Today I thought I would do a full write up on how I make my Aroid Base Mix. I use it in about 90% of my re-pots, both for my personal plants and for clients as well. I have been playing with blending my own soil for several years, and this is what i have settled on. I don’t use this straight for any plants outside of orchids. But I add it to a high-quality potting soil and adjust the ratios depending on what each plant needs.
Supplies Needed
- a large tote, the 27 gallon black and yellow ones from Costco work great
- a 10 pound brick of compressed Coco Coir Chips
- CalMag, available at garden supply stores, but not big box stores
- 4 quarts Horticultural Charcoal
- 4-6 quarts Pumice for garden use
- 8 quarts of LECA, I prefer Hydroton Brand
- 8 quarts Fine Grade Orchid Bark, this one is optional but I really like to add it in.
All of these supplies can be found at your local garden supply stores. But if that isn’t an option, I have them all listed in my Amazon Storefront. I do earn commissions for things posted through my storefront.
First take your tote and the brick of compressed Coco Chips. Open the Chips and just place the whole block in the bottom of your tote. Be sure to place it somewhere out of the way as this next part can take awhile.
Then mix up some CalMag with water. You are going to use 15 teaspoons CalMag to 5 gallons of water. Add that to your tote, just pour it right over the top of the compressed Coco Chips. Leave your chips to soak up all of the water. This can take awhile, I go water plants wile I wait.
CalMag is really important to add to your water when re-hydrating your Coco Chips. Coco products, whether chips, finely shredded, or a coco based potting soil leaches nutrients, especially calcium and magnesium, and doesn’t release them back into the soil readily. So to mitigate this, we add CalMag to the soaking water. This fills the chips up with CalMag from the beginning and then they wont leach as much of your fertilizers.
Next add in your Horticultural Charcoal. This is important as a buffer. It helps to balance nutrient imbalances. It also serves to help with soil structure and aids in nutrient retention.
Then add in your pumice and LECA. I use about 4 quarts of pumice and 8 quarts of LECA, but it doesn’t have to be exact. These help with soil structure and getting air into the roots.
This one is optional, fine orchid bark. I personally like to use it if I am able to get it when I’m making up a batch of my Aroid Base. But if I cant track it down, it isn’t the end of the world. This is another product that helps with soil structure which aids in getting air into the plants roots and prevents the potting medium from compressing to much, becoming dense and suffocating roots. Once everything is added, mix well!
I use this mix in a few ways. When repotting orchids, I pot straight into this mix. For anything that benefits from having a lot of drainage and breathable soil, I use this mix about 50/50 with a high quality potting soil, like Roots Organics Greenfields. So for my Anthuriums, Hoyas, Monsteras, and Philodendrons. For plants that like a denser soil mix, I adjust it to be about 25-30% Aroid Base mix and 70-75% high quality potting soil. I have had people tell my they use my Aroid Base Mix straight. But then you are watering every other day. So unless you are a serial over-waterer, I recommend mixing it with potting soil. Play with your ratios as you pot things, you will find what works best in your home environment and with your watering habits.
Planted Paradise 