My Aroid mix for Monsteras, Philodendron, Anthuriums etc
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Hi all,
re-uploading this video, hopefully with better audio :)
In this video I show you how I mix my aroid mix.
Coco Peat, sand, charcoal & vermiculite from Bunnings
Bark, Coco Chips, Pumice & Perlite from Sydney Hydroponic Store
For more content follow me on:
-Instagram: / sydneyplantguy
-TikTok: / sydneyplantguy
#indoorplant #soilmix #aroids #rareplants
Sorry, I had to re-upload the video due to audio issues. But I received some very informative comments on the previous upload and wanted to share them with you here:
@Boojie Panda said:
"You were asking about potting soil. A high end potting mix will have a lot of delicious goodies in it for plants. One that a lot of folks like to use as a base for their soil mixes is Fox Farm Ocean Forest. There's enough organic food in it to feed a plant for 4 to 6 months. The ingredients are composted forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish emulsion, crab meal, shrimp meal, earthworm castings, sandy loam, perlite, bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp, and oyster shell (for pH adjustment). From my experience with this soil, they don't add as much peat moss as the cheaper potting soils do."
@Coagulated Salts said:
"from what i know, soil IS a mix of organic and inorganic materials, the organic materials usually provide essential elements to keep a plant fed like carbon, and phosphorous, the inorganic materials are usually minerals that are essential but play a smaller role like calcium, magnesium, etc…. soil usually has decomposing organic material which allows beneficial bacteria to break things down, the most essential bacteria are ones that break down the strong bonds of atmospheric nitrogen and turn it into ammonia or other usable nitrates. plants get also oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon from the atmosphere.
also to add to your root rot/overwatering commentary: in the wild, plants grow in a shared media with other plants so the soil gets good aeration due to roots creating gaps. epiphytic and semi epiphytic plants also have roots that bind to their vertical substrate, and those plants are especially hardy because they can regrow from a single node that’s been attached to a tree and not even touch the ground in any which way.
sources: my knowledge acquired from my biology classes"
I hear what you're saying but you could still probably make a noce profit bagging and selling your mix to followers! 😉
All this explains why your huge plants have such tiny feet. Its aquaponics really, everything they need in nutients is added to their water rather than feed them partly with soil. You could literally put thrm all on a wateringsystem with a fish tank and it's still the same principal. Cool!
I recently went full out on my aroids with repotting and moss poles. I followed your moss pole tutorial and started calling it mo moss burrito assembly - as it took over my kitchen for a few days. Now I have some too give away at Christmas!
Love the organized tubs! 👍
You have one of the best looking plant collection in all youtube, i'm very grateful of you uploading all these videos!
Thanks :)
@@sydneyplantguy i can't find pumice here in brazil, what would be your recommendation of an aroid mix without it?
@@mxjoaoo More perlite & I add poultry grit for drainage & aeration.
@@mxjoaooArgila expandia quebrada ou granulada.
“I’m no expert”…..uhhhmmm your plants beg to differ there 😉✌️
In the grand scheme of things I know very little :) but I found plants that I like and they like me back hehe
I love love the visuals of each ingredient with ASMR sound effects 👏🏼 ❤
Thanks :)
Ceramist here - I'm relatively new to plants, but a cross-over is perlite. Please, if you handle it often at all, use a N95 or better mask. The dust particles are ultra tiny, and surgical masks can't filter finely enough.
Brad is sooo cute!!!!
"Natural Glitter" - okay you got me with this :D
I always over watered my plants until I found a post a few years ago about container gardening by a gentleman named Al. So I started experimenting with a mostly inorganic substrate. I propagated a pothos in water for the test, and after about a year one thing I noticed is the roots in the peat mix did that circling through the whole pot and you have to pull the soil from the middle of the roots when your repotting . I did not see circling in the new mix, the roots went through the soil. That’s when it hit me that the roots move towards the outside of the pot searching for oxygen while in a mucky substrate.
Makes total sense !!!
this makes me wanna CRY 😭
Great explanation! And makes so much sense... Actually made me feel kinda dumb once I thought about it! 😂 Of course I did the 50/50 mix of soil and perlite like most beginners and after losing 3 plants to root rot, I started researching soil mixes and making my own mix... Without soil! So much growth and all year too, which is amazing when your plant is putting out tons of new growth in the midst if a Midwest winter! Anyway, Love the explanation, thanks for sharing!
@@Mastiffmom1574 What’s your recipe?
What is your recipe please?
So weird, I thought we needed dirt for plants, thanks so much for this.
Dirt keep water too long.. that makes aroid roots easily go rotten..
Some plants definitely like dirt, aroids don’t really.
Different media for different plants. The plant’s native environment should be your guide. Some plants don’t grow in soil at all, but on trees (epiphytes) on rocks (lithophytes), or floating in water (fully aquatic plants). Of plants that do grow in matter we might loosely call soil, some grow in clay, some grow in sand, some grow in gravel or pebbles, some grow in mostly humus (decomposed plants), and many grow in different combinations, in varying proportions, of these materials, with large, small, or medium-sized particles.
One thing I would point out, and can’t stress enough, is salt content in the coco chunk. I wash mine (my process takes 1 full day). Make sure you rinse your bark well, you’ll see why once you do it. Do not believe what it says on the packaging.
Should we wash both bark and coco chunks?
@@offplanet740yes, but the main reason is just to wash the small particles away, the coco is washed multiple times before it gets you, and you don't use enough of it for the "salt" content to make a difference, if coco is a big portion of you soil say half or over than you may have to buffer it, some high end companies especially the ones that cater to cannabis sell coco that is already buffered, basically you flush it with a calcium and magnesium (calmag) solution, look that up if you're interested why
I live in a very dry climate(using greenhouse cabinets for my humidity loving plants). I use most of the ingredients you've used but add more coco coir/peat and a small amount of good quality soil that has worm castings. I would be watering my 150 plants every day if I didn't have a more water retentive mix! But yes, aeration is super key 😊
I live in Denver, Colorado and we're a semi arid desert(14" precipitation a year). My plants run on the dry side ALOT. In fact I will not grow an ivy or fern in my house because they'll just attract spider mites. Maybe if I had a bathroom with a window and I took a shower everyday I might have one, but there's certain plants I just cannot grow because of the lack of humidity. So I would also add in some composted bark(soil) preferably soil that has been baked in a low oven to get rid of any fungus gnat eggs. I would also probably put in a slow release fertilizer here like a 3 or 6 month kind, lightly, but I would still do it. I would also do some mix Jan's way, to see if it would work here... I've got some philodendrons that grow pretty fast with smaller leaves but maybe they're smaller leaves because they don't have anything to climb on I'm going to do a pictorial history and make some Moss poles and see how it goes. I'm pretty excited about it!
@@ellenmcintyre1247 I live just south of Denver in Castle Rock!
@sydneyplantguy I just recently found you and I’ve watched a lot of plant RUclipsrs… You’re probably my favorite as far as explaining how and why you do what you do. Thank you for the tips and info! Its been extremely helpful.
*Note on the Adansonii video: the Bayer product you mention contains imidacloprid, which some states don’t allow in the US because it’s dangerous to pollinators. It must be used INDOORS only, if you could let people know :) Protect the pollinators!
Thank you :) my entire youtube channel is about growing plants indoors but fair point, i should really clarify it just in case :)
@@sydneyplantguy thank you! Not everyone does their research when someone they follow recommends something. I’m guilty of it also!
Do u have a recommendation for similar products
Yay, I am so excited you are sharing this! Thank you, thank you 😊
Thanks :)
We say over-watering for the reason that we keep our plants in pots where they are rooted, water is retained in its substrate that causes root rot, unlike them being in the forest, that though it may rain a lot, there are other elements and materials in the ground like soil, dead leaves, animal droppings and etc., plus the balance of right humidity, air and sunshine that help its natural growing process and survival.
Precicely :) i just think people misunderstand the term overwatering. It’s a substrate issue, not a how much and how often we water issue. But how much snd how often we water is obviously depending on the substrate so it goes hand in hand. All i’m trying to say is that people should be re-considering their substrate & their watering routine if their plants suffer from root rot, not just their watering routine.
you are a genius!!
I love your mix. this certainly resolves the gnats issues I've been having from the store-bought potting mix!
Thanks :)
Awesome mix. I use the same, except quite a bit more of the coco peat because with this super chunky mix, I'd need to water my plants every two days.
I agree about the root rot.. The plant is propagated in water & when I transfer it to soil I keep the soil saturated & the plant grows exponentially. You are excellent at horticultural. Thank you for all the tips..
Great video! As a custom soil builder, I agree 100% that these super-aerated, non-organic soilless mixes are much safer to avoid overwatering... IF you are willing to water and monitor much more often. Your mix is safe, but ooooh so much work! Some of your rarer plants actually do need that, but Monstera for instance appreciate a much "richer" soil with ingredients like compost or worm castings added. They absolutely do not need such a free-draining mix or benefit more from it. Btw, sand has been proven in university studies not to improve drainage unless it makes up approx 60% of the total mix. If it's less, then it is just filling in around the larger particles and reducing drainage... so you could get better aeration for the same water retention by using something like Canadian peat, which is as sustainable as coco coir (or any other ingredient than sand really). Alternatively, if you really like sand you could switch to one the basalt sands for it's very high ratio of micro-nutrients.
Good to know :) thanks for sharing
Is it bad for plants to get to the point of drooping before you water, and repeatedly having this occur?
@@mandynelson4073 it's not ideal long term, as that won't get you to nearly your best plant health & growth, but it does help limit overwatering if that's a problem for you. It's more of a keep-it-alive in crisis mode thing. It is tho a useful tool for some plants to help teach you when your plant wants water again. After you learn it's habit, then aim for just before it droops as your watering day
@@Grrrnthumb with the suggested mix (or the added coco coir/ peat as you suggest), is fertilization essential with every watering to get the necessary nutrients, or is an added slow-release fertilizer in the soil mix okay for aroids? If so, which kind is best and if not, how often should fertilizer be added to water? (Sorry, I’m a scientist so I basically need a protocol 🙈)
@@mandynelson4073 this type of mix above basically provides almost no nutrition, so you need to add it, which is fine since it gives you good control if you're willing to do the work. For delicate aroids in these type of free-draining mixes I like Dynagro Grow 7-9-5 for it's excellent balance of micronutrients and better type of nitrogen, or MSU's orchid fertilizer; at every watering. Slow-release works just "ok" here. Since it does not release evenly over the whole time period as the labeling suggests, it works better in regular soil mixes where it is just adding extra nutrition, not supporting all nutrition. Also, all the slow release fertilizers I know about have a poor mix of micronutrients, which can lead to struggling plants in this type of no-nutrient mix.
Great mix! My only recommendation would be to add worm castings to it as a natural fertilizer boost.
Thank you so much for this video. Your mix is the best I've seen. I have all these ingredients for my monsteras, and one of the additional ingredients I have are worm castings. I hope that will be ok. Take care!
Thank you :)
I think you're right about the over-watering myth, roots just not able to breathe and are essentially drowning. Better aeration from the potting mix like you're preaching here is definitely the way to go.
Thanks for sharing your mix ariod soil
I really appreciate all your tips! The best way to know that something is working it's seeing the results and we can see that in your plants. Thank you for all knowledge shared.
Proof is in the pudding! thanks :)
The only thing you need for your soil mix are nutrients, aeration and well drainage, and moisture retention. I use vermicast(worm poop) for nutrients, pumice for aeration and drainage, and cocopeat for moisture retention. I just adjust their ratio based on the plant
Regarding watering: I am living in the Netherlands, and it rains a lot over here. I noticed that even my echeverias, which are outside most of the year, don't mind the constant moisture. I think one of the reasons for that might be that the water doesn't sit, but constantly flows and, thus, isn't optimal growth environment for mould and similar. Interested in additional thoughts on this.
I LOOOVE your content!!❤️🥰 I also follow you on your IG and I am over the moon happy you've started YT chanel 🙏🙏 your collection is amazing!
Greetings from Slovenia 😁
Thank you :)
I like your mix and I’m impressed that you are working without making miss 😂.
Luving your way of doing these plants
It's hard to absorb thoughts when the one who's talking is this damn good-looking. 😵💫😵💫😍
Your channel is outstanding! It's so unique, some of the information is mind blowing. I'd like to try to repot some of my plants that struggle with fungus gnats. I'm eager to get rid of them and have tried all sorts of store bought and homemade concoctions with some results, but no permanent solution. Would you recommend rinsing off the roots and cleaning off the old soil before repotting? Also, do you recommend using worm castings in the mix for fertilizer? Thanks!
Recently found your channel and I love it!! I'm 67 and have had plants since I was 6 yrs old. But you never stop learning. I have a lot of aroids and I want BIG leaves like you have, you have shared so many wonderful tips to get there!!
Thanks for your nice comment :) happy growing
Haha I also mix my own substrate, or "soil". ✨👌
Soil is basically the upper layer of earth in which plants grow. Another way to define soil is the mixture of organics, inorganics, loose deposits, fluids, gases, living biomass and minerals covering the ground.
We talked about this in school and this is the reason why I now prefer to speak about "substrate" or even "potting medium" since sometimes it contains "soil" and sometimes not. 😝
Came here from your instagram! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and excuse me while I do a deep dive and watch everything!
Thanks :)
I just bought a very similar mix on ETSY and I'm impressed! I plan on putting some Pink Princess propagations in it and see how it goes. Great info on your video!
Thanks :)
Found your page today and can't get enough. Just placed a $150 amazon order on the things I'm lacking. Very interesting. Thanks for the info.
Happy growing :)
Great video as usual. Your videos are usually the most informative to me, because you do get into the details 👍🏽 Always here to support a fellow Aussie mate 🕺🏻🤘🏽
Thank you :)
Huge, gorgeous monsteras!
Yaay found it. Thank you for making this.
Ah very similar to my mix, I do add worm castings as I just find it works amazing with the soil mix
The comment i was Looking for Thanks mate I have killed around 30 exotic plants and my hobby is at the edge of death So can't afford experiments e.g addition of worm castings
You’re on-spot about overwatering being a myth. Most people use dead plant matter (aka - ground up tree, or, typical ”potting mix”), which, in nature is meant to break down quickly, and is best used as a mulch/fertilizer. When forest products are used in pots - this speeds the decaying process even quicker, which suffocates the roots in time. A peat based potting mix with perlite or pumice would fare far better, if that potting mix look/feel is what you’re after. Peat does break down, though at a much slower rate than,”forest products”.
Real soil is a mixture of: sand, silt, and clay.
An excellent choice for real soil would be decomposed granite.
Excellent video :)
Thank you so much :)
Super useful! Thank u, Jan.
Thanks :)
You are my new favorite plant fella! Soil = it is just a substrate, so yet - you are totally making your own soil!
Thank you for this = I am ripping apart my ENTIRE plant collection to give more aerated substrate. I have philodendrons and been collecting for over 20 years and some of my new plants HATE the soil I am making - too rich, too much humic debris and heavy organic material. I just always stuck my plants in pots and away we go! but I am learning so much from walking tropical forest floors and watching videos because after 20 + years - some of these plants should be HUGE! but are not...... I am also going to start experimenting with these moss poles. I have bought a few - but they are solid, like moss glued to this wires. You have re inspired me to to fun projects with my plants! Thanks!
I liked, subscribed and hit the bell to get the whistles - please go see my videos on fungi! ;-)
Thank you :)
I personally have all my plants in semi- hydroponic but I still learn a lot through your videos🌱🌱
Many ways of growing plants successfully :) glad you still found some value in it
Learned a lot from your Instagram and now in RUclips amazing.
Hahah the "what ACTUALLY is soil" question has always confused me too. I recently started converting all my aroids to soilless medium, very similar to yours. I feel like the main benefit of soil is that it feeds your plants nutrients and minerals, but personally I would prefer to have the benefits of going soilless (less root rot, less gnats, less messy when watering) and just feed the plants with consistent fertilization.
Agree 100%!!!
Coco peat or coco husk actually contains lots of nutrients for the plants..so without much fertilizer, plants still thrive well in long term..
I thought the same but my plants in leca and moss on top actually look better then soil w indoor plants.
@@suzn9979 Coco peat, chips etc often come with a lot of sodium, rinsing will only get off so much, buffering it with calcium and magnesium will exchange the sodium ions (flush them away). Some coco peat etc comes pre-buffered; the alternative is to add extra calcium and magnesium to fertiliser. Doesn’t matter as much if coco is not the main ingredient. Just don’t want too many salts in the mix, including fertilisers, as that is actually counterproductive to growth.
Thank you for this! I've been using what I thought was good potting mix from a local organic nursery but I have gnats all the time! I will look into getting the these ingredients and making my own aroid mix.
Definitely happy to see you on RUclips now Jan! Great content as always and totally good point to bring up what actually happens in a rainforest, most people don’t even think about how they’re growing in their natural environment :)
I would also just suggest Lechuza Pon to people who are maybe a little lazy and/or can’t find what they want individually. It’s basically got everything one would need and it’s also heavy, so perfect for getting a stable moss pole!
The pothos mix and orchid dark imperial mix on repotme.com is a good mix for most house plants also when you need a bit more moisture retention.
Is there a good source of pon? I’ve only found small bags of expensive pon
@@ccaatthheerriinnee I got mine from Lechuza itself but that was easy for me since I’m in Europe
Hi! Could you please tell me the fraction of your pumice. 10-12 mm? Thanks
I’m glad Brad is still the star ⭐️ I usually add a little shop bought compost to my mix but I’ll stop now you’ve informed me about the fungus gnats possibly coming from there. Thanks for the great tips, I really appreciate you taking the time and effort to make the vids, you’re my mentor! 👍
Give it a try and see if you notice a difference :)
Do plants do well transitioning from soil to this aroid mix or would it be better to start using this mix on newly propagated cuttings?
You're contagious, Jahn! I happened upon your channel about a month ago to learn how to grow a monstera on a pole and find myself binge-watching ever since! I fell in love with your Manjula Philodendron one show, and finally found a healthy and pretty young plant....which is now in shipment. 😊 Both will be placed on "moss" poles. Here is my QUESTION: Do I add spagnum moss to the pole section with this mix? If yes, at what approximate ration, please.
Thank you for your videos! You taken me from dreaming to trying it! ✨️💖✨️
Hey :) thank you!! Sorry not 100% sure what u mean by the question. But basically inside the pot I use use aroid mox (including yhe part of the pole that is inside the pot:)
Yes, I understand to place the mix at the bottom of the pole (which is within the pot). However, you also made complete poles with the aroid mix. I do not have the New Zealand Fernbark here in Germany, so I was considering using spagnum moss in its place. That lead me to ask at what ratio, please. This is for my Monstera and Manjula Philodendron to be placed on a D-shaped poles (for the humidity).
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions. It is truly very appreciated and shows your commitment to us, as well as the plants. ✨️💖✨️
This has been the way I’ve made my mixes only I also add worm casting and go heavier on the coco peat. I think I’m gonna try to skip the worm castings and go WAY lighter on some of my anthurium and alocasia which I’ve been struggling with a bit. A really felt like I was doing everything so perfectly but a small handful of my massive collection kept having a leaf or two go really yellow extremely quickly after each watering. This is even with being EXTRA careful not to over water those particular ones as I knew they were more likely to yellow if I wasn’t careful. I don’t think I realized quite how much water the coco peat has been retaining. Either that or I’m SO aware of being an over waterer by nature that I’m watering those particular plants too little and then when they DO get watered the roots have shrunken and closed up so they then can’t handle when they ARE getting watered. I’m an avid plant collector and an by no means a novice so I go above and beyond when it comes to the environment, substrate, fertilizer, pest/disease treatmentetc etc. I even make sure to rinse (and in the case of coco chips and peat even soak them a bit) all of the individual substrate components and leave them out to completely dry for DAYS before individually packing them into their totes. So I’ve put in a TON of time to research and set up for these guys. Time to test the theory of ditching worm casting and avoiding a heavy hand on the coco peat w these angry anthurium and alocasia!🤞🏼😬🤞🏼
I have used a lot of coconut peat coir and larger chunks of charcoal (brisket for barbecues) as the soil for my plant as that is all I had at the time. Mine is in a 10 litre (2.64 gallons) bucket. When I water mine I take it to the shower and thoroughly flush out the soil and wet the plant down. I then tilt the bucket on an angle to properly drain for 6 hours or even overnight. Then I put it back in place in my lounge room. To open the soil for air to get in, without changing the soil, simply use a wooden skewer and poke it in the soil as far as it will go, all throughout the soil. Air can now get into the soil as you've loosened it up after watering the plant. I prefer to add organic matter as fertilizer only on the top of the soil when needed. Currently I am experimenting with coffee grounds on the plant and a bit of pine bark.
As far as over watering goes, i agree with the lack of oxygen to the roots. Having a crested geckos bioactive tank set up, i am spraying it daily, making it almost impossible to let the soil dry. But having insects, barks, charcols, and other airy amendments allows the water to run through and keeps everything healthy and growing great. It's hard for bacteria to grow when exposed to plenty of good air flow and fresh oxygen. Even when a gecko is pooping all over everything
Totally unrelated, but you guys watch American baseball down under (noticed the Yankees cap and got curious). Also I heard coco peat was by product from Hershey factor coco plants they use for chocolate making and that left over stuff is resold to us gardeners as a medium for planting. Have you heard this as well?
Wet your damn perlit before pouring and it won't make such a mess. :)
But then the whole mix is wet & i wanna store it dry to prevent mold ;)
@@sydneyplantguy Don't worry about that, perlit is a rock, no living matter, no mold
like i said before on the topic of soil in the previous upload of this video:
soil is both organic material (usually decomposed) and inorganic material. organic material provides carbon, phosphorous, nitrogen, sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen (hydrogen and oxygen in the form of water H2O) inorganic matter helps supplement the soil with important but minor elements such as magnesium (which is vital for photosynthesis), iron, calcium, and other important minerals. the organic material in soil is usually decomposed and very good at retaining moisture, you aren’t necessarily making soil, rather you’re mixing around some (very suitable) substrates to grow your plants in. :) hope this made sense.
made perfect sense :) thank you! I also re-posted your previous comment because it was too good to be wasted :) thanks again
@@sydneyplantguy no problem!! :)
Thank you so much for this information 🙏🏻😍😍🇮🇳
I love you cat !socute!😘😘😘😘
Thank you 😻
I watch your videos because of your cat, I love your cat! I miss my cat ...
Amazing content!! It is very Aerated and organic. Thanks for sharing your experience.
A question: Does the weather Interfere on your mix or not?
Here in Rio de Janeiro is hotter, but very humid, soo i use to too use more sand and vermiculite to hold the water.
Yes definitely consider your environment when making a mix. Trial & error is key :)
Wow that's pretty new to me. I've watched a lot of videos with potting mix, but yours is quiet different yet informative. Perhaps, you apply a generous amount of fertilizer coz uou didn't add an actual soil/loam soil. However, that's a great video and God bless 🤍
That’s right, i use liquid fertiliser weekly :)
Your plants are beautiful!!! Great soil mix! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks :)
I recently followed your mix - which was similar to what I have done in the past - but my mix has always been heavier with work castings, So I decided to make it chunkier and followed your ingredient list. A few of my larger plants - Pink Princess, Rhapidophora foraminifer and a couple of others - they are completely angry with me. Droopy leaves and one has full on browning leaves. I spoke to the owner of a local plant shop over the weekend and I think we figured it out - the coco chips I bought are heavy in salt. I guess coco chips can be really loaded in salt content. I should have pH'd the plant before trandplanting and then then made sure my new mix was relatively the same pH. I do this with my fish tank - why do I ignore this with my plants? So, I have been leeching them in the shower and singing rain songs to them so they think they are out in a rain storm (LOL). Well it is winter here in CA USA after all....... Big lesson learned - don't just go ripping ALL the plants apart hog wild - test out the new soil first. I guess this is a further step into the neediness of plant care!
Very good point and will address it in future videos. When trying something new always go one step at a time, assess & only then go ahead and convert them all :)
@@sydneyplantguy Exactly - start with hardy plants like Monstera delicioso NOT Pink Princess - cuz she really is a PRINCESS!! and some ingredients just need leeching first regardless, just in case! pH strips for the fish tank work general enough if you want to go down the "difficult list" pathway. LOL
I may have to get her a store bought sterilized aroid mix and repot her again for xmas - but first I will keep leeching her soil. See if that works first.
@@mushroommentor1141 Any updates? Wanna know how it works now
Excess salt can always be a potential issue with coco stuff (coco peat, coco chips, etc). I believe some brands rinse their product to remove those salt but some brands apparently don't do that enough and the growers must do that themselves. Btw, to check for salt content (which can also indicate the hardness of the water), you'd want to look for a TDS meter (Total Dissolved Solid), not a pH meter. It isn't expensive at all, not any more expensive than a simple pH meter (assuming that you already have one). I don't have any knowledge about what's the highest acceptable TDS (which is usually measured in parts per million) for aroids though. As a reference, I do know that nepenthes, which are carnivorous plants whose roots are more sensitive to salt than other types of plants, generally can tolerate a maximum of 100 ppm in the long term (though it is recommended to keep it around and below 50) and 200 ppm occasionally when being fertilized.
GREAT soil mix - I LOVE to learn about potting substrates!. I was DIYi-ng Al's Chunky Mix, but will switch to your mix! I have many of these ingredients but could only find sandbox sand - far too fine. Al suggests crushed Calcined Clay - which comes in a size a bit larger than the gritty sand. It's a main ingredient in bonsai mixes. A SUPER CHEAP!! alternative is a bag of Turface (*MVP only!) - other turface products have added ingredients. Turface soaks up some water, but drains quickly. Highly recommend!!! Cheap too! 50 lb bags were $20. Maybe more. Hands down the 2nd best ingredient i've bought since Pumice. Prices vary greatly, so call around until you find a reasonably priced bag.
Thank you very much this is very informative and helpful! I bought some soil-less mix from a shop recently and repotted a couple of my plants into it and have noticed the same thing about the pests those plants don't get the gnats anymore! So now I definitely want to make my own in a big batch and transfer them all as well as add some moss poles. Your videos have been very helpful!
Thank you :)
Hi! Thanks for lifehacks. Could you please tell me what I should add in the mix if it gets kind of wet for a long period of time. I don't overwater it, it just gets dry very slowly...
Add chunkier components with less water retention like perlite or bark :)
@@sydneyplantguy thanks a lot!
I just found you recently and I am loving the content 😍 You brought back my passion for plants after it's been dormant for a year or so 😊
Excuse me for being curious (I love different English accents), you call yourself Sydney plant guy, but do you have a German/Austrian background?
Keep up the good work 👍
Thanks :) yes I grew up in Germany
Another great clip. Thank you! I will definitely try your mix and stop using potting soil. Can’t wait to see the difference. Thank you!
PS
You must be a (fellow) Virgo. You’re so organized! I love it! 😊
Hehe I am indeed :) thank you
@@sydneyplantguy I’m 9/16.
Happy birthday 🎂!
Great video, thanks! Appreciate your knowledge.
Thanks :)
Brad when you added the pumice: "Wrong mice :/"
😂😂
Thank You!!!!!
nice !
The best I've ever seen! Off to Amazon I go! Thank you ❤
I recently bought an alocasia that has been planted in nothing but tiny pebbles 😱 and she's thriving lol. I have no idea why!!
Its probably semi hydro they tend to thrive in it :)
Hi, I watched a lot of your videos and I learned so much and all your plants are beautiful..I purchased coconut husk and found out that it needs to be soak in water..
Soak in water overnight and change the water the next day, repeat, repeat until the water is clear..
Now I only did enough for one of my plants.. The water was clear so I'm thinking, ok I'm going to let the husk dry..Then I went on RUclips and this one lady said, that she boils her coconut husk to make sure that the boiling water would kill any bugs that's in the husk.. So I decided to boil the husk that was drying, why did the water turned a dark burgundy..
My question for you is HOW DO YOU CLEAN YOUR COCONUT HUSK do? I have been using a TDS meter but something is not right..
I don’t clean it at all :D
Really...I know coconut husk has a lot of salt looking at your plants they must really love that salt..
I'm boring my last batch
The water is a light pink so it's ready..Thank you and keep the video coming.
Good morning..On one of your videos I saw you pouring the Clone solution on the roots of the plant so I went on Amazon and bought me a bottle, you got me over here spending 😃.
You have a beautiful Manjula Pothos.. I just purchased one she's in a 4 " pot I'll be making her a moss pole hopefully today..What do you think about the clear
pots with the holes around the pot? Do you use those?
I personally don’t use them but they wojld be great for aeration :)
@@sydneyplantguy
Thank you
That soil looks like it makes your plants so happy 😊❤
I love your videos, and i made sure to subscribe! 🌱✨️🪴
Also, random question: Do you make all your moss poles?
Thanks!❤❤❤
Great video @sydneyplantguy! Do you buffer coco peat and coco chips before adding those to the mix or is washing it enough?
Editing tip (maybe): I've noticed that some of your cuts are quite audible: iirc this can be the result of hard-cutting audio. If you don't already to this try crossfading the audio. At least in some editing softwares this is quite easy to do
Cheers
I just did this Mix and my plants are loving it.
Would you use this sane mix for hoyas?
Yay!! I don’t grow any hoyas but might be slightly roo chunky for their fine roots :)
Great advice of staying away from soil I hate that they come with gnats
Lol even after taking an entire semester long class about Soil in college, it’s still hard to understand what it actually is/how to properly recreate it artificially 😅. My main take away was that it’s a mix of organic and rocks/minerals. & they’re mostly in levels, with the most organic material existing within the top 6inches-1ft, then consisting mostly of different sizes/types of rock underneath, followed by bedrock (which can consist of many different minerals within each layer of rock). It’s so complex - it’s such a mystery that we can even get plants to live in the false soils we create lol.
I mean, most plants only really grow their roots within the first 3ft of soil as it's not aerated enough under that for roots to survive.
Very good
In nature, things don't get overwatered because if they did, they wouldn't be there anymore :) The ground has to be sufficient or things simply wouldn't grow, and the only things that grow are the ones for which the environment is sufficient. I'm sure a maple tree would get overwatered in a rainforest lol
poor kitty, protect him too from perlite dust 😷
You can call your mixture a substrate instead of soil.
I got my first plants in January and some of the store-bought potting mixes did well for me. Now that my plants are bigger and requiring slightly larger pots but now these pots don't dry out as fast, I'm exploring adding chunky elements to help with aeration. I got charcoal, orchid bark, and chunky perlite. I just moved and my plants are adjusting to the increased light (unfortunately a couple of them sunburned). In the next couple weeks, when they're settled in, I'll build the moss poles and repot everyone. But I actually plan to reuse the old potting mix from some of them. It's not old and broken down yet, and some of it drained well and had lots of nutrients, so I will absolutely include it in my mix. The fibrous mix that drains poorly will get tossed.
whats the plant on the top left. Love your channel sir!
Omg… I love you! Thanks so much for this, very helpful… and those plants!!!
Thanks :)
Your explanation of “overwatering” makes a lot of sense!
Great Video as always😊 Thanks for all your help 😁
Do you use normal charcoal or activated charcoal? Because the one I bought isn't activated yet and I dont know how to activate it best for an aroid mix mainly for my Monsteras deliciosa/thai constellation/adansonii. Would be nice to get some advises how to handle that :)
Amazing thank you. I walmart mix and it had gnats and i didn't realize and now i have to repot all my plants. I will start doing my own mix now. I didn't know it was possible.
Great video. Thanks for that. Just wondering where in SYDNEY can I buy all the ingredients ? Secondly how do I add fertiliser ? Or do I need to? New to planting. Thanks
Your channel is really amazing. So using your aroid mix, how often do you water the plants? I was have over watering issues and recently witched to a very similar mix of yours, and I have a humidifier in the room but I feel my plants need to be watered every 4-5 days, can I be right?
Please have Brad cameos in every video… 😻😹
It’s up to him if he wants to join or not :)
I love your videos. What size in mm's are the coco chips your using? Thanks
It varies but maybe around 1-1.5cms. Thanks :)
How exactly do you know when it is actually time to water with this lovely chunky airy mix?
Condensation in the pot, weight, color or the look of the plant itself :)
Where do you buy all the ingredients? Impossible to find coco chip here in Melbourne
I buy them locally at Sydney Hydroponic store. Check out growing grounds on IG, she might be able to post :)
The content is very interesting as always! Thank you for taking your time to share your knowledge with us 🙌🏻🪴
Thank you :)
I always like to rinse, or at least mist, my perlite or pumice w/ water beforehand; obvi it reduces dust, but the additional bit of water weight is actually quite beneficial to the perlite, aiding it with fully blending into the substrate. In my experience, lol. Sometimes when it’s dry, it has a tendency to rise to the top more quickly, over time of course, but still. Look at older gardens, more “rustic” gardens especially, and the outdoor potted mature specimens… These are the set-n-forget plants that thrive, but depending on who the owner is, you may notice a white crust of perlite that has gradually floated up throughout years of watering. Not the end of the world, but just another reason to rinse perlite you use it . Wow I’m such a plant nerd. Look at this pure shite I’ve just spewed about puffed volcanic rock soil amendments. 😂✌🏼
Haha :D yes very good point. I like to mix a big batch or aroid mix & I don't want it to be wet while storing it, that's why I don't rinse my perlite before I add it :)
@@sydneyplantguy This was so great to watch! Thanks for your vid (:
Do you buy your coco chunks & coco coir already rehydrated & then dry it out for storage? In Melbourne, seems like I can only really find coco coir blocks that need to be rehydrated so my mixes are always already wet :/ And do you ever use Reptile Bedding type coco chunks? sorry so many questions!
@@becchan8447 I break the brick into smaller chunks so I'm only rehydrating a little at a time when I'm making my mix. Any leftovers, I store in a storage container and leave the lid open so it dries out.
very good points and we do need to protect our lungs