How to Make Succulent Soil and Repot Your Succulents.
A few years ago, I made my own succulent soil and it was time to do it again. Now this time, we had a huge rain/ice storm move through and all the bags of sand were frozen together so I used poultry grit instead. The poultry grit I used was insoluble crushed granite and I really love the texture and overall appearance that it gave my homemade succulent soil.
So, here are the three succulents that I gifted myself for Christmas. I thought the two on the ends seemed big for their pots so I decided to repot all three.
I like to print my soil recipes and laminate them. I’ll attach a pdf to this tutorial of this recipe so if you would like to do the same, you can.
3 parts potting soil. I used an old juice jug to measure. You can sterilize your potting soil first, by boiling water, microwaving, baking in the oven or bbq grill or even freezing for 5-7 days but I’m living dangerously and using it straight from the bag. Some experts are now begging people not to sterilize their soil. How do you feel about sterilizing potting soil?
Next, 2 parts coarse sand or poultry grit.
Poultry grit sends a lot of dust flying so wear a mask or step back and let the dust clear before moving on.
Lastly, 1 part Perlite.
I kept them separate just for this picture.
Mix it up until it seems equally distributed.
Here’s a little side by side comparison. I didn’t see any type of gravel in the store bought succulent mix.
Time to try out the new mix. First I removed the drainage plug in the bottom.
I covered the bottom with a coffee filter.
I put in about 2/3rds of the container with my mix.
Here’s a good indication that it’s time to repot. It has roots coming through the drainage hole in the bottom.
I used a pruning knife to loosen the plant.
The directions that I was following said to remove all the old dirt.
I put in in and filled around it and then patted everything down until it felt stable.
I really love the look of the homemade succulent soil.
My directions said wait a few days before giving it water to prevent root rot.
I have to say that I love the look of the poultry grit.
I was so happy when I took this picture then I realized I used the wrong pots so I had to repot both of these. 😂
I really like this pot and hope my little succulent likes its new home.
Did you know you can get succulents and many other plants through the mail? Etsy has some great sellers.
Here is a little video of making the mix and how I recycled two juice jugs into a watering can and a measuring scoop.
On the video, I show how you can turn a juice jug into a watering can and a measuring scoop.
You can print these tags out to help you keep track of your plants and tag them
Take my New Years Advice, become a plant lady, I feel they are naturally Zen.
Here’s the other plant identification markers.
Resources for this project:
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❤❤❤ THANK YOU ❤❤❤
Unfortunately, I've killed all but 1 of my succulents so I'm Determined to keep her alive & healthy & if all goes well, I may even get more! I have no problems with my pothos, snake or spider plants! Wish me luck! 😉
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I was reading up on succulents recently and saw that although they look cute all massed together, succulents actually do better with space and air around them. It also helps avoid powdery mildew.
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