It's easy to shy away from a DIY task since it often takes many materials and tools that you don't have. This organic potting mix doesn't require much. There are even a few different ways to accomplish it. You can still utilize that garden soil and transform it into a sterilized and effective material that can help create your ultimate garden.

Microwave Method

• Moisten up to two pounds of garden soil. Aim for a mud pie consistency; it should be thick and moldable, but not soupy.
• Put the moistened soil into a heavy plastic bag and leave the top of the bag open.
• Place the bag in the center of the microwave.
• Run the microwave on high, and plan to do so for 2-5 minutes.
• Periodically, stop the microwave and stick a meat thermometer into the soil.
• Once the soil reaches a temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the bag of soil from the microwave and place it in a cooler or other insulated container. The insulation will hold the heat in so that the sterilization process can complete.
• Leave the bag in the cooler until the soil has completely cooled off.

Conventional Oven Method

It takes a long time and it doesn’t smell all that lovely.

• Fill an oven-proof container with garden soil to a depth of about three inches. I used a foil roasting pan.
• Moisten the soil thoroughly. Again, aim for a mud pie consistency.
• Cover the pan with foil and stick it in an oven that’s been preheated to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bake the soil until a meat thermometer indicates that it has reached a temperature of 180 degrees. This likely will take 6-8 hours.
• Once the soil reaches 180 degrees, let it bake for an additional half hour. Do not over bake.

Amending Garden Soil Into Potting Mix

The University of Illinois recommends that garden soil be amended by mixing together one part sterilized soil, one part peat moss, and one part perlite or coarse builders’ sand. I lined a cardboard box with a heavy plastic bag and scooped the ingredients in. Once everything was in, I pulled the bag out of the box and gave it a good shake to mix everything together.

Have you been able to make your own organic potting mix? Let us know how it helped your garden!

Article Source: Off The Grid News