Soil Yourself: Why I Make My Own Houseplant Soil Mix
- Jonny Balchandani
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
People come into my shop, look at the plants, and ask about the stuff they're growing in. And honestly? I love that conversation. Because as much as we all obsess over a beautiful leaf, what happens underneath it deserves some attention too.
My houseplant soil mix is something I care enough about to talk about in my book, "You're Overwatering It". It's also something I actively encourage you to make yourself.
Yes, I sell a bag of it. Yes, I'm still telling you to have a go yourself.
If you've got the time, space and enthusiasm to source the ingredients and get mixing, brilliant. Get your hands dirty. Learn what goes into your pots. If you haven't got room for a small mountain of ingredients, that's where "Soil Yourself" comes in.
It's my premium dry substrate blend, mixed in small batches by me, with a little help from a way-too-small orange cement mixer and a small bucket. Every bag gets my time, my attention and a ridiculous amount of love for plants.
Why your houseplant soil mix matters
We see the leaves. We notice a new shoot. We get ridiculously excited about a bit of variegation. But the roots are doing their work out of sight, in whatever we've put in that pot.
A growing medium needs to balance moisture with air around the roots. A mix that stays wet and compacted can make that balance harder to manage.
Chunky materials such as bark and clay pellets help create spaces within the mix and improve drainage.
That doesn't mean every plant needs the chunkiest mix you can possibly make. Your plant, pot, light and watering habits all matter. A mix that dries beautifully in one home might behave differently in another.
That's why I want you to understand what you're mixing, rather than just tipping something into a pot and hoping for the best.
The shop conversations that became Soil Yourself
When people ask about my mix in the shop, I want them to leave with more than a shopping list. I want them to feel confident enough to try things, observe their plants and work out what suits them.
I wrote about my soil mix in "You're Overwatering It" because sharing that knowledge matters to me. The passion behind Soil Yourself comes from exactly the same place.
I'm the person talking to you about it, mixing it and packing it. When you buy a bag, you're buying something I've physically made. That connection matters. I want to be proud of what you're taking home to your plants.
What's in Soil Yourself?
The bag contains nine ingredients: pine bark, sphagnum moss, perlite, vermiculite, worm castings, horticultural grit, LECA, mycorrhizal fungi and seaweed.
It's my own combination of premium ingredients, brought together as a dry substrate blend. There's no potting compost added to bulk out the bag. You get 1.15kg of the blend, then add your own compost to customise the finished mix.
That distinction matters: Soil Yourself is a compost-free blend to mix with compost, rather than a bag of finished potting compost. You decide how much to add within the mixing guide, according to the plant and the texture you're aiming for.
You can see the ingredients and instructions together on the Soil Yourself page - https://www.thebeardedplantaholic.com/soil-yourself
Please do have a go at making your own
If the idea of mixing your own houseplant substrate makes you excited, go for it. You don't need my orange cement mixer. A suitable container, room to work and a willingness to learn will get you started.
Look at the ingredients, understand the texture you're trying to achieve, and choose a recipe suited to your plants. Start with a manageable amount. Keep notes about what you've used so you can repeat a mix you like, or adjust it next time.
You also don't have to own all nine ingredients in my blend before you're allowed to start learning. Making your own mix can be a way to understand your plants better, rather than an exercise in buying everything at once.
I would love you to come back into the shop and tell me what you've tried. That's the whole point of sharing this stuff.
No room for all the ingredients? I've done that bit for you
The practical side is where making your own can get awkward. You've got to find the ingredients, buy them, get them home and store whatever you don't use. All those bags need somewhere to live.
Perhaps you've only got a few plants to repot. Perhaps your cupboard already contains more plant paraphernalia than actual cupboard. Perhaps you simply haven't got the time.
Fair enough. You can get a bag of Soil Yourself from me, add your own compost and get on with the enjoyable bit.
The 1.15kg bag is £14 at the time of writing; the product page shows the current price and availability. You're getting my blend without having to source and store every separate ingredient.
Small batches, one orange mixer and me
There is no industrial production line behind this. No automatic packing system filling bags while I sit somewhere pressing a button.
There is me. There is a small bucket. And there is an orange cement mixer that really could do with being bigger.
I make Soil Yourself in small batches to keep it fresh, and I pack the bags myself. The scale is personal because the whole thing is personal. This is something I've talked about with people in my shop and written about in my book, now made into something you can take home.
Premium ingredients matter to me. So does the care that goes into combining them. Every bag is a little piece of the work, enthusiasm and love I put into this business.
How to mix your bag of Soil Yourself
For a full 1.15kg bag, start by adding 200g of compost, mix thoroughly, then adjust gradually. These are the starting points in my product guide:
- 200g compost: a seriously chunky mix, suggested for many Anthuriums and other plants that enjoy an open mix.
- 500g compost: a chunky middle ground to work from for many houseplants.
- Up to 1kg compost: a more moisture-retentive option, suggested in the guide for many Monstera, Philodendron and Syngonium.
Don't exceed 1kg of added compost per full bag. These amounts refer to compost added to the whole 1.15kg blend, not the final weight of your mix.
Treat the plant examples as starting points. Look at your own growing conditions and how the finished mix behaves, rather than assuming every plant with the same name needs exactly the same thing.
Give it the scrunch test
Grab a handful of your finished mix, squeeze it, then open your hand.
If it falls apart, you're golden. If it stays together in a dense lump, add more Soil Yourself and test again. It's a simple texture check to help you avoid an overly dense mix; you still need to pay attention to watering and your plant's needs.
Keep unused blend sealed in a cool, dry place. Follow the handling instructions on the bag, including avoiding breathing the dust and washing your hands afterwards.
Make it yourself, or let me help with the messy bit
I want you to enjoy growing plants and feel more confident about what you're doing. If that means sourcing ingredients and making your own houseplant soil mix, I'm cheering you on.
If it means buying a bag that I've mixed and packed for you, I'm putting the same passion into that bag that I put into the conversation in the shop.
or Shop the 1.15kg Soil Yourself blend and treat your favourite plants.
One love, tiny phone people.
Jonny x
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