Make Your Own Growing Soil: Without Peat And Plastic

Special sowing soil often contains peat and is packed in plastic. If you prefer to do without, you can make your own growing soil. Everything needed for this is already available in many gardens anyway.

Making your own growing soil The requirements for growing soil are different from those for conventional potting soil (which you can also make yourself). It should be particularly loose and rather nutrient-poor as well as germ-free, in order to promote root formation and to protect the young plants from early pest infestation.

To make growing soil yourself, the following three ingredients are needed in equal parts: Mature garden compost, leaf compost or compost from the worm bin Garden soil (preferably seed- and root-free, preferably from a layer of soil five to ten centimeters below the surface) Medium-grained sand (e.g. bird sand or play sand, which is already available in small quantities or can be obtained from the burrow box around the corner)

Tip: Soil from molehills is particularly suitable because it is fine-crumbled and comes from deeper layers that contain fewer roots. The first step is to thoroughly mix the three components together.

To ensure that the growing soil contains few pathogenic germs or eggs of pests such as fungus gnats and co., it is moistened with a little water in the second step, spread out on a baking tray and heated at at least 180 °C for about 30 minutes. The DIY growing soil is ready!

If you want to get started right away, you can find the appropriate sowing times for numerous vegetables, salads and herbs in our sowing calendar. Durable seed trays made of natural rubber are available in our online store. Instead of buying them, you can also easily make your own seed trays or upcycle existing items. Tip: Learn here how you can avoid typical problems with the cultivation (growing soil molds, plants rot, etc.). In our books you will find many more tips for a natural garden with benefits for people and nature: