How to prepare soil for growing flowers? Is there a universal soil for growing flowers? Gardeners teach you how to prepare soil

It is said that to grow flowers, you must first grow roots. How do you grow roots? Of course, you need soil with sufficient fertility and suitable for plant growth to make the plant roots stronger. Only when the root system is strong can the plant grow well. So how should we prepare the soil to be considered good soil for growing flowers?

There are many media for growing flowers. Before understanding soil preparation, you can first understand the common media for growing flowers.
1. Garden Soil
Garden soil is the most commonly used medium for many flower lovers when they first start to grow flowers. Garden soil is ordinary cultivation soil, which is directly dug from the garden, vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The advantages of garden soil are: easy to obtain and low cost. Disadvantages: easy to compact, easy to crack due to lack of water, and poor air permeability.

2. Peat, pine needle soil, leaf mold, coconut bran, rice husk charcoal (wood ash)
Peat: A type of peat formed by the remains of swamp plants that cannot be completely decomposed and accumulated under watery anaerobic conditions.
Pine needle soil: a mixture of decomposed pine needles and soil.
Leaf mold: the product of fallen leaves that accumulate under trees for a long time and are naturally decomposed by microorganisms.
Coconut peat: a flower-growing medium made from processed coconut shells.
Rice husk charcoal (wood ash): The product of rice husks or dry wood being heated and carbonized. It is rich in potassium fertilizer and has an alkaline pH value, so it is not suitable for large-scale use.

The above four media are currently used by many flower lovers and are superior to garden soil. They are loose, breathable, and have the characteristics of water and fertilizer retention. Among them, peat and coconut coir do not have nutrients, so if peat and coconut coir are used for planting, additional organic fertilizer or inorganic fertilizer needs to be added. Pine needle soil and leaf mold are the products of decomposed plant leaves and contain a lot of organic matter and nutrients.
3. Granular Soil
Common granular soils include: river sand, vermiculite, perlite, volcanic stone, green Buddha stone, etc. Granular soil can increase soil permeability. The main difference between granular soil is light medium and heavy medium. Vermiculite and perlite are light media, which can be easily washed away by watering. River sand, volcanic stone, and green Buddha stone are relatively heavier.
4. Organic Fertilizer
Organic fertilizers mainly include earthworm manure, cow dung, sheep dung, chicken manure, farmyard manure, etc.
Earthworm manure: granular structure, good air permeability, sufficient nutrients, mild fertilizer effect and not easy to burn seedlings.
Cow dung: It has good air permeability, sufficient nutrients, and needs to be fermented before use.
Sheep manure: It has good air permeability, sufficient nutrients, and needs to be fermented before use.
Chicken manure: Sheep manure is plentiful and needs to be fermented before use, but it is easy to breed bacteria.
Farmyard manure: I won’t say much. Anyway, it is not recommended to use it. Those who are brave enough can try it.


The above four types of media are the most common media for growing flowers. So how should we prepare the nutrient soil for daily flower growing?
In fact, the soil mixture for growing flowers is not fixed, and there is no universal soil or all-purpose soil on the market. Different plants prefer different nutrient soil ratios, so we need to adjust our soil materials and soil mixture according to the habits of different plants.
1. What kind of soil should be used for flowers and plants? (For example, sunflowers, mint, mimosa, green radish and other hardy and durable plants)
5 parts peat + 4 parts leaf mold + 3 parts coconut bran + 3 parts earthworm castings + 1 part vermiculite + 1 part perlite
This soil has moderate nutrients, moderate water and fertilizer retention, and moderate air permeability, and is suitable for almost all plants.

2. What kind of soil should be used for woody plants? (such as gardenia, jasmine, rose, etc.)
4 parts peat soil + 3 parts leaf mold + 3 parts earthworm castings + 2 parts vermiculite + 1 part river sand + 1 part perlite
Woody plants usually require more air permeability, so it is necessary to reduce the soil medium and increase the granular soil.

3. What kind of soil should be used for succulents and orchids?
3 parts peat soil + 1 part leaf mold + 1 part earthworm castings + 1 part pine needle soil + 2 parts vermiculite + 1 part perlite + 1 part river sand
The above ratio can be used for succulents and orchids. If they are old seedlings, you can add 1-2 parts of volcanic rocks. The roots of succulents and orchids are fragile and prone to root rot, so the proportion of granular soil should be a little higher to increase air permeability and drainage.

4. Fruit-bearing plants (strawberries, kumquats, etc.)
5 parts peat + 4 parts leaf mold + 3 parts coconut bran + 3 parts earthworm castings + 1 part vermiculite + 1 part perlite + 1 part rice husk charcoal or wood ash
On the basis of the first type of soil, a portion of rice husk charcoal or wood ash is added. Rice husk charcoal and wood ash are rich in potassium fertilizer. Moderate potassium fertilizer has the effect of expanding the fruit. However, since rice husk charcoal and wood ash are alkaline, they should not be used too much. Alkaline soil will affect the plant's absorption of nutrients, which will ultimately be counterproductive.

5. What kind of soil should be chosen for pennywort?
1 part worm castings + 1 part garden soil
This soil mixture is suitable for the maintenance of pennywort with half water and half soil. Earthworm manure likes fertilizer and clay, so there is no need to consider the air permeability when mixing the soil. High-nutrient soil will do.

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