Cactus Soil: How to Make Your Own Cactus Mix

The right cactus soil is essential to good plant development. Gardening expert Rachel Garcia explains everything you need to know about cactus mix and how to make it.

How to make Cactus Soil

Contents

We all know most cacti come from the desert. But, what if you live up North, in the tropics, or anywhere not full of sun-baked sand? You can still grow cacti, but only if you have the right cactus soil.

Cactus soil differs from regular potting mix in a few ways. It has a grittier texture and doesn’t hold onto much moisture to match the conditions in the plant’s native habitats. It drains incredibly quickly compared to regular potting soil, preventing rot that could lead to your cactus’ demise.

Luckily, it’s not difficult to provide exactly what your cactus plants need. Follow this guide to understand cactus soil needs and learn how to make your own cactus soil mix.

Cactus Soil Needs

A terra-cotta pot with holes carved out around it, hanging in a porch with a green, cactus type, plant in it.
Make sure to provide plenty of drainage for your cactus.

Most cacti originate from arid desert or semi-desert regions. The camels of plants, they store moisture in their stems and leaves to last through long droughts. Their roots draw up moisture quickly when it rains for storage, drying out afterward but leaving the plant satisfied.

Because desert soil is rarely soaked for long periods of time, cactus roots don’t respond well to constant moisture. When left sitting in water, they’ll usually rot and die.

To protect your plants from excess moisture, cacti need well-draining soil. Too wet, and the plant may suffer from root rot. Depending on the cactus’s location, well-draining soil will usually be completely dry 5-7 days after watering.

Proper cactus potting soil isn’t only about dirt. One of the most important parts of growing succulents like cacti is drainage holes. If your cactus pot doesn’t have one, the water will fill up the bottom of the pot and soak the roots.

How to Make Cactus Soil Mix

Close up of a woman scooping dirt into a small terra-cotta planter that has a small cactus in it. There are several other small, similar plants on the table surrounding it.
Making your own cactus soil is budget friendly and easy to do.

It’s super easy to make your own cactus soil mix, and it can often be cheaper to do so. You need three components: a base, course material, and a supplement. With the right balance, you can mix a soil that’s perfect for your cactus.

When referring to parts here, we’re talking about the same size container for each “part”. That could be as little as a cup or as much as a cubic foot, depending on how much you plan on mixing. Just use the same size container to measure out each part.

Base

Close up of a bowl full of an organic, fibrous material that is used for planting cactus.
There are various types of organic fibers you can use to mix into your cactus soil.

As a general rule, all potting mixes are made from a blend of peat humus, sphagnum peat moss, and occasionally long-fiber sphagnum moss. These materials hold moisture, but most importantly they drain extremely well.

While it’s possible to DIY your own blend, it may take a lot of fine-tuning to mirror the commercial blends and their efficacy. Peat humus (the material that makes up the very bottom layers of a peat bog) is an expensive material.

A bag of sphagnum peat moss is much more reasonable and is usually sterilized to ensure it’s safe for your plants. Finding long-fiber sphagnum moss that’s been sterilized is also a challenge, but sometimes is available in bags as a product for bedding in reptile tanks.

The easiest option for most gardeners is to use a pre-made potting soil blend designed for African violets. An African violet soil mix usually contains the right ratios of humus, peat moss, and long-fiber moss, plus a coarse material to provide drainage.

In addition, a pre-made mix like this has been sterilized, so it’s safe from potential pathogens that could harm the plants in your garden.

Coarse Materials

Close up of several rows of small orange pots filled with various types of gravel and sand.
Blending different kinds of course sand will help with aeration and drainage.

Aeration is a major part of making the soil recipe ideal for a cactus. Too much soil or peat products won’t allow enough air to get to the roots. So, we’ll add an equal amount of coarse material to the potting soil.

Perlite is an excellent option because it drains well. Pumice, a coarse-grained sand, and poultry grit also can work well here.

If you’re starting with a DIY base, use more coarse material than if you’re using the African violet mix. Remember, the African violet mix already has some coarse material in it.

A good blend for this recipe is one part perlite, one part coarse sand. This breaks up the peaty goodness with a lot of gritty material, but half of it is smaller particles. Doing this provides both drainage and aeration.

Supplements

Close up of a hand holding a clump of organic, fibrous, soil that was gathered from the bucket below.
Coconut coir is similar to peat moss in texture and purpose.

Like cooking, other ingredients can be added in and adjusted to your taste.

Some gardeners prefer to work with coconut coir, which has similar uses to sphagnum peat moss. Others like to add vermicompost. Orchid bark is another common additive for chunky aeration. It really depends on personal preference and what works for you and the plants you’re growing.

Limit your supplements to small amounts. We recommend using less than one part supplements in your potting mix.

The Recipe

A black bucket with several mound of different organic matter used to make potting soil.
Be sure to blend the correct amount of each material for the best results.

Depending on how much you’re making, you can mix the cactus potting soil in a large bowl, bucket, or even a wheelbarrow. A scoop or hand trowel is perfect for mixing. Follow these ratios when mixing:

  • 2 parts potting mix
  • 1 part perlite
  • 1 part coarse sand
  • Optional supplements (depending on the needs of your specific cactus)

Combine your ingredients dry and then test out your creation. Fill a small pot with the cactus mixture and give it some water. The water should run out of the drainage hole fairly quickly while also wetting the soil.

What About Fertilizer?

Close up of a woman wearing bright orange gloves, holding a long clear dropper and dropping a blue liquid into a small cactus plant.
Every so often it can benefit your cacti by adding a bit of fertilizer.

Fertilizer does benefit most cacti and other succulents, but only when applied at the right time. Many varieties only need it at the beginning of the growing season.

Because of this, we recommend keeping cacti compost and fertilizer out of the soil mixture initially. You can apply it to the soil later when the time is right for your cactus.

Final Thoughts

Having the right soil is absolutely essential for a good succulent garden. As a cactus owner, it’s up to you to ensure this. Whether you make your own potting cactus soil or buy it, your cactus plants will thank you.

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