Play in the Soil: DIY Mixes and Tips for the Budget Gardener

While the temps are too cold to plant outdoors, prepare your garden for success—and beat the winter blues—by creating personalized super soils.

Instead of purchasing pre-mixed soils, savvy gardeners can purchase the ingredients and make their own blends. New Africa/Shutterstock

Set down the seed packet! A truly great garden season starts with the best soil possible, but there’s no need to spend $10 a bag or more for seed starting, potting, and other specialized garden mixes. You can save money by creating your own worm farms and composters, or simply mixing store-bought soil components yourself.

And let’s not forget some budget-friendly, tried-and-true tips and tricks to fill the bottom half of raised beds/containers. You probably already have the components on hand, so these money-saving DIY mixes will go even further.

Seed Starter Soil

The ideal seed starting mix is fine-textured and loose, moisture-holding yet well-draining, and free from weed seeds and disease-causing pathogens.