Commercial potting mixes have a lot going for them: they're convenient, widely available and usually provide a good medium for plants to grow in. What they often aren't is organic. Many potting mixes contain wetting agents, synthetic starter fertilizer and other nonorganic additives. In addition, the few organic potting mixes that have come on the market have usually gotten the thumbs-down from growers due to both their cost and their failure to produce healthy plants.

Making potting mix is a very simple process that is akin to making cookie dough.

1. Mix a lot of different ingredients together in the correct proportions

2. Clean up the mess.

The only supplies you will need are your ingredients, a container to mix them in and a place to store your finished mix, if you aren't going to use it right away. A trash can or a large storage tote works well for mixing and storing small batches. You can mix the ingredients with a shovel, a big stick or your arm. If you are lucky enough to have a concrete mixer, you can mix all of the ingredients in it and save yourself a lot of stirring.

Most potting mixes are soil-less mixes. Soil is heavy and doesn't have the moisture-holding capacity or the fluffiness that potting mix needs to have. In addition, soil can harbor insect and disease pests that harm your plants. Typically, mixes are composed of ingredients that will hold a lot of water and air, used in conjunction with ingredients that will provide nutrients to the plants.

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