Can you use garden soil for indoor plants?- Yes, you can use garden soil for indoor plants. Garden soil is the best freely available media for indoor plants. It can fulfill all the basic necessities of any indoor plants.
It is true that garden soil may have some pros and cons. Sometimes it is soggy and sometimes it is too dry. Making a perfect balance with garden soil especially for indoor plants is quite tricky but possible.
I have already posted an article on How to make potting soil for indoor plants? you can go through the details and start working. Before moving let us first see the reason to use potting soil for indoor plants.
Also read: How to Grow Oyster Mushrooms at Home in polybags
5 Reasons why you should use garden soil for Indoor plants
- Zero Cost. It is almost free. If you have a little garden then you can easily get some soil for your plants. You just have to dig it up- on your own. No one will mind for that, maybe just your wife or parents who can yell at you for digging a hole- that’s it. I think you can afford that.
- Abundance in availability. If it is yours then who cares how much you take. One-pot or 10, it the time and effort that matters, nothing else. Get started, fill the bucket, and move in.
- Natural occurrence. Garden soil is an entirely natural medium for any plant to grow and thrive. Even your indoor plants are familiar with general soil conditions. No artificial efforts of materials required to prepare the garden soil.
- Firm Support. Garden soil is the best medium to provide firm support to the roots. Some big plants like a rubber plant or others need stronghold to stay firm and straight. Other growing media cannot provide such strength and support to a big potted indoor plant. This is why garden soil is always added to the commercial potting mix.
- Nutrient and moisture retention. Sometimes over drainage is a big problem with indoor plants. Over drainage makes the soil to dry quickly and lose water-soluble nutrients rapidly. Garden soil can effectively hold enough moisture and essential nutrients for a long duration.
Garden soil is effective and important for indoor plants. But there are certain problems that can arise with inappropriate soil selection for indoor plants. These are not drawbacks, just difficulties that can be easily handled.
Problems with garden soil
- Excess of clay. Sometimes too much clay is the bigger problem. Clay in the soil is not good for most of the indoor plants. It can hold too much water and make the root rot. Clay is also prone to rapid hardness when dried. Garden soil mixed with clay can become rock solid if left without water for some days. This is certainly not good for roots to develop.
- Mixed Impurities. It is obvious that soil in your garden may have pebbles, stones, politics, metal nails, root bundles, and more impurities. These Impurities are not good for indoor plants. It is difficult but you can clean the soil with some time and a sieve.
- Unbalanced nutrient availability. Garden soil does have nutrients in them but the concentration may vary. Depending on soil type, environmental factors, and nearby cultivation, the number of essential nutrients will vary for a place to place in a garden. Always remember not all soil type is good for every plant. It is more complicated with considering for indoor plants.
- The Garden soil may contain fungal spores and diseases. This is certainly the most deadly reason why many gardeners don’t like garden soil for indoor plants. The use of untreated garden soil can easily cause fungal attacks to your indoor plants. You should be careful because indoor plants are highly prone to diseases and fungal attack. It can be cured with little care. Read this for help: How do you get rid of the fungus in the garden soil?
All the problems with garden soil can be easily managed. You can add some organic matter like compost and sand with the clay to make it useful.
Dry the soil before cleaning. It is easier to clean dry soil than wet soil. You can use a kitchen sieve to filter all the debris and dirt out of the soil.
Adding good quality compost should be enough to make the garden soil healthy for indoor plants. Also, add proper fungicides with soil to make it clean and free from any disease.
This is all you have to do to make garden soil useful.
Conclusion
You can use garden soil for indoor plants. There are certain factors to fulfill before getting the best out of your garden soil. Every plant is different so their requirements are also different. According to their requirement, every plant requires different type of soil. You should always prepare your own potting mix for indoor plants. You can read my previous article for help-How to make potting soil for indoor plants?
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