Sorry, I had to re-upload the video due to audio issues. But I received some very informative comments on the previous upload and wanted to share them with you here: @Boojie Panda said: "You were asking about potting soil. A high end potting mix will have a lot of delicious goodies in it for plants. One that a lot of folks like to use as a base for their soil mixes is Fox Farm Ocean Forest. There's enough organic food in it to feed a plant for 4 to 6 months. The ingredients are composted forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish emulsion, crab meal, shrimp meal, earthworm castings, sandy loam, perlite, bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp, and oyster shell (for pH adjustment). From my experience with this soil, they don't add as much peat moss as the cheaper potting soils do." @Coagulated Salts said: "from what i know, soil IS a mix of organic and inorganic materials, the organic materials usually provide essential elements to keep a plant fed like carbon, and phosphorous, the inorganic materials are usually minerals that are essential but play a smaller role like calcium, magnesium, etc…. soil usually has decomposing organic material which allows beneficial bacteria to break things down, the most essential bacteria are ones that break down the strong bonds of atmospheric nitrogen and turn it into ammonia or other usable nitrates. plants get also oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon from the atmosphere. also to add to your root rot/overwatering commentary: in the wild, plants grow in a shared media with other plants so the soil gets good aeration due to roots creating gaps. epiphytic and semi epiphytic plants also have roots that bind to their vertical substrate, and those plants are especially hardy because they can regrow from a single node that’s been attached to a tree and not even touch the ground in any which way. sources: my knowledge acquired from my biology classes"

Love the organized tubs! 👍

I always over watered my plants until I found a post a few years ago about container gardening by a gentleman named Al. So I started experimenting with a mostly inorganic substrate. I propagated a pothos in water for the test, and after about a year one thing I noticed is the roots in the peat mix did that circling through the whole pot and you have to pull the soil from the middle of the roots when your repotting . I did not see circling in the new mix, the roots went through the soil. That’s when it hit me that the roots move towards the outside of the pot searching for oxygen while in a mucky substrate.

I really appreciate all your tips! The best way to know that something is working it's seeing the results and we can see that in your plants. Thank you for all knowledge shared.

So weird, I thought we needed dirt for plants, thanks so much for this.

Recently found your channel and I love it!! I'm 67 and have had plants since I was 6 yrs old. But you never stop learning. I have a lot of aroids and I want BIG leaves like you have, you have shared so many wonderful tips to get there!!

I’m glad Brad is still the star ⭐️ I usually add a little shop bought compost to my mix but I’ll stop now you’ve informed me about the fungus gnats possibly coming from there. Thanks for the great tips, I really appreciate you taking the time and effort to make the vids, you’re my mentor! 👍

you are a genius!! I love your mix. this certainly resolves the gnats issues I've been having from the store-bought potting mix!

Yay, I am so excited you are sharing this! Thank you, thank you 😊

I recently went full out on my aroids with repotting and moss poles. I followed your moss pole tutorial and started calling it mo moss burrito assembly - as it took over my kitchen for a few days. Now I have some too give away at Christmas!

One thing I would point out, and can’t stress enough, is salt content in the coco chunk. I wash mine (my process takes 1 full day). Make sure you rinse your bark well, you’ll see why once you do it. Do not believe what it says on the packaging.

Your plants are beautiful!!! Great soil mix! Thanks for sharing.

We say over-watering for the reason that we keep our plants in pots where they are rooted, water is retained in its substrate that causes root rot, unlike them being in the forest, that though it may rain a lot, there are other elements and materials in the ground like soil, dead leaves, animal droppings and etc., plus the balance of right humidity, air and sunshine that help its natural growing process and survival.

Thanks for sharing your mix ariod soil

The content is very interesting as always! Thank you for taking your time to share your knowledge with us 🙌🏻🪴

This is sooooo satisfying... I am watching this over and over again.... 😮

Great video as usual. Your videos are usually the most informative to me, because you do get into the details 👍🏽 Always here to support a fellow Aussie mate 🕺🏻🤘🏽

Luving your way of doing these plants

Very educational video on aroid growing mix 🌿! Thank you Sydney🌿🙂!

I love love the visuals of each ingredient with ASMR sound effects 👏🏼 ❤

Thank you for this! I've been using what I thought was good potting mix from a local organic nursery but I have gnats all the time! I will look into getting the these ingredients and making my own aroid mix.

I just love how you keep it simple. Good vid great advice now I will go make my own mix up

Your explanation of “overwatering” makes a lot of sense!

Thank you very much this is very informative and helpful! I bought some soil-less mix from a shop recently and repotted a couple of my plants into it and have noticed the same thing about the pests those plants don't get the gnats anymore! So now I definitely want to make my own in a big batch and transfer them all as well as add some moss poles. Your videos have been very helpful!

Fantastic video. Thanks for show all the different materials you use to make your mix. Judging by your plants it must be amazing. It’s also great to hear that other materials can be used as alternatives, that makes life easier 😄👍🏽🪴

Omg… I love you! Thanks so much for this, very helpful… and those plants!!!

Amazing thank you. I walmart mix and it had gnats and i didn't realize and now i have to repot all my plants. I will start doing my own mix now. I didn't know it was possible.

ok, I had to stop the video just to admire all the beautiful plants you have! I couldn't even focus on you because of them! They are beautiful!

Definitely happy to see you on KZfaq now Jan! Great content as always and totally good point to bring up what actually happens in a rainforest, most people don’t even think about how they’re growing in their natural environment :) I would also just suggest Lechuza Pon to people who are maybe a little lazy and/or can’t find what they want individually. It’s basically got everything one would need and it’s also heavy, so perfect for getting a stable moss pole!

@sydneyplantguy I just recently found you and I’ve watched a lot of plant KZfaqrs… You’re probably my favorite as far as explaining how and why you do what you do. Thank you for the tips and info! Its been extremely helpful. *Note on the Adansonii video: the Bayer product you mention contains imidacloprid, which some states don’t allow in the US because it’s dangerous to pollinators. It must be used INDOORS only, if you could let people know :) Protect the pollinators!

Yaay found it. Thank you for making this.

The best I've ever seen! Off to Amazon I go! Thank you ❤

Awesome mix. I use the same, except quite a bit more of the coco peat because with this super chunky mix, I'd need to water my plants every two days.

Thank you for sharing and have a blessed day

GREAT soil mix - I LOVE to learn about potting substrates!. I was DIYi-ng Al's Chunky Mix, but will switch to your mix! I have many of these ingredients but could only find sandbox sand - far too fine. Al suggests crushed Calcined Clay - which comes in a size a bit larger than the gritty sand. It's a main ingredient in bonsai mixes. A SUPER CHEAP!! alternative is a bag of Turface (*MVP only!) - other turface products have added ingredients. Turface soaks up some water, but drains quickly. Highly recommend!!! Cheap too! 50 lb bags were $20. Maybe more. Hands down the 2nd best ingredient i've bought since Pumice. Prices vary greatly, so call around until you find a reasonably priced bag.

You have one of the best looking plant collection in all youtube, i'm very grateful of you uploading all these videos!

Great video, thanks! Appreciate your knowledge.

You are my new favorite plant fella! Soil = it is just a substrate, so yet - you are totally making your own soil! Thank you for this = I am ripping apart my ENTIRE plant collection to give more aerated substrate. I have philodendrons and been collecting for over 20 years and some of my new plants HATE the soil I am making - too rich, too much humic debris and heavy organic material. I just always stuck my plants in pots and away we go! but I am learning so much from walking tropical forest floors and watching videos because after 20 + years - some of these plants should be HUGE! but are not...... I am also going to start experimenting with these moss poles. I have bought a few - but they are solid, like moss glued to this wires. You have re inspired me to to fun projects with my plants! Thanks! I liked, subscribed and hit the bell to get the whistles - please go see my videos on fungi! ;-)

I like your mix and I’m impressed that you are working without making miss 😂.

Haha I also mix my own substrate, or "soil". ✨👌 Soil is basically the upper layer of earth in which plants grow. Another way to define soil is the mixture of organics, inorganics, loose deposits, fluids, gases, living biomass and minerals covering the ground. We talked about this in school and this is the reason why I now prefer to speak about "substrate" or even "potting medium" since sometimes it contains "soil" and sometimes not. 😝

It's nice mix,I really like it 👍🏻👍🏻

I live in a very dry climate(using greenhouse cabinets for my humidity loving plants). I use most of the ingredients you've used but add more coco coir/peat and a small amount of good quality soil that has worm castings. I would be watering my 150 plants every day if I didn't have a more water retentive mix! But yes, aeration is super key 😊

I personally have all my plants in semi- hydroponic but I still learn a lot through your videos🌱🌱

appreciated your hot-take on root rot and "overwatering"! good thoughts

I agree about the root rot.. The plant is propagated in water & when I transfer it to soil I keep the soil saturated & the plant grows exponentially. You are excellent at horticultural. Thank you for all the tips..

Came here from your instagram! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and excuse me while I do a deep dive and watch everything!

So good, I really appreciate all your tips.

thank you. I won quite a few of my plants today with your mix. I did not put the coco because in my place impossible to find. I added however compost and osmocote. I have already seen when I water that it runs very quickly. I tend to over water so I think this mix is ​​for me.

Thank you for sharing! I think I need more perlite!

I LOOOVE your content!!❤️🥰 I also follow you on your IG and I am over the moon happy you've started YT chanel 🙏🙏 your collection is amazing! Greetings from Slovenia 😁

Huge, gorgeous monsteras!

Super useful! Thank u, Jan.

The only thing you need for your soil mix are nutrients, aeration and well drainage, and moisture retention. I use vermicast(worm poop) for nutrients, pumice for aeration and drainage, and cocopeat for moisture retention. I just adjust their ratio based on the plant

Love this mix. I also added a bit of worm castings.

Great video! As a custom soil builder, I agree 100% that these super-aerated, non-organic soilless mixes are much safer to avoid overwatering... IF you are willing to water and monitor much more often. Your mix is safe, but ooooh so much work! Some of your rarer plants actually do need that, but Monstera for instance appreciate a much "richer" soil with ingredients like compost or worm castings added. They absolutely do not need such a free-draining mix or benefit more from it. Btw, sand has been proven in university studies not to improve drainage unless it makes up approx 60% of the total mix. If it's less, then it is just filling in around the larger particles and reducing drainage... so you could get better aeration for the same water retention by using something like Canadian peat, which is as sustainable as coco coir (or any other ingredient than sand really). Alternatively, if you really like sand you could switch to one the basalt sands for it's very high ratio of micro-nutrients.

Ah very similar to my mix, I do add worm castings as I just find it works amazing with the soil mix

Hi! Could you please tell me the fraction of your pumice. 10-12 mm? Thanks

Thank you so much for this video. Your mix is the best I've seen. I have all these ingredients for my monsteras, and one of the additional ingredients I have are worm castings. I hope that will be ok. Take care!

Thank you for the very informative video

Beautiful, my is already on a moss pole! I am a seller and I am giving you information to everyone asking me about moss pole and aroid mix, I think you explain very clear and I love how successful you are 💚💚💚

Super informative. Thank you.

really interesting to see how you mix it up

Super helpful thanks!

"Natural Glitter" - okay you got me with this :D

Hi! Thanks for lifehacks. Could you please tell me what I should add in the mix if it gets kind of wet for a long period of time. I don't overwater it, it just gets dry very slowly...

Very good informative dear thank you

I just bought a very similar mix on ETSY and I'm impressed! I plan on putting some Pink Princess propagations in it and see how it goes. Great info on your video!

Lindo !! Adoro seus vídeos!!

Very informative!

Me and my boyfriend are big Fans! We already share you content with some of our friends and they were really impressed!

I absolutely made sure to hit that bell notification and selected “ALL” lol I mean check out those plants!! How could I not?!! Ever heard the saying, “Treat yourself, don’t beat yourself!” 😂❤ My new inspiration! So informative!!

Great mix! My only recommendation would be to add worm castings to it as a natural fertilizer boost.

Big fan..like to watch your videos and learning a lot ..

Your channel is outstanding! It's so unique, some of the information is mind blowing. I'd like to try to repot some of my plants that struggle with fungus gnats. I'm eager to get rid of them and have tried all sorts of store bought and homemade concoctions with some results, but no permanent solution. Would you recommend rinsing off the roots and cleaning off the old soil before repotting? Also, do you recommend using worm castings in the mix for fertilizer? Thanks!

Another great clip. Thank you! I will definitely try your mix and stop using potting soil. Can’t wait to see the difference. Thank you! PS You must be a (fellow) Virgo. You’re so organized! I love it! 😊

Regarding watering: I am living in the Netherlands, and it rains a lot over here. I noticed that even my echeverias, which are outside most of the year, don't mind the constant moisture. I think one of the reasons for that might be that the water doesn't sit, but constantly flows and, thus, isn't optimal growth environment for mould and similar. Interested in additional thoughts on this.

Love a mix like this! Soil Ninja in the UK is the only ready mixed I’ve found like it, everything else is yukky houseplant soil!

Found your page today and can't get enough. Just placed a $150 amazon order on the things I'm lacking. Very interesting. Thanks for the info.

Brad is sooo cute!!!!

Our potting mix are much a like although all my aroids are outdoor. With the same reason, light-airy mix for the heavy-water plant parents lol.

I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD A KZfaq!!!! I see you on insta all the time!! YOU HAVE SUCH BEAUTIFUL PLANTS!!!!!!

Looks like a great mix! Hope to find the cocopeat, charcoal, and orchid bark asap. BRAD❤️

Thank you so much for this information 🙏🏻😍😍🇮🇳

Biochar and vermicompost are good for kickstarting the bioactive processes in the soil, and I also use rice husks in addition to most of the ingredients you are going with. Cheers!

I think you're right about the over-watering myth, roots just not able to breathe and are essentially drowning. Better aeration from the potting mix like you're preaching here is definitely the way to go.

Thank You!!!!!

Thank you for this vidéo 💚🇫🇷

You got an excellent thought process. Kudos from India. Here i end my search for soil mix for alo's.

Thank you!

Great explanation thanks so much for this! I bought my very first monstera a few months ago and repotted her into cheap crappy generic bunnings potting mix (and nothing else lol). And found her overrun w gnats, I can see the little buggers running all over the soil and they make my skin crawl. I can't wait to repot her into a soilless mixture and free her from her damp prison.

Thank you very much👍

It's hard to absorb thoughts when the one who's talking is this damn good-looking. 😵‍💫😵‍💫😍

Loving all you videos! Thank you so much for sharing this! 😊 Can I also ask what is the brand you’re using for Coco Peat? I live in Australia but I am not sure where can I find this? Thanks!!

audio is perfect

Hahah the "what ACTUALLY is soil" question has always confused me too. I recently started converting all my aroids to soilless medium, very similar to yours. I feel like the main benefit of soil is that it feeds your plants nutrients and minerals, but personally I would prefer to have the benefits of going soilless (less root rot, less gnats, less messy when watering) and just feed the plants with consistent fertilization.

That soil looks like it makes your plants so happy 😊❤ I love your videos, and i made sure to subscribe! 🌱✨️🪴 Also, random question: Do you make all your moss poles? Thanks!❤❤❤

Thank you!!!

Great Video as always😊 Thanks for all your help 😁 Do you use normal charcoal or activated charcoal? Because the one I bought isn't activated yet and I dont know how to activate it best for an aroid mix mainly for my Monsteras deliciosa/thai constellation/adansonii. Would be nice to get some advises how to handle that :)

nice !

Thank you so much for this! Do you ever add any fertilizer? I’ve never used fertilizer before but I’m very new