Soil mix 101 home brew

[happypalms]

@happypalms I mix my own soil up with various ingredients. First is coco coir coarse, perlite, nutricote, top quality potting mix, and volcanic rock crushed, blue metal is another alternative to the crushed dust. Give it a good mix up and you’re ready to go. I prefer this coarse mix for seedlings it has good drainage and plenty of air. Get your soil corre t from day one and your growing troubles are over, well sort of so to speak. It works for me, you may want to tweak your recipe to suit your own growing conditions and climate. 

[Jonathan]

Looks like a good mix Richard.

I've been doing something similar...start with a good quality potting mix and add perlite, tree fern fibre, which is easily available here, and the little clay ball thingies. I've also started adding a handful of clay balls to the bottom of the pot before filling it which really seems to assist drainage.

[Tyrone]

That looks similar to my seedling mix. I will change things depending on the species and age of the plant. Dypsis and Chrysalidocarpus tend to need excellent drainage so more perlite is put in. Howea, Archontophoenix and even Chambeyronia don’t require much more than a good potting mix with plenty of pine bark and less perlite. Hyophorbe indica actually needs a soil you could grow orchids or bromeliads in as they come from areas of lava flows with incredibly good drainage and humus rich soil over almost solid crumbly rock. So I’ll use the coarse coir, clay balls, coarse river sand a bit of the pine bark from a good potting mix for them. I get much better success than using straight potting mix. I buy Richgro Pro base mix in bulk and add Osmocote 6 month with Scott’s micromax. 

[happypalms]

On 1/7/2026 at 7:49 AM, Jonathan said:

Looks like a good mix Richard.

I've been doing something similar...start with a good quality potting mix and add perlite, tree fern fibre, which is easily available here, and the little clay ball thingies. I've also started adding a handful of clay balls to the bottom of the pot before filling it which really seems to assist drainage.

It all begins with your soil, cost is another factor when growing on mass, at about $3000 a year on basic potting mix buying it by the 10 cubic meter truckloads it’s one cost i could do without, so I get all my coco coir from work as much as I want free. Then the basic additives are the only cost, a lot of clever growers are going for the crusher dust mixs, but that’s too cold for my tropicals in winter, the coir is a lot warmer mix. Air nutrients and a free draining mix you tweak to your own liking, certain palms require that heavy mix and the clay nalls  are a great way of achieving that mix without weight. A heavy gravel mix is perfect for the tropics with all year round heat, but not to my liking for super tropical stuff in my winter! 

[JohnAndSancho]

10 lb (or 5kg) brick of coir, 4 or 5 gallons of water, a couple cubic feet of perlite as a base. Depending on what I'm potting up, maybe a handful or 2 of 🐮 💩 and a sprinkle of Dr Earth fertilizer with mychorrozae (sp?) or a slow release fert. Hand mix and throw a plant in there and watch it grow. 

[happypalms]

On 1/7/2026 at 9:57 AM, Tyrone said:

That looks similar to my seedling mix. I will change things depending on the species and age of the plant. Dypsis and Chrysalidocarpus tend to need excellent drainage so more perlite is put in. Howea, Archontophoenix and even Chambeyronia don’t require much more than a good potting mix with plenty of pine bark and less perlite. Hyophorbe indica actually needs a soil you could grow orchids or bromeliads in as they come from areas of lava flows with incredibly good drainage and humus rich soil over almost solid crumbly rock. So I’ll use the coarse coir, clay balls, coarse river sand a bit of the pine bark from a good potting mix for them. I get much better success than using straight potting mix. I buy Richgro Pro base mix in bulk and add Osmocote 6 month with Scott’s micromax. 

A lot of your soil is determined y what’s available in your area, and in  WA you’re limited. So your choice of mixs sounds pretty good to me. Age and size do make a big difference in your choice of mixs for sure, with my seedlings I like to cater to their specific needs, but on bulk potting up days where you need a couple off cubes I go with my standard mix 60 coir 30 good potting soil and 20 perlite with a little blue metal crusher dust or the volcanic crushed rock, but I prefer the volcanic for the seedlings over crusher dust. You have a lot of pine bark over in WA so a good choice. 

[Tyrone]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

A lot of your soil is determined y what’s available in your area, and in  WA you’re limited. So your choice of mixs sounds pretty good to me. Age and size do make a big difference in your choice of mixs for sure, with my seedlings I like to cater to their specific needs, but on bulk potting up days where you need a couple off cubes I go with my standard mix 60 coir 30 good potting soil and 20 perlite with a little blue metal crusher dust or the volcanic crushed rock, but I prefer the volcanic for the seedlings over crusher dust. You have a lot of pine bark over in WA so a good choice. 

Yeah you can’t get quality potting mix in Albany. What they sell here is rubbish. So I cart my own mix down from Richgro in Perth. It’s a huge facility in Jandakot and does an excellent product. It’s much cheaper to buy in bulk than in bags. 

[Phoenikakias]

That cinder dust is a treasure. Unfortunately it is not available in my area, so I buy large lava chunks which I smash afterwards with a hammer to smaller particles. Hard additional work not to break them but to gather the resulted smaller pieces which had flown around during violent process

[richnorm]

Anyone tried Biochar?

[gyuseppe]

They sell good potting soil here. They're from German multinationals. It's a little expensive, but it's very good. I only bought potting soil once in the beginning from a Chinese store, and it was rubbish! My wife told me, "You learn, you bought it because you wanted to save money."

[Phoenikakias]

33 minutes ago, gyuseppe said:

They sell good potting soil here. They're from German multinationals. It's a little expensive, but it's very good. I only bought potting soil once in the beginning from a Chinese store, and it was rubbish! My wife told me, "You learn, you bought it because you wanted to save money."

The advantage of selecting only hardy palms for your climate! Unfortunately it usually does not work with marginal spp. Pot up for example a Dypsis prestoniana in such soil and do not keep it in heated- house conditions. Kiss it goodbye!

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

10 lb (or 5kg) brick of coir, 4 or 5 gallons of water, a couple cubic feet of perlite as a base. Depending on what I'm potting up, maybe a handful or 2 of 🐮 💩 and a sprinkle of Dr Earth fertilizer with mychorrozae (sp?) or a slow release fert. Hand mix and throw a plant in there and watch it grow. 

Hey who’s a cropping now, hey John. One day the best student becomes the teacher @happypalms

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, richnorm said:

Anyone tried Biochar?

Not myself, but I did see a great documentary on the biochar in the Amazon region and it was the bomb stuff!

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, Tyrone said:

Yeah you can’t get quality potting mix in Albany. What they sell here is rubbish. So I cart my own mix down from Richgro in Perth. It’s a huge facility in Jandakot and does an excellent product. It’s much cheaper to buy in bulk than in bags. 

The same here a company two hours away delivers all sorts of specialty mixs that top of industry stuff and it works. It pays to buy quality soil! 

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, gyuseppe said:

They sell good potting soil here. They're from German multinationals. It's a little expensive, but it's very good. I only bought potting soil once in the beginning from a Chinese store, and it was rubbish! My wife told me, "You learn, you bought it because you wanted to save money."

Iam not surprised you’re wife dislike the soil china, the lord only knows what was in that soil! And when it comes to the wife my good friend gyuseppe one never skips on such presents for the wife when it comes to that special lady in our lives, cost is never a thought a good man knows that! 

[tim_brissy_13]

I’ve tried a few things over the years. I’ve run with straight up premium potting mix at times, sometimes I’ve mixed in sphagnum moss for things like Ceroxylon and Hedyscepe, then I went through a while of using straight up coco coir. All had issues with drainage and reflecting on it I probably lost quite a few palms before I knew what I was doing. 
 

A few years back I moved to coco coir and perlite but found the coco coir would clump unless I added heaps of perlite. Just couldn’t get the balance of drainage and moisture retention right for it for pots kept outside. I then moved to premium potting mix and perlite and that’s when my results started to improve. What I found was 90% of what I tried to grow loved it. The 10% that didn’t were notoriously tricky species coming from native habitat with unique soil e.g some New Cal species. After some advice from our very own @happypalms, I purchased some of the same volcanic rock dust as above and started introducing coco coir back into the mix. What I’ve landed on is very similar to the OP; coco coir, premium potting mix and perlite in roughly equal parts with a sprinkling of volcanic rock dust. I’m pretty confident in saying this mix has brought back palms from death’s door; I had a necrotic Cyphosperma balansae which bounced back immediately after re potting in the new mix. 
 

Having a look above, one thing it looks like I’m potentially not doing is added much slow release fertiliser. I’ll sprinkle a bit on the top of the soil of each pot in Spring, but I don’t actually ever mix it into soil, and I generally avoid using it on seedlings in liners with only 1-2 fronds. What’s everyone’s thoughts on ideal amount and usage?

[Jonathan]

1 hour ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’ve tried a few things over the years. I’ve run with straight up premium potting mix at times, sometimes I’ve mixed in sphagnum moss for things like Ceroxylon and Hedyscepe, then I went through a while of using straight up coco coir. All had issues with drainage and reflecting on it I probably lost quite a few palms before I knew what I was doing. 
 

A few years back I moved to coco coir and perlite but found the coco coir would clump unless I added heaps of perlite. Just couldn’t get the balance of drainage and moisture retention right for it for pots kept outside. I then moved to premium potting mix and perlite and that’s when my results started to improve. What I found was 90% of what I tried to grow loved it. The 10% that didn’t were notoriously tricky species coming from native habitat with unique soil e.g some New Cal species. After some advice from our very own @happypalms, I purchased some of the same volcanic rock dust as above and started introducing coco coir back into the mix. What I’ve landed on is very similar to the OP; coco coir, premium potting mix and perlite in roughly equal parts with a sprinkling of volcanic rock dust. I’m pretty confident in saying this mix has brought back palms from death’s door; I had a necrotic Cyphosperma balansae which bounced back immediately after re potting in the new mix. 
 

Having a look above, one thing it looks like I’m potentially not doing is added much slow release fertiliser. I’ll sprinkle a bit on the top of the soil of each pot in Spring, but I don’t actually ever mix it into soil, and I generally avoid using it on seedlings in liners with only 1-2 fronds. What’s everyone’s thoughts on ideal amount and usage?

I've been using this stuff recently Tim, as a top dressing, which seems to be pretty good...a little less chemistry and a bit more biology compared to osmocote, etc. Seems to have pretty good spread of trace elements plus high nitrogen content. Can't find any volcanic dust supplies down here but lots of seaweed!

[JohnAndSancho]

4 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’ve tried a few things over the years. I’ve run with straight up premium potting mix at times, sometimes I’ve mixed in sphagnum moss for things like Ceroxylon and Hedyscepe, then I went through a while of using straight up coco coir. All had issues with drainage and reflecting on it I probably lost quite a few palms before I knew what I was doing. 
 

A few years back I moved to coco coir and perlite but found the coco coir would clump unless I added heaps of perlite. Just couldn’t get the balance of drainage and moisture retention right for it for pots kept outside. I then moved to premium potting mix and perlite and that’s when my results started to improve. What I found was 90% of what I tried to grow loved it. The 10% that didn’t were notoriously tricky species coming from native habitat with unique soil e.g some New Cal species. After some advice from our very own @happypalms, I purchased some of the same volcanic rock dust as above and started introducing coco coir back into the mix. What I’ve landed on is very similar to the OP; coco coir, premium potting mix and perlite in roughly equal parts with a sprinkling of volcanic rock dust. I’m pretty confident in saying this mix has brought back palms from death’s door; I had a necrotic Cyphosperma balansae which bounced back immediately after re potting in the new mix. 
 

Having a look above, one thing it looks like I’m potentially not doing is added much slow release fertiliser. I’ll sprinkle a bit on the top of the soil of each pot in Spring, but I don’t actually ever mix it into soil, and I generally avoid using it on seedlings in liners with only 1-2 fronds. What’s everyone’s thoughts on ideal amount and usage?

I forget to add it a lot. Osmocote is popular on here and it's been said that it's impossible to overfertilize with it - a YouTuber planted in pure Osmocote and his plant died - not from fertilizer burn, but because it didn't retain any moisture. I can find the link if anyone cares. 

[JohnAndSancho]

5 hours ago, happypalms said:

Hey who’s a cropping now, hey John. One day the best student becomes the teacher @happypalms

It's a good universal base. When I start planting out in the spring, whoooooo I've got some new stuff to play with. I've been bokashi composting and started a "soil factory" using cheap garden soil, cheap compost, and this stuff. I might even experiment with something indoors but I'm kinda scared to honestly. My bananas, colocasias and alocasias are already getting too big for the grow room.... Sabal seedlings are so slow I dunno if it'd make a difference and I can't think of anything else I'd be willing to sacrifice for science. Maybe a canna bulb or a crape myrtle cutting? Either way I expect 15-20 foot bananas by the end of summer. 

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’ve tried a few things over the years. I’ve run with straight up premium potting mix at times, sometimes I’ve mixed in sphagnum moss for things like Ceroxylon and Hedyscepe, then I went through a while of using straight up coco coir. All had issues with drainage and reflecting on it I probably lost quite a few palms before I knew what I was doing. 
 

A few years back I moved to coco coir and perlite but found the coco coir would clump unless I added heaps of perlite. Just couldn’t get the balance of drainage and moisture retention right for it for pots kept outside. I then moved to premium potting mix and perlite and that’s when my results started to improve. What I found was 90% of what I tried to grow loved it. The 10% that didn’t were notoriously tricky species coming from native habitat with unique soil e.g some New Cal species. After some advice from our very own @happypalms, I purchased some of the same volcanic rock dust as above and started introducing coco coir back into the mix. What I’ve landed on is very similar to the OP; coco coir, premium potting mix and perlite in roughly equal parts with a sprinkling of volcanic rock dust. I’m pretty confident in saying this mix has brought back palms from death’s door; I had a necrotic Cyphosperma balansae which bounced back immediately after re potting in the new mix. 
 

Having a look above, one thing it looks like I’m potentially not doing is added much slow release fertiliser. I’ll sprinkle a bit on the top of the soil of each pot in Spring, but I don’t actually ever mix it into soil, and I generally avoid using it on seedlings in liners with only 1-2 fronds. What’s everyone’s thoughts on ideal amount and usage?

You soon learn your soil mix, I will say temperature plays a big role in your mix and the metabolism of the soil is activated by temperature. Cold climates such as your one, you need to monitor waterings. Especially in winter. But yes the coir mix is for me a game changer especially when it comes to seedlings, and as you did you got a palm to recover quickly. You learn as you go and grow, and sharing knowledge of mistakes and successes helps everyone to learn! 

[happypalms]

11 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’ve tried a few things over the years. I’ve run with straight up premium potting mix at times, sometimes I’ve mixed in sphagnum moss for things like Ceroxylon and Hedyscepe, then I went through a while of using straight up coco coir. All had issues with drainage and reflecting on it I probably lost quite a few palms before I knew what I was doing. 
 

A few years back I moved to coco coir and perlite but found the coco coir would clump unless I added heaps of perlite. Just couldn’t get the balance of drainage and moisture retention right for it for pots kept outside. I then moved to premium potting mix and perlite and that’s when my results started to improve. What I found was 90% of what I tried to grow loved it. The 10% that didn’t were notoriously tricky species coming from native habitat with unique soil e.g some New Cal species. After some advice from our very own @happypalms, I purchased some of the same volcanic rock dust as above and started introducing coco coir back into the mix. What I’ve landed on is very similar to the OP; coco coir, premium potting mix and perlite in roughly equal parts with a sprinkling of volcanic rock dust. I’m pretty confident in saying this mix has brought back palms from death’s door; I had a necrotic Cyphosperma balansae which bounced back immediately after re potting in the new mix. 
 

Having a look above, one thing it looks like I’m potentially not doing is added much slow release fertiliser. I’ll sprinkle a bit on the top of the soil of each pot in Spring, but I don’t actually ever mix it into soil, and I generally avoid using it on seedlings in liners with only 1-2 fronds. What’s everyone’s thoughts on ideal amount and usage?

Less is best with fertiliser. A little goes a long way, but consistency in small  amounts works best, hence slow release fertiliser, once again soil temperature plays a big role for metabolic rate. Half a teaspoon for small seedlings working up to half a tablespoon rates for 200mm container palms that are established with slow release. Organic up to half a handful with established palms in 200 mm working down with container size in the amount given perhaps a quarter of a handful for 140 mm containers. And for liquid ratios always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations or use a EC meter to check for strength of mixed up liquids. Remember you can’t force feed a baby to grow, pjants are about the same a little goes a long way. But in my case at work we go through a lot in a big way this lot in the pics will last two weeks for about 70 acres of fruit growing on one big monoculture farm of blueberry’s, blackberries, raspberries and cucumbers. All grown hydroponically. 

[Tyrone]

12 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

 

Having a look above, one thing it looks like I’m potentially not doing is added much slow release fertiliser. I’ll sprinkle a bit on the top of the soil of each pot in Spring, but I don’t actually ever mix it into soil, and I generally avoid using it on seedlings in liners with only 1-2 fronds. What’s everyone’s thoughts on ideal amount and usage?

With seedlings I’m very very careful with slow release fertiliser. I won’t fertilise with it until they’ve probably used the seed resources up, so at about 2nd leaf stage. Then I only sprinkle a small amount on the soil surface as gravity will trickle it down to the roots. Older plants when potting up I will put about 3cm - 4cm below the surface in a ring around the plant, again paying attention to the size of the plant and how hungry they are or fast they grow. Slow growers eat less. 
However young seedlings even germinating seedlings I will use a weak fish/seaweed emulsion on. On potting up anything after giving them a good drink I then give them fish and seaweed a few times over a few weeks. It never hurts and promotes root growth. 

 

[tim_brissy_13]

1 hour ago, Tyrone said:

With seedlings I’m very very careful with slow release fertiliser. I won’t fertilise with it until they’ve probably used the seed resources up, so at about 2nd leaf stage. Then I only sprinkle a small amount on the soil surface as gravity will trickle it down to the roots. Older plants when potting up I will put about 3cm - 4cm below the surface in a ring around the plant, again paying attention to the size of the plant and how hungry they are or fast they grow. Slow growers eat less. 
However young seedlings even germinating seedlings I will use a weak fish/seaweed emulsion on. On potting up anything after giving them a good drink I then give them fish and seaweed a few times over a few weeks. It never hurts and promotes root growth. 

 

This has basically been my approach so far. I probably won’t change much then for small seedlings. Slow growth is unavoidable for some species in my climate anyway. 

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

This has basically been my approach so far. I probably won’t change much then for small seedlings. Slow growth is unavoidable for some species in my climate anyway. 

I don’t fertilise my seedlings, only after they are potted up they get fertiliser, liquid rates at the same as any other palm in the nursery, but only a flick with the Venturi setup on the hose, just a wetting of the leaves not a soaking, this in combination with the slow release fertiliser. 

[happypalms]

18 hours ago, Jonathan said:

I've been using this stuff recently Tim, as a top dressing, which seems to be pretty good...a little less chemistry and a bit more biology compared to osmocote, etc. Seems to have pretty good spread of trace elements plus high nitrogen content. Can't find any volcanic dust supplies down here but lots of seaweed!

That’s a high k? 

[Jonathan]

3 hours ago, happypalms said:

That’s a high k? 

Not particularly high...but low phosphorus, which doesn't bother me much as generally high soil organic matter equals decent background phosphorus levels. The trick is unlocking it and that's why microbes are your friends. High P fertiliser isn’t friendly to soil organisms ironically.

[happypalms]

48 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Not particularly high...but low phosphorus, which doesn't bother me much as generally high soil organic matter equals decent background phosphorus levels. The trick is unlocking it and that's why microbes are your friends. High P fertiliser isn’t friendly to soil organisms ironically.

Your entire ecosystem is totally different from the one I have, with soils completely different. For some reason I like a low P fertiliser. Is your soil clay based? You gotta love mycelium doing a great job free from Mother Nature. 

[Tyrone]

I use this one. Plus I mix a bit of Scott’s micro max in for a bit of extra trace elements. I’m a big believer in having luxury amounts of trace elements.

[happypalms]

9 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

I use this one. Plus I mix a bit of Scott’s micro max in for a bit of extra trace elements. I’m a big believer in having luxury amounts of trace elements.

Try growing anything without it you won’t get too far, how right they were in teaching us the periodic table in science! 

[Mazat]

On 1/6/2026 at 8:38 PM, happypalms said:

@happypalms I mix my own soil up with various ingredients. First is coco coir coarse, perlite, nutricote, top quality potting mix, and volcanic rock crushed, blue metal is another alternative to the crushed dust. Give it a good mix up and you’re ready to go. I prefer this coarse mix for seedlings it has good drainage and plenty of air. Get your soil corre t from day one and your growing troubles are over, well sort of so to speak. It works for me, you may want to tweak your recipe to suit your own growing conditions and climate. 

Great 🤗 

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, Mazat said:

Great 🤗 

Your indoor growing requires very similar soil mixs, perhaps with a little less potting mix and a lot of liquid fertiliser!