Columnists > Ellen Brown > AdviceSeptember 09, 2005

By Ellen Brown

Q: Next Spring, I would like to sell a number of seedlings at a flea mart type setting. What would be a good all-around potting soil mix for vegetables and for floral type plants? I'd like to make it from scratch.

Thank you.
Mary McLuckie

A: Mary,

Here are two good potting soil recipes you can make from scratch:

Good All-Around Homemade Potting Mix

This mix should get your vegetable and flower seeds started and grow your seedlings to a sale-ready size:

Half screened compost and half vermiculite, or 2 parts garden soil, 2 part screened compost and 1 part builder's sand. Although some might suggest using milled sphagnum moss in place of the screened compost, I don't recommend it. The mining of sphagnum moss is starting to raise environmental concerns. As a product of wetland ecosystems, sphagnum moss can't really be considered a renewable resource at the level at which it is harvested from bogs and swamps to satisfy horticultural demands.

About The Author: Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com

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