🪴Make a chunky soil mix with me!

Healthy roots = happy plants. A chunky soil mix is important because it gives roots room to breathe, drains excess water, and keeps your plants thriving instead of drowning.

What’s in my homemade chunky soil mix & why?

🪴Happy Frog or Fox Farm Soil – because dirt is for amateurs

🪴Orchid Bark – plants like it chunky

🪴Perlite – lightweight & drama-free drainage

🪴Coconut Coir – holds moisture like a clingy ex

🪴Worm Castings – yes, literal worm poop. Plants love it.

🪴Horticultural Charcoal – keeps roots fresh & canceling bad vibes

#plantlovers #plants #plantcare #planttips

2025/10/3 Edited to

... Read moreOkay plant friends, let me tell you, I used to just grab any old potting mix for my planters, and wondered why some of my plants just looked… sad. Yellow leaves, stunted growth, or even worse, root rot! It felt like my planters were anything but facilitating plant growth. Then I learned about the magic of chunky soil, and it completely changed my plant game! The biggest secret to how a planter truly facilitates a thriving plant isn't just the pot itself, but what's inside it. A chunky soil mix, like the one I shared, creates an environment where roots can truly breathe and flourish. Think about it: roots need oxygen as much as they need water. Regular dense soil can compact over time, suffocating those delicate roots. Our chunky mix actively prevents this compaction, ensuring an abundance of air pockets. This aeration is absolutely crucial for preventing anaerobic conditions that lead to root diseases. Let's break down how each ingredient in my mix specifically helps your planters facilitate healthier growth, pulling from what I've learned. The Orchid Bark isn't just for 'chunkiness'; it's brilliant at creating those vital air pockets and improving overall drainage, which is key for happy roots. Paired with Perlite, which I love for being lightweight and dramatically improving drainage, water flows through efficiently, preventing those dreaded 'soggy bottoms' that suffocate roots. And what about moisture retention? That's where Coconut Coir comes in. It's like a gentle sponge that holds moisture just enough, releasing it slowly to the roots without becoming waterlogged. This balance is critical because it ensures your plants get consistent hydration without being constantly wet. Now, for the really good stuff that facilitates robust growth: Worm Castings. Yes, it's literal worm poop, but it's a natural nutrient boost that slowly feeds your plants, promoting strong development. This means less need for constant chemical fertilizers. And the Horticultural Charcoal? Beyond helping with drainage, it's amazing for odor control and promoting overall root health by absorbing impurities and preventing fungal issues. It truly helps cancel out those 'bad vibes' for your roots! Finally, starting with a good nutrient-rich base like Happy Frog or Fox Farm Soil gives your plants a strong head start. When all these components work together in your planter, they create a perfectly balanced ecosystem. The planter isn't just a container; with the right chunky soil, it becomes a dynamic environment that actively facilitates robust root development, efficient water management, consistent nutrient delivery, and disease prevention. My plants have never been happier, and I rarely deal with root issues anymore. Give it a try; your plants will thank you!

2 comments

AlwaysDray's images
AlwaysDray

thank you for the share. Do youadd equal parts of all of them ?

See more(1)

Related posts

make indoor plant soil with me
this is great for tropical plants 🪴 #plants #plantsindoors #indoorplants #SOIL #plantmom
Ash ❤️‍🔥🙏🏽✨

Ash ❤️‍🔥🙏🏽✨

524 likes

How To Make A Chunky “Soilless” Soil Mix
Paid partnership with Banana Bloom Here is how I make a chunky “soilless” soil mix! I especially like to use this on my variegated monstera plants. I just started using banana bloom as a product to hold moisture while letting the roots still breathe. When it pairs with the other ingredients, it
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

224 likes

chunky soil mix recipe✨
how to make chunky soil mix your plants will thank you 🌿 ✨Chunky Soil Mix Recipe: ✨ Great for airflow, drainage, and happy roots: 🌱 2 part potting soil, I use Cactus soil. Provides a base full of nutrients 🌿 1 part orchid bark adds chunk and structure 🪨 1 part perlite improves drainage &
teyhla

teyhla

46 likes

A hand holds a moisture-friendly potting mix, appearing dark brown with white perlite pieces, suitable for plants like ferns and Calatheas that prefer consistent moisture.
Three bags of soil components are displayed: Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix, Miracle-Gro Sphagnum Peat Moss, and Schultz Perlite, used for creating a moisture-friendly soil blend.
A hand holds a chunky soil mix, characterized by larger pieces of bark and perlite, ideal for tropical plants and aroids like Monstera and Philodendrons.
How I Choose The Right Soil For My Houseplants 🪴
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my plant journey, it’s that the soil you choose can make or break your plants. So often we focus on watering schedules or light, but the truth is, roots are everything. And roots live in the soil, or the medium you choose. Once I started customizing my mixes, my
Chels ☀️

Chels ☀️

31 likes

Best Soil Mix For Plants | Plant Care Tips
My go to “all purpose” soil mix. I feel like this is a great blend that’s not too chunky but not too dense. It’s a great in between blend that I have the majority of my houseplants in 🥰 1 part potting mix 1 part perlite 1 part orchid bark 1/2 part worm castings 1/2 part horticultural char
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

89 likes

How To Make Chunky Soil For Aroid Plants
One of the best monstera plant care tips I could give is to put it in a chunky soil mix. This chunky mix has my plants thriving, and it has worked really well for me! Recipe 2 parts coco chips 1.5 parts orchid bark 1.5 parts perlite 1.5 parts pumice 1 part horticultural charcoal 1/2
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

260 likes

Turn Food Scraps Into Living Soil | Free Skool
Healthy plants start with healthy soil! I just created a free Skool community where I’m organizing all of my content in to easy to follow playlists/classes/courses. I want to talk about turning food scraps into living soil, growing healthier plants naturally, learning composting and worm farmin
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

8 likes

A large green plant leaf with prominent white veins serves as a background for a white text box that reads 'DIY soil mix for house plants! (4 ingredients)'.
A bag of Miracle-Gro Perlite is shown, with text describing the first step of the DIY soil mix: washing perlite and adding it as 1/4 of the potting mix.
A close-up view of white perlite granules, which are small, lightweight, and porous, ready to be added to the soil mix.
Easy 4 Ingredient House Plant Soil Mix!
Ingredients : perlite (chunky if you can find it!), worm castings (dry mix) , orchid bark, and your favorite soil mix . Add enough of each ingredient so they all make up 1/4 of the mix! Make sure you wash your perlite , though. It removes the excess dust :) let me know if you have any questions!
Tabitha Kelly

Tabitha Kelly

30 likes

A collection of various bags and boxes of soil amendments and potting mixes, including potting soil, orchid bark, perlite, coco coir, worm castings, and horticultural charcoal, laid out on a floor for an indoor chunky soil recipe.
A large blue bag of 'NearSource Organics Indoor & Outdoor Potting Mix' labeled 'ORGANIC,' representing the '1 part' potting soil component for the chunky soil recipe, which adds nutrients.
A pink and green bag of 'Miracle-Gro Orchid Potting Mix Coarse Blend,' representing the '1 part' orchid bark component for the chunky soil recipe, which adds drainage.
indoor plant chunky soil 🪴
trying this new recipe for my indoor tropical plants #plantmom #indoorplants #SOIL #plants #lemon8plants
Ash ❤️‍🔥🙏🏽✨

Ash ❤️‍🔥🙏🏽✨

185 likes

Creating a new tiny string of pearls plant
A while back I posted that I propagate string of pearls in water and people were shocked! It’s my preferred method because it’s so easy! Within a few weeks the cuttings were ready for soil! How do you like to propagate your string of pearls? . . . . #stringofpearls #variegatedstring
Gardenholic

Gardenholic

778 likes

How to Make Chunky Soil For Aroid Plants
How to make soil for your plants. This is a soilless chunky mix that I use especially for my aroid plants. This includes, monstera, philodendron, pothos, and more! This is the recipe I used based off of my soil scoop (it’s about 3 cups) 2 scoops orchid bark 1 scoop coco coir 1/2 scoop horti
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

290 likes

Chunky soil mix🫶🌱
#plants #plantmom #trending
kayla.

kayla.

97 likes

Feed the soil🌱
🌱 Day 4 of 30 — Feed the Soil Happy Sunday. Before another week begins, ask yourself: What have I been feeding lately? Because whatever you feed grows. If you’ve been feeding fear, fear will grow. If you’ve been feeding doubt, doubt will grow. But if you’ve been feeding your faith
Come Grow With Me🪻

Come Grow With Me🪻

37 likes

Let’s make chunky soil on a budget🌿
My chunky soil mix has been a total game changer, but if you’re trying to keep things simple, here’s what I recommend as a bare minimum. Happy Frog Potting Soil This is my go to base because it actually keeps plants happy. It’s nutrient rich, fluffy, and I see the best root growth in it. Per
Colie Schmo

Colie Schmo

42 likes

Potting soil secrets plant nerds don’t share 🪴😤
Discover these potting soil secrets so you can make your houseplants thrive better 🌿✨😌 #planttips #plantcare #houseplants #planttok #plantsoftiktok
Plant princess

Plant princess

275 likes

A hand mixes an inexpensive chunky soil blend in a clear container, featuring bark pieces and perlite, as indicated by the text overlay "MY INEXPENSIVE CHUNKY Soil Mix."
A bag of Better-Gro Special Orchid Potting Mix is shown, highlighting its components: bark, perlite, and charcoal, which are used in the chunky soil blend.
A clear container holds a mixture of bark pieces and white perlite, with a hand mixing the components for the chunky soil blend.
MY INEXPENSIVE CHUNKY SOIL MIX🌱🪴💚
I am always looking for ways to save money when it comes to my plants. This is the soil mix that I found works for all of my plants. I customize it according to each plants needs, that means adding more soil mix and less orchid bark or vice versa. Do you have one go to soil blend? What’s your f
Kita 🌱✨

Kita 🌱✨

22 likes

Plant con Houston ✨
If you’ve never been to PlantCon before, this is a great place to start. PlantCon Houston is happening the weekend of April 25th and it’s more than just shopping—it’s a full experience with growers, rare plants, and educational sessions. Here are my top 5 tips for first-timers: 1. Bri
StrangeGlo🌿

StrangeGlo🌿

105 likes

How to make soil for your plants
How to make soil for plants. I use this mix for all of my houseplants unless I have a premade bag from someone. This helps so much with making sure your plants have good drainage! 1:1 ratio potting mix perlite orchid bark Optional: horticultural charcoal worm castings Throw a handful
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

1392 likes

Use this soil for indoor & outdoor plants🌿‼️
https://amzn.to/3Xb2AGK #IndoorGarden #IndoorGardening #Houseplants #IndoorPlants #PlantParent #HomeGarden #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #GreenThumb #GrowYourOwn #GardenTherapy #IndoorJungle #SelfSufficientLiving #ContainerGardening #PottingSoil #SoilHealth #OrganicSoil #HealthyRoots #Grow
Vanessa🧚🏾‍♀️Ann

Vanessa🧚🏾‍♀️Ann

10 likes

Chucky Soil Mix Recipe 🌿
“By popular demand… here’s what keeps my plants thriving and my roots unbothered 😏🌿 Perlite, worm castings, orchid bark, and charcoal — basically plant luxury. #pottingsoil #plantsoilmix #newplantparent
StrangeGlo🌿

StrangeGlo🌿

69 likes

Monstera Plant Care Tips
Monsteras loveeee a chunky soil mix, and I’ve been loving using these coco chips as a base for my mix! Especially with variegated plants, it’s important to use a chunky mix to help them not get root rot. Throw in some pumice, perlite, orchid bark, or other chunky mediums and make yourself a perfec
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

265 likes

The Why Behind Chunky Soil Mix For Aroid Plants
Tropical plants like monstera love humidity, but they hate sitting in soggy wet soil! Providing a chunky soil mix like this one provides so many benefits, and this video explains the “why” behind the ingredients in this mix. #plantsindoors #plantcare #plantcaretips #tropicalplants #pla
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

56 likes

CHUNKY SOIL MIX
this is how I make my soil mix. perlite keeps things loose so soil won't become compact and let's the roots breath orchid bark creates air pockets and improves drainage which is important for plants prone to root rot lastly soil provides nutrients and holds moisture #soilmix #plant
faithsglasshousegarden

faithsglasshousegarden

3 likes

How I make my own potting soil
So so happy it's spring time! #potting soil #diygardening #garden #gardening #spring
Kendra 🖤🦋🙂

Kendra 🖤🦋🙂

264 likes

DIY Chunky Soil Mixture for Indoor Plants 🪴
This is my happy plant soil mix. I mix equal parts orchid bark, perlite & base soil into a lidded container and use it when it’s time to repot my plants. This combination creates an environment great for aeration & for excess water to escape, preventing root rot making for happy plants. 😍🪴
Sapphire | Curating Mamahood✨

Sapphire | Curating Mamahood✨

71 likes

Ultimate Soil Guide: Stop Killing Your Plants! 🪴🛑
Repotting season is here! 🎉 But before you grab any random bag of dirt from Home Depot, let’s talk about SOIL. Using the wrong soil mix is the No. 1 reason why indoor plants die from root rot. If you want your green babies to actually survive and thrive, save this ultimate cheat sheet on the 5 m
Succulent Shine

Succulent Shine

19 likes

How to make soil for your plants
Ingredients: 1. Potting mix 2. Perlite 3. Orchid bark 4. Worm castings 5. Horticultural charcoal Now get to repotting 🥰 #planttips #plantcare #plantcaretips #indoorplants #houseplantcare
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

12.9K likes

A hand holds a broken chunky cookies and cream cookie, revealing its soft interior with white chocolate chips and crushed Oreos. Other whole cookies rest on a wooden board, with the text "Chunky cookie and cream cookies" overlaid.
Chunky Cookies and Cream cookie
Start off by pre heating oven to 350°F Line baking pan with Parchment paper. Dry ingredients👇 1)In a mixing bowl, add 2 1/4 cup of self rising flour. 2) 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch 3) 1/2 tsp baking powder 4) 1 tsp baking soda 5) Pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter) Wet ingredients 👇 In a
Rena Tovar

Rena Tovar

3678 likes

A visual guide displaying seven different herbs, including basil, mint, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, and green onions, all growing with visible roots in clear glass jars filled with water on a wooden surface.
🌿 Herbs You Can Grow in Water (No Soil Needed!)
Want fresh herbs all year without a garden? You can grow many herbs right in a jar of water on your kitchen window! It’s easy, beautiful, and smells amazing. Herbs that grow well in water: 🌱 Basil 🌱 Mint 🌱 Rosemary 🌱 Oregano 🌱 Thyme 🌱 Sage 🌱 Green onions How to do it: 1️⃣ Cut a 4–6 in
Blessed Garden & Paws

Blessed Garden & Paws

999 likes

The Why Behind Chunky Soil Mix Ingredients Part 2
Tropical plants like monstera love humidity, but they hate sitting in soggy wet soil! Providing a chunky soil mix like this one provides so many benefits, and this video explains the “why” behind the ingredients in this mix. PART 2 #plantcare #plantcaretips #planttips #plantloversoflemon8
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

44 likes

Saving My Plants With Hydrogen Peroxide + Benefits
The other day, my Monstera gave me a big scare. I noticed dark spots on a brand new unfurled leaf. The rest of the plant looked great so I was confused what might be causing that. I just knew it wasn’t normal. When I pulled the plant from its pot, the entire soil block slid out in 1 piece. Inside
🦋 Botany Babe 🦋

🦋 Botany Babe 🦋

168 likes

5 soil mistakes suffocating your plants 🌿💀😭
Check for these mistakes to keep your houseplants alive and thriving 🪴🌿✨ #planttips #planttipsandtricks #plantcare #plantparent #plantlovers
Plant Flow Fairy

Plant Flow Fairy

59 likes

Soilless Plant Mix For Aroid Plants
One of the best monstera plant care tips I could give is to put it in a chunky soil mix. This chunky mix has my plants thriving, and it has worked really well for me! Recipe 2 parts coco chips 1.5 parts orchid bark 1.5 parts perlite 1.5 parts pumice 1 part horticultural charcoal 1/2
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

241 likes

An indoor room filled with various houseplants, a white papasan chair, and a desk with a computer. Text overlay reads "Sharing My Experience Easy plants Not so common."
A hand holds a white potted arrowhead plant (Syngonium) with light green, variegated leaves. The plant is labeled "01. Arrowhead plant."
A hand holds a white potted polka dot plant with vibrant pink and green speckled leaves. The plant is labeled "02. Polkadot plant."
Easy houseplants🪴🌷
Ive seen a lot of posts on easy houseplants and It’s usually the same 4 so I thought I would mention a couple that have been pretty easy for me. 1. Arrowhead plant/ Syngonium This plant has been relatively easy for me. I tend to let it dry out before watering. Its had a couple different lighti
🫧🪴📚✨Sara ✨📚🪴🫧

🫧🪴📚✨Sara ✨📚🪴🫧

268 likes

Chunky Soil Mix 🪴
I usually use a handful of each item if not a little more. You need Plant Soil, I add lecca to mines to give them more moisture and oxygen in my soil. Orchid bark is added to the mix it improves drainage from the soil as well as creates air pockets. Add in the chunky perlite, and coco chips and y
Joss

Joss

6 likes

My Secret to Huge Leaves
Ever wondered how to take your plant from a small, plain leaf to a show-stopping fenestrated beauty? 🌿 This is exactly how I did it (and no, it’s not the moss pole 😉). Swipe through to see the transformation and save this post for when your plant needs a growth boost. ✨ My 4-Step Leaf-Growth
Colie Schmo

Colie Schmo

63 likes

Four distinct piles of chunky soil ingredients are displayed on a green tarp: coco husk, white perlite, black charcoal, and brown Leca.
The chunky soil ingredients, including coco husk, white perlite, black charcoal, and brown Leca, are shown mixed together on a green tarp.
The final chunky soil mix, combining coco husk, perlite, charcoal, Leca, and potting soil, is presented on a green tarp, ready for use.
Chunky soil mix
Chunky soil has lots of benefits like Improved Drainage, Better Aeration, Reduced Soil Compaction, Longer Time Between Watering, Root Health. Anthurium, Alocasia, Dieffenbachia, Monstera, Philodendron, Pothos, ZZ plants, calathea, string of hearts, palms, Some ferns, succulents, orchids and Hoya
Eva Jones

Eva Jones

15 likes

Monstera Potting Mix- make sure it’s chunky!
A good monstera potting mix is a CHUNKY mix. Their roots need room to breathe. #monstera #monsteraplant #plantcare #plantcaretips #plantloversoflemon8
cherenesgreens

cherenesgreens

344 likes

how to rescue a plant with root rot!
Root rot is one of the most common houseplant problems you’ll face when keeping plants. It occurs when the soil stays moist for too long around a plant’s roots, not allowing for air circulation which then leads to rot that spreads to the rest of the plant. However, this disease does not necessarily
catherine

catherine

102 likes

Growing Bigger, Happier Monstera Leaves🌿
My Thai Constellation is so close to unfurling a brand new leaf and I’m convinced it’s her way of saying thanks for the extra love lately. Here’s exactly what I’ve been doing to encourage larger, happier growth: 1️⃣ Feed Consistently: I use a high-nitrogen fertilizer (Superthrive Foliage-Pro) du
Colie Schmo

Colie Schmo

20 likes

🌿 BIG BABY ACQUIRED! 😍🪴Home Depot Haul for the Plant Collection 💚
🌿🪴 Home Depot Haul: Mission “Big Baby” Complete! 😍 Y’all… I finally got my new BIG BABY Snake Plant, and I am absolutely in love! 🥰🌱 Look at her standing tall and pretty already! Of course, once I picked up my newest plant baby, bae told me to go ahead and grab everything I need to make a fre
Only1Kia

Only1Kia

22 likes

Support or no support? The philodendron tortum
🌱 Philodendron Tortum #plantdwithjae #ionlyspeakplant #shortgirlslikebigplants #talktoplantsnotpeople #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantcare #plantsaremytherapy #plantupdate #myconditions #philodendron #philodendrontortum I’ve had this tortum a while and completely had no idea of
Plantd_withjae

Plantd_withjae

3 likes

garlic growing in soil for 22 days
Gardenholic

Gardenholic

1624 likes

Don’t Throw Away Your Old Soil. Do THIS Instead! 🌱
#growyourowngarden #containergardening #newgardener
Playing in Dirt

Playing in Dirt

31 likes

Grow Strawberries in this soil mixture
#gardentips #gardening
Salty Acres

Salty Acres

57 likes

fixing soil mistakes
I'm still going to list everything I did in this video so you could follow step by step, I definitely learned 😓 1. it's actually best to leave your containers out somewhere where they could get naturally watered by the environment. an instance like this I haven't been watering during
Tilly

Tilly

361 likes

Your kitchen doesn’t need soil to feel alive 🌱💧
These plants grow just in water — no mess, no stress, just green beauty on your counter. Save this for your future plant corner ✨ Which one are you growing first? #KitchenPlants #WaterPlants #PlantTok #EasyPlants #GreenHome #PlantInspiration
plants&flowers

plants&flowers

956 likes

What I found thrifting
Found this big glass jar with a cork top at the thrift store! Picked up some tiny terrarium plants for a couple bucks each and now i have this beautiful terrarium I made, all for under 10 bucks 💓🪴 •I first put a layer of aquarium pebbles, then a layer of chunky soil mix, buried my plants and de
Corey Herzog

Corey Herzog

85 likes

This Fluffy Soil Mix Gives My Seeds The Best Start
I’ve tried a lot of soil mixes for starting seeds, but this one stands out. I use a blend of Happy Frog Potting Soil and organic seed starting mix, and the results speak for themselves. The texture is light and fluffy — perfect for delicate seedlings — and it has just enough nutrients to give them
Playing in Dirt

Playing in Dirt

43 likes

How I Make Seed Starting Soil Without Peat
If you’re starting seeds and struggling with bagged soil, this peat-free living soil mix is a gentle alternative. I use this seed-starting blend because it supports roots first, stays light, and builds living soil instead of relying on synthetic fertilizer. In the full video, I walk through t
Lisa | Growing Good Co 🌱

Lisa | Growing Good Co 🌱

15 likes

Plants that don’t need soil to grow 💧🌿✨
Get these houseplants if you don’t want to deal with the mess of potting soil 💧🌿😌 #planttips #indoorplants #houseplants #plantlovers #plants
Plant flow parent

Plant flow parent

153 likes

See more