My Cactus Soil Mix and a Grower's Soil Mix

[@desertplantsofavalon]

AWESOME video on the 3 different types of Cactus soil, and it was fantastic the see what soil mix you use and also to see the two different soil mixes Brent uses, and you have exactly the same black tray as I have haha, thanks so much for sharing with us Ana, and Hans and I are sending you lots of love and happiness and CAFFEINE and PLANT POWER to Las Vegas for a fantastic Sunday XXXX

[@CactusCaffeine]

Yes, I actually copied the black boot trays from you when I saw it in your videos. Ha ha thanks for that. I get mine from IKEA. 😊

[@dianaw248]

I love your channel…I enjoy my cacti and always learn so much from your channel. My cacti have enjoyed the hot sunny summer we had here in Pennsylvania but now the nights are cooling to the 50s so I am bringing them indoors for the nights and then return them to the sunny daytime on my covered patio. Thank you so very much for all of your information..

[@TerryJent]

I love it! A recipe for one superbatch of cactus soil to last an entire season!

[@matthewpetersen4417]

The videos are amazing and appreciated - I have learned a lot watching you and brent! Thank You!!!

[@risenfromyoutubesashesagai6302]

I use patio sand, perlite, pebbles, and whatever soil ive got. I go, i dont know, 25% soil, the rest sand, perlite, and rocks. My secret is digging small graves at the base of the plants, and burying dead minnows and chubs ive happened while fishing. I use creek water to water the cacti if i have some, i also fill a few 1 gallon jugs with aquarium water when i give Chael a water change. Hes a 5 year old red tiger cichlid in a 90gal bowfront, and his water is great for plants, as its lived in and well cycled. I did the minnow trick one early spring, and the coming grow season yielded me so many new pups and offsets!!!

[@rossmcleod7983]

Carnivores! Who woulda thunk…

[@alpidiasalani3058]

Incredibile!

[@drusillazurcher6813]

T Y Anna - so informative & inspiring & helpful always !

[@debrayarde863]

Now saw ur video and decided to react to u mentioning how beautiful the cactus bloom...just remember the creator is perfect in every thing he put together. Amen

[@CactusCaffeine]

So nice of you and I agree! Amen! ☺️

[@renehansler7621]

Glad to found you back ,greetings from René from the Netherlands

[@garygilliam1890]

Alot of good information thanks

[@PlantitaUK]

Thank you host. Sa tips again

[@Cactimania]

Awesome video, Ana 😊 Always like to see what other soil mixes growers use. I’ve changed mine up again, mainly because I’m tired of finding contaminants in the bags of compost I’ve been buying. Thank you for sharing with us as always. Have a wonderful day from Edith & myself 🌵☀️🌸🌺🌼🏜☕️

[@That_Chemist]

those ikea shoe mats are great for botany

[@jillianleblanc9370]

Thank you for sharing beautiful and amazing video

[@CactusCaffeine]

Thank you too

[@mariediamond9741]

Super helpful! Thank you!

[@claudiahansler5433]

Hi glad to found you back greetings from René from the Netherlands

[@RayRay-zc2ed]

I really like your videos with Bret. He gives great information about Cactis

[@PlantitaUK]

The flowers are so awesome

[@sansevieriapalace]

i agree

[@BrianAlpuertoStudio]

awesome video friend you got a very good soil there

[@Hardworkandrealestateprofits]

That hillside behind where he is talking is going to be amazing looks in a few years.

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks Ana, interesting video showing your cactus mix and also some alternatives, thanks for sharing! In my more humid and cooler than your climate I need an almost 100% mineral substrate, that works best for me and my cacti love it! Enjoy your Sunday, sending lot's of cactus greetings over to you in Las Vegas!😊👍🌵🌵😎🌞🌺🌸

[@CactusCaffeine]

So true! Climate is a very important factor. My humidity here is always less than 10%. When I used more inorganic, I water in the morning and by night time, my soil in pots are completely dry. 😅 I’ve tried so many different blends and so far, this is the one that works best for me. But in your location, your humidity is higher and temperatures are moderate so more inorganic material is necessary. Thanks Joe for sharing your experience.

[@hesherette]

this is awesome thank you!! i use a similar mix to Brent's half-shady blend as I love coco coir + live in a similar climate to his, just a bit more coastal/ temperate. appreciate all of the information, knowledge + experience you share!

[@solarwinds-]

This is so timely. Need to repot some over crowded plants. I've been confused by pearlite. It holds moisture? Our humidity swings wildly from suffocating soup to super dry. I need my soil to dry out in 1 to 2 days. I'm afraid of it. Mines is about 75% inorganic to 25% organic. The water practically pours straight thru but my cacti are not dehydrated.

[@ZiggySearchfieldCactus]

Cor, glad you've got a Coryphantha too Ana 😎 That's interesting with the mixes, we can't get peat compost here anymore anyway, but I didn't like it for cacti, it dried out too much and wouldn't wet up again. I use leaf mold and homemade compost, to which I add grit and crushed aerated concrete block. 🙂🙂🌵🌵

[@sansevieriapalace]

I didn't expect this composition to be so real

[@morrisparkintheozarks6831]

Great video Ana!! All three soils, commercial " drQ " your own mix and Brent's mix all look very good!! We have no access to good commercial mixes, all have a peat base. I bought a expensive potting soil " Bush doctor " which is coconut coir based and mixed with perlite. I use this mixed with wood compost soil, sand and more perlite. Seems to be pretty good. Another thing I wished we had available here is pumice. I like to use it, but no availability. Thanks for sharing Ana!!! From Morris Park in the Ozarks, out to Las Vegas, have a wonderful day!!! Peace, Love, Plants!!!✌️💖🌵🌴🌷🍀💐🪴🌿🌹🌳🌸🌱🌻🌾😃👍

[@billgolightly7203]

Why did you give up on Black Gold? Thanks for the video.

[@CactusCaffeine]

They are not consistent with their blend. Their blend varies depending on where they were bagged (I think), which I find puzzling. Sometimes I get a bag with a lot of big pieces of bark and perlite.

[@sansevieriapalace]

Nice colletion

[@Traveller_Ceylon]

Thank you for the information Anna. I always enjoy watching your videos. One of the experienced Thailand Lobivia seller said me that he uses a mixture of decomposed leaves and surface soil for his Lobivia and Echinopsis. I asked about the long lasting moisture of that type of a soil mix, but he said that it doesn’t matter for lobivia and that echinopsis. Have anyone experienced that type of a soil mix ? I’d love to know your ideas. Love from Srilanka 🇱🇰

[@amcactus]

🎉❤🎉 excellent

[@jamescarr2156]

why not pumice?

[@jessiealonzo2660]

Thanks again for another great and informative video!!! Ima gonna try your mix, I just ordered a bag of Pumice on Amazon. Where did you get your washed sand from?

[@CactusCaffeine]

Either from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Thanks for watching!

[@elsiebanas-e432]

Where to buy those potting, am not sure if available here in the Phil.

[@Unkn0wn1133]

Your climate is very different than hers so your media should be different. Try youtubers with a climate similar to you.

[@jancichon224]

Anna, please give me the ingredients for the cactus mix, how much should I give, I mean percentages, best regards

[@Qce-i6d]

I'm super glad you guys talked about peat moss not being a good soil mix item. I learned in my college Horticultural studies that harvesting of the peat moss destroys vital wetlands, and takes many millennia to recover. So I don't use it.

[@CactusCaffeine]

That is absolutely true. Unless they can mass cultivate peat moss in a laboratory or a “farm”, harvesting peat moss is definitely not sustainable.

[@SshhhTrouble]

I never had succulents or cacti before just regular indoor plants. So on hand I have coco coir, pumice and worm castings. That’s what I use for my house plants. What kind of sand do I look for?

[@CactusCaffeine]

Coarse sand is better. Fine sand will cake up. And never use beach sand because it contains too much salt and will kill your plants. 🙂🌵

[@cgbach]

How do I stop the perlite from rising to the top of my soil over time?

[@CactusCaffeine]

I use top dressing on my soil. (Small rocks) They prevent the perlite and the soil from floating and spilling when I water. ☺️

[@rossmcleod7983]

For terracotta pots and evening out the moisture control, try a plunge bed. A foot of sand in a raised, strong bed and bury the pot halfway. The aesthetics and practicality are quite rewarding.

[@raderchakk]

I heard that your soil mix for outdoor cacti has perlite, pumice, washed sand, tripple grind redwood, and an soil amendment. Could you please provide the ratios these ingredients?

[@manuelromero4408]

I stopped using coco coir. It gets mold and rots the roots in NYC. Not rot mixing 40%peat moss, 40% perlite, 5%sand, 3% earthworm castings and 2% charcoal. Any plant can use this mix. If you need fertilizer use it as a top dressing around plant, not directly on it.

[@jamesjames9149]

Can you use these same soil mixes for Texas Sage and tacoma stans ? Thanks in advance

[@silentwalk1768]

Cactus are not fussy but I've used gravel or sand course that is and crushed lava rock from my barbecue

[@manuelromero4408]

I learned if peat moss or soil bags are mixed with forest products, they turn hard after 2 years. I avoid using products with forest ingredients. Learn from Gary's Best top pot mix.

Whats the ratio?

[@solarwinds-]

Sermani & Compacta (spelling) NICE! Always glad to be introduced .

[@matthewpetersen4417]

Its called shredded pine bark

[@TrenT83]

не рекомендую перлит, он со временем разрушается и затрудняет воздухо-водо отвод.........спасибо за видео!

[@debrayarde863]

Those cactus are emaculate

[@StalkerNaturaliste]

Personally I find there is WAY too much organic material in those mixes. I'm not a professional and I dont collect for very long, so I'm still learnin. I try to learn from my own mistakes and the experience of people who grow the most sensitive plants. It seems that the best results are with nearly 100% mineral and this is also what I observe in my collection. What seems to save the cacti of people who use organic material is the extreme drought of their climate, but even in thoses conditions organic material is a rot hasard. I know you need organic material to retain a bit of moisture, have you tried to add something like vermiculite instead?

[@carolficorilli9768]

I have Desert Roses.

[@craigsweeney8305]

An easy source of pumice is cheap kitty litter.

[@maribelreyes5151]

But peatmoss is bad for the environment.!!!

[@thegardenguru4716]

Amazing video 👍👍 ,,Good information given by you and appreciate your video. Big like..👍 I have subscribe your chanel🔔🤝🔔