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Viable soil mix from available materials

 
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Hey there!
A lot is discussed about soil mixes. But I wonder if I could create viable soil to plant vegetables in planters (don't need to be perfect, just viable for most edible plants) based on materials I have available at our property in Florida:
- Grass clippings (I let them dry to use as mulch)
- Compost (made of grass clippings, kitchen scraps and weeds)
- Wood chips (from oak tree branches)
- Palm tree leaves chips (I chip the whole thing with a chipper)
- Cardboards (I can use the chipper to brake in pieces)
- Oak leaves (whole or chipped)
- Sand (we have a lot in FL)
Does anybody have any experience making soil mixes from materials like these? If so, which ones and what ratios were used?
I'm trying to be as self sufficient as possible and would like to avoid to buy stuff to make soil.
Thank you very much!
 
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Hi Marcelo,
Welcome to Permies!

When you say "in planters", what sort of planter are we talking about? Smaller pots? Large raised beds? That might change this slightly.

But mostly, it would be the same. I would use the cardboard, grass clippings, woodchips, and palm chips to make more compost. None of those ingredients will be much use to a plant before they are broken down. The exeption would be mulch. But that would depend on how big your planters are. If we are talking containers... then you probably only need so much mulch. Mixing in those materials with sand or compost might cause problems, so best to keep it to the top or for making more compost.

Then, I would take the compost, mix in some native sandy soil, and see how it goes.
 
Marcelo Rodrigues
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Thank you Matt for the advice. It makes all the sense. If I just mix the materials before, the decomposing process will happen in the pot, which wouldn't be good for the roots.
I'll do as you suggested and compost what I won't use as mulch, then mixing the compost with my sandy soil.

Thanks again!
 
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