Just like cooking, there are advantages and disadvantages to mixing your own soil. A ready-made Monstera Soil has all the advantages of a restaurant: it’s quick, easy, and of great quality. However, it’s also more expensive.
Mixing (and cooking) your own is more rewarding, you have the freedom to make a mix to your specific (plant) taste, and it’s cheaper!
What Makes Aroid Soil Good?
For every plant, a good soil mimics their natural habitat. Aroids originally grow in tropical rainforests with high humidity, well-draining, airy soil, and lots of moisture. The soil should be full of nutrients from composted organic matter (like worm castings!).
The Ingredients
All of these soil components can be bought at Sybotanica and most garden stores. Click on any item to purchase it!
Aroid Soil Mix Ratio:
- 3 parts coco husk
- 3 parts coco coir
- 1 part worm castings
- 1 part perlite
- 1 part activated carbon
Mixing soil is not a science. It’s an art!
Feel free to experiment and test out different components to your liking.
If you want to dive deeper into the ingredients in this mix, take a look at our detailed blog on activated carbon. We also have a comprehensive perlite guide that explains how it improves drainage. And if you’re curious about this nutrient-rich additive, check out our in-depth overview of worm castings.
Why This Works
As explained above, aroids come from tropical rainforests. A good combination of water retention, nutrients, and drainage is ideal. The dense aroid roots also need space and oxygen to thrive.
Coco husk and perlite provide airflow, which the roots need. The coco coir and worm castings create a moisture-retention heaven to keep the roots hydrated. The worm castings provide lots of nutrients, and the activated carbon helps to remove any toxins and prevents root rot, which aroids are susceptible to.
Soil Mixes for Specific Aroids
While this mix is a great all-in-one that fits most aroids (Monstera, Philodendron, Syngonium, Alocasia and more). We also have specific mixes for these plants that suit them even better. Guides on this will follow soon!
Tips and Tricks
- Fill a sealable container with the components, and shake around!
- Use a measuring cup about 1/10th the size of your container to fill it up completely.
- Cover your container to keep the soil fresh and retain moisture
- Always shake up the soil before usage
