, all the mixtures I found in Cairo stores are packaged too small and priced too high. With three basic ingredients - peat, sand, and perlite, and an understanding of their key properties, you can easily mix your own potting soil.
I prefer using coco peat over peat moss for both the economic and environmental benefits: it is cheaper, and it is a recycled byproduct rather than a harvested/ mined product (coco peat is chiefly made of coconut husks resulting from industries using coconut). You can buy it as dry compressed briquettes and slabs in a number of sizes (check this page to learn where I get my gardening supplies); before you can use it, you will need to soak it in water at least one day ahead depending on the size of your brick. When it is damp all through and expanded knead it thoroughly to dissolve any clumps and obtain a nice fluffy homogeneous texture. Coco peat will retain water and moisture in your mixture.
I bought perlite from a wholesale store: a 50 cm wide, 1 meter tall sack of the white granules. Don't be discouraged by the size, perlite is ultra light, the sack definitely weighed less than half a kilogram. The volcanic glass is used to improve aeration and drainage in potting mixtures.
Sand is readily available in any of the building and construction supply and hardware stores. It will not retain water, and will function as a filler between the peat and perlite to add density to the potting mixture.
Obviously, the easiest way to mix these ingredients is at a 1:1:1 ratio, i.e. using equal amounts of each ingredient, which results in a pretty versatile airy mixture I have found so far suitable for most plants and uses. It is noteworthy however that using this mixture, your plants will require a nutrient supplement as this soil mixture is very low in nutrient content (I will be publishing a detailed post about feeding the plants soon). Knowing how each ingredient affects the mixture, you can adjust the ratio to alter the properties of the potting soil to meet certain requirements, e.g. higher peat content will result in a more water retentive soil, more sand will decrease water retention, increase drainage and density, etc.
In an upcoming post, I will talk in more detail about the different soil recipes I have tried. But meanwhile you can start mixing your soil too, experiment with different ratios and observe how the texture and properties of the mixture change; feel it too: I always use my bare hands to mix the soil, I advise you to do the same.
Potting mixtures will most commonly be made up of some type of peat, sand, and perlite. A number of ready mixtures are sold on the market. Personally, all the mixtures I found in Cairo stores are packaged too small and priced too high. With three basic ingredients - peat, sand, and perlite, and an understanding of their key properties, you can easily mix your own potting soil.
I prefer using coco peat over peat moss for both the economic and environmental benefits: it is cheaper, and it is a recycled byproduct rather than a harvested/ mined product (coco peat is chiefly made of coconut husks resulting from industries using coconut). You can buy it as dry compressed briquettes and slabs in a number of sizes (check this page to learn where I get my gardening supplies); before you can use it, you will need to soak it in water at least one day ahead depending on the size of your brick. When it is damp all through and expanded knead it thoroughly to dissolve any clumps and obtain a nice fluffy homogeneous texture. Coco peat will retain water and moisture in your mixture.
I bought perlite from a wholesale store: a 50 cm wide, 1 meter tall sack of the white granules. Don't be discouraged by the size, perlite is ultra light, the sack definitely weighed less than half a kilogram. The volcanic glass is used to improve aeration and drainage in potting mixtures.
Sand is readily available in any of the building and construction supply and hardware stores. It will not retain water, and will function as a filler between the peat and perlite to add density to the potting mixture.
Obviously, the easiest way to mix these ingredients is at a 1:1:1 ratio, i.e. using equal amounts of each ingredient, which results in a pretty versatile airy mixture I have found so far suitable for most plants and uses. It is noteworthy however that using this mixture, your plants will require a nutrient supplement as this soil mixture is very low in nutrient content (I will be publishing a detailed post about feeding the plants soon). Knowing how each ingredient affects the mixture, you can adjust the ratio to alter the properties of the potting soil to meet certain requirements, e.g. higher peat content will result in a more water retentive soil, more sand will decrease water retention, increase drainage and density, etc.
In an upcoming post, I will talk in more detail about the different soil recipes I have tried. But meanwhile you can start mixing your soil too, experiment with different ratios and observe how the texture and properties of the mixture change; feel it too: I always use my bare hands to mix the soil, I advise you to do the same.
