The best and most comprehensive method for preparing culture soil! A must-have for flower lovers!

1. Preparation materials

Garden Soil

The soil taken from the surface of vegetable gardens, orchards, etc. contains a certain amount of humus and has good physical properties. It is often used as the basic material for most culture soils.

Landslide

It is a natural humus soil with loose and acidic texture. The humic acid content is higher in decomposed Huangshan mud. Mountain mud is the main soil material for growing acidic flowers. It can also be used alone to plant acid-loving flowers such as camellia and azalea.

Peat soil

It is formed by the carbonization of peat moss and is divided into black peat and brown peat due to the different stages of formation. Black peat contains more minerals and less organic matter, and is slightly acidic or neutral; brown peat is rich in organic matter and is acidic.

Leaf mold

It is made by mixing various plant leaves, weeds, etc. into garden soil, adding water and human and animal feces and urine to ferment. It has a high humus content, strong water retention, good permeability, and an acidic pH value. It is one of the main materials for preparing culture soil.

Manure

Manure soil is made by piling up cow, horse, pig, sheep, chicken, duck and pigeon manure with grass and soil, and after being decomposed and fermented, it becomes manure soil, which is rich in humus and nutrients and must be exposed to the sun and sieved before use.

Rice husk ash

It is mainly composed of rice husks, wheat husks and ashes from burnt grass, also known as wood ash. It is rich in potassium fertilizer and can be used as a material for preparing culture soil to make it well-drained, loose and slightly alkaline.

Sawdust

After sawdust is piled and fermented, it is mixed with soil to make the culture soil loose and have good water retention properties. It is a newly developed culture soil material in recent years.

Sawdust can be used instead of potting soil. Sawdust meets all the requirements of potted flower soil and can be used alone. However, it cannot fix plants when used alone, so it is often mixed with other materials to increase its drainage and air permeability.

Ordinary sawdust is neutral and can be used to grow Clivia, Cycas, Peony, and Rose; the sawdust of pine and fir is acidic and can be used to grow Michelia, Milan, Gardenia, Jasmine, Azalea, orchid, etc. Fermented sawdust can be made into culture soil. The method is to put it into a wooden barrel or plastic bag, add enough water, and place it in a sealed environment at high temperature. After 50 to 60 days, turn the bottom up and leave it for a while. The sawdust will turn into dark brown culture soil. This kind of culture soil can be used to plant flowers, as it retains water and fertilizer and has good air permeability, making it a good substitute for potting soil. When using it, it is best to add 5% of human and animal manure or cake fertilizer by weight to the fermented sawdust, which can make a good culture soil for potted flowers.

In addition, moss, bone meal, river sand, pond mud, river mud, coniferous soil, turf soil, perlite, vermiculite, etc. are all good materials for preparing culture soil.

2. General preparation ratio of culture soil

Used for cultivation soil of camellia, azalea, Michelia, etc.

It can be made of leaf mold, mountain mud, burnt mud, and sand. Mix 40% leaf mold, 30% mountain mud, 10% burnt mud ash, and 20% sand, then add a small amount of bone meal.

Used for the cultivation soil of cypress and Nandina domestica

It is made of 45% mountain mud, 35% leaf mold and burnt mud ash, and 20% sand.

For growing chrysanthemums, dahlias and general greenhouse grass flowers

After preparing the soil with 30% leaf mold, 40% pond mud and 30% garden soil, add 30% rice husk ash to 70% of the above mixture, and add a small amount of bone meal, lime, etc. to make the soil neutral.

Used for culture soil of asparagus fern, spider plant, etc.

It requires good drainage and permeability, and should be prepared with 60% garden soil or pond mud, 10% sand, and 30% rice husk ash.

Used for the cultivation soil of plum blossoms, crabapples, pomegranates and other flowers and trees

Mix 35% leaf mold, 35% pond mud, 15% sand, 15% rice husk ash, and add a small amount of bone meal.

Substrate for indoor foliage plants

It is made of 2 parts peat, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part perlite or 1 part peat, 1 part perlite, 1 part bark.

3. Adjust soil pH

The acidity and alkalinity (pH value) of the soil has a great influence on the growth of flowers. Inappropriate acidity and alkalinity will seriously hinder the growth and development of flowers, affect nutrient absorption, and even cause diseases.

Most flowers grow well in neutral to slightly acidic (pH 5.5 to 7) soil. Above or below this limit, some nutrients become unabsorbable, causing nutritional deficiencies in some flowers. In particular, orchids, gardenias, azaleas, osmanthus, Michelia, magnolia, camellia, etc., which prefer acidic soil, are suitable for growing in soil with a pH value of 5 to 6. Otherwise, iron deficiency chlorosis is likely to occur.

Therefore, when using culture soil to cultivate flowers, the pH should be adjusted appropriately according to the needs of different flowers. For example, when the acidity is too high, some lime powder or wood ash can be added to the potting soil; to reduce the alkalinity, you can add an appropriate amount of sulfur, humus fertilizer, ferrous sulfate, etc. The application of sulfur powder to adjust the pH value is effective quickly, but the action time is short and it needs to be applied every 7 to 10 days.

4. Disinfection of culture soil

Steaming sterilization

Put the prepared culture soil into a suitable container and steam it in a pot to sterilize it. This method is only applicable to small-scale cultivation using a small amount of soil. In addition, steam can also be passed into the soil for disinfection, with the steam temperature required to be between 100°C and 120°C and the disinfection time to be 40 to 60 minutes.

Formalin disinfection

Use formalin to disinfect the culture soil as a whole. The method is to use 200 to 300 ml of formalin (40% formaldehyde), add 25 to 30 kg of water, spray it on 1000 kg of culture soil, mix it thoroughly and pile it up, cover it with plastic film and other materials, and keep it in the pile for 48 to 72 hours to achieve a thorough sterilization effect. Then remove the plastic film or other covering materials, and after 1 to 2 weeks, loosen the soil and use it after the medicinal smell in the soil has dissipated.

Carbon disulfide disinfection

After piling up the culture soil, drill a few holes on the top of the pile and inject 350 grams of carbon disulfide for every 100 cubic meters of soil. After injection, cover the hole openings with straw or something similar. After 48 to 72 hours of stuffing, remove the straw cover, spread out the pile, and allow all the carbon disulfide to dissipate.

5. Preparation methods of different varieties of flower culture soil

Neutral or slightly acidic culture soil

The general growing soil for flowers can be prepared by mixing leaf mold (or peat soil), garden soil, and river sand in a ratio of 4:3:2,5, with a small amount of bone meal or a small amount of decomposed cake fertilizer. Suitable for growing general flowers and trees, it is prepared with peat soil, garden soil, river sand and cake fertilizer residue in the ratio of 3:1, 5:2:0 and 5.

Cultivation soil for acid-loving and shade-tolerant flowers

Mix 4 parts of leaf mold and peat soil, 1 part of sawdust, and 1 part of vermiculite or decomposed manure.

Suitable for Bromeliaceae, succulent flowers, Asclepiadaceae, and Acanthaceae flowers

Use 4 parts of peat soil (or leaf mold), 2 parts each of garden soil and vermiculite, and 1 part of river sand and mix them.

Suitable for the cultivation soil of flowers of Araceae, Marantaceae, Gesneriaceae, Fern and Piperaceae

You can mix 5 parts of peat soil (or leaf mold), 2 parts each of garden soil and vermiculite, and 1 part of river sand.

Suitable for the cultivation soil of epiphytic cactus flowers (mainly including Epiphyllum, Euphorbia, etc.)

You can mix 3 parts each of leaf mold, garden soil, and coarse sand, and 1 part each of bone meal and wood ash.

Suitable for the cultivation soil of terrestrial cactus flowers (mainly including cacti, prickly pear, mountain shadow boxing, etc.)

You can mix 2 parts of leaf mold, 3 parts of garden soil, 4 parts of coarse sand, and 1 part of broken tile scraps (or limestone gravel, old gray wall paint, shell powder).

Cultivation soil for shade-loving plants (mainly including Nephrolepis, Dieffenbachia, Lucky Grass, Monstera, Bamboo Plum, etc.)

You can mix 2 parts of garden soil, 1 part of river sand, and 1 part of sawdust or peat soil.

The culture soil for flowers with well-developed root systems and strong growth (mainly including bellflowers, chrysanthemums, tiger tail orchids, etc.)

You can use 4 parts of garden soil, 2 parts each of leaf mold, rice husk ash and coarse sand and mix them together.

Soil for sowing

You can mix 2 parts of garden soil, 1 part each of rice husk ash and sand. The substrate for cuttings can be prepared by mixing half garden soil and half rice husk ash.

Fruit and flower viewing plants, especially large flowers

In addition to the above materials, a small amount of bone meal or superphosphate should be added to the soil.