Compact, cracked potting soil is a big problem, and gardening beginners can easily solve it with 7 tricks

I believe many friends will run into this problem while growing flowers: after you have been growing flowers for a long time, the potting soil starts to become hard and even cracks in several places. As soon as you water it, the water runs straight out through the cracks and not a bit is retained. When this happens, the potting soil has become compacted. With soil this hard, you cannot even dig it with a shovel, and it does not hold water either, so it would be strange if your flowers could still survive.

So what causes potting soil to become compacted? What should you do when potting soil becomes compacted? And how can you prevent potting soil from becoming compacted? Next, Xiao Jingzhi Life will study this together with everyone.

I. Causes of potting soil compaction

There are many causes of potting soil compaction. First is an unsuitable potting soil mix, such as using only clay when potting up flowers. Then there is improper watering, such as always watering flowers with tap water, because tap water has high hardness and contains many impurities such as bleaching powder and chlorine. When these impurities remain in the soil, over time it may even become salinized and alkaline. In addition, watering flowers casually with unfermented milk or soy milk, using too much chemical fertilizer, and poor drainage in the flowerpot causing a large amount of standing water can all cause potting soil compaction.

II. Solutions for potting soil compaction

After potting soil becomes compacted, its ability to retain water and fertilizer drops greatly, and the roots of flowers and plants cannot grow freely to absorb nutrients. In severe cases, the cracking may even directly tear the roots apart and cause the flowers and plants to die. If compaction occurs, the most fundamental solution is to repot and change the soil. If you have sawdust or coal cinders, you can ferment the sawdust or crush the coal cinders and mix them into the potting soil to make it moisture-retaining and loose. Larger coal cinder pieces can also be used to line the bottom of the flowerpot to maintain air permeability and drainage. The standard for mixing soil is that it can be squeezed into a ball by hand and crumbles as soon as you let go.

III. How to prevent compaction

Prevention is better than remedy, so how should you prevent potting soil compaction?

1. The most fundamental thing is soil mixing. As mentioned above, fermented sawdust or crushed coal cinders can be mixed into the potting soil. In addition, adding a little crushed charcoal is also excellent.

2. If conditions allow, you can go to the mountains or into the woods to find some leaf mold, that is, the dark, loose layer between fallen leaves and yellow soil. But after bringing it back, you must sun-dry it for a period of time, because it contains many insects or insect eggs.

3. If tap water must be used for watering, be sure to let the tap water sit in the sun for more than 24 hours before use. In other words, just prepare a bucket, fill it with tap water and leave it there to sit. When it is time to water the flowers, use the water in the bucket, and refill it after use.

4. Rainwater is a good thing. Letting flowers get rained on is excellent, and if conditions allow, storing some rainwater is even better.

5. Things like milk, soy milk, tea dregs, and waste oil from range hoods can be used, but always remember one principle: these things must be fermented before use.

6. Try not to add strange and bizarre things to the soil.

7. Loosen the soil frequently.

The above was organized and published by Xiao Jingzhi Life. I hope it can be helpful to everyone.