Hi Steve
I don't use potting mixes very often as all plants are destinedto be grown outside in the ground and are usually only in pots long enough to be acclimatised to the sun.
Regards Dave61

Morning Steve,

Up till now, I have used bought mixes such as Searles and Debco, they being the only ones available here. I usually add a handfull of washed sand or very fine gravel (about 1 or 2 mm) to the mix for added drainage. These have worked fine to date, but as you say, it gets a bit expensive in the long run.

But I am now going to try making my own. From suggestions from others, I will use sand, decomposed granite (small sifted and washed) and normal garden soil, all in equal measures. I have read that normal potting mixes can be used in lieu of the garden soil part.

I'll also use the same mix to do up a garden bed I am making for some succulents and maybe the odd cactus.

Regards, Alco

I used to fuss and bother about secret recipes for potting mixes for cacti for years until one day I potted some Notocacti into just sawdust and grit as that was all I had on hand with the addition of trace element and some charcoal. Later on when I inspectd them to pot on I have to say that I was truly amazed at the strength of the root growth. So my theory is it doesnt matter much what you use as long as it drains freely and isnt heavy. Of course in such a poor mix they need feeding regularly

I divided and potted up some aloe vera a couple of years ago in a blend of potting mix and cat litter( clean! ) in one pot, and in the other potting mix and pearlite. Well, it seemed to do the trick, and after 2 years they're still growing strongly as well as putting out new shoots. They didn't do very well in the ground previously as the garden soil was too heavy and compact.

*BTW, the blend was 50:50.

There are two great cacti gardens worth going to visit. One is Bevans out at Lightning Ridge (NW NSW) and the other is in Gilgandra. Both use pretty much straight river sand. When I had my cactus house I used river sand, a small amount of ordinary potting mix and a couple of scoops of ash/charcol from my slow combustion stove. Today I only have a few cactus left due to moves and so-on but the ones I have now I have had for over 12 years and I have used that mix on them the whole time and have never had a problem.

Finally got around to the repotting of a large number over the last 2 months. I ended up making up a mixture which I also used in a garden bed.

It ended up being 1/4 garden soil, 1/4 decomposed granite, 1/4 cow poop (well rotted), and 1/4 fine river sand/gravel (1-3mm + sand). For the pots, I also added a small amount of slow release fertilyser. It worked out a lot cheaper than premix. My local landscape supplier will sell by the shovel/bucket load (supply own shovel and labour). 20 litre bucket of sand/gravel or decomposed granite is $1. Garden soil - free from own garden. Well rotted cow poop about $6 per 30 litre bag from any large chain store.

So far, they are loving it. All still alive and flowering well. It seems to drain pretty well, and is heavy enough (weight wise) to not fall over with the taller plants etc.

i have had to repot a couple of my cacti and i ended up using a mix of about 1/2 soil from the chicken coop and 1/2 rough river sand. i have found this to work fantastic, growth is good, however it may just be because it is summer.

I found this site while surfing the net .The guy who wrote the article seems to know a bit about what cacti need.
I found it interesting and I am going to try his recipie ,all the ingredients I have right on my door step.

Here is a link that might be useful: cactus potting mixes

i checked out the link on poting mixes, but find it contradictary. it advices agaist the use of peat moss, because it causes acid. but then it uses cow manure, which is acidic. i was under the understanding that cactus are not big feaders so why add nitrogen in the form of cow manure. i could be wrong on this so any imput gladly recieved.

Well composted cow manure would not be as acidic if it is rotted down .The stuff I have is basicly soil now ,it has no smell or organic matter left in it.
Peat is acidic ,he is saying that adding fertilzer to a peat based mix makes it more acidic as the fertilizer reacts with the peat.
I don't know of any cacti that would grow naturally in a peat soil,peat comes from bogs and swamps .Cacti grow in alkaline soils in nature.Best print off the article and read it a few times like I did .I find it hard sometimes to
soak the info in reading off the monitor.I think the guy makes a lot of sense.

I'm not real fussy at all. Too cheap to buy pre-mixed cactus soil, I just use good ol' potting mix and washed river sand, quite coarse as I don't want it compacting up. I mix it (very!) roughly 50:50, and tip in a bit of slow-release fertiliser (not much, just a quick tip) and stir it all up well. Have started using some decomposed manure mix in with the potting mix portion, but still make sure I have a good load of sand there. It drains just how I want it and the plants seem much happier in it. Have found less dead compacted roots and more clean healthy white root growth when repotting since using a sand mix (used to use just straight potting mix in my uninformed cacti initiate days, some of my bigger opuntia are still in it but don't seem too fussed, they're always tough as old boots anyway).

What should I use to raise the pH of soil? maybe powdered limestone?

crushed dolomite or limestone it s all in the article of my previous post in this thread.

I use 50% potting mix and 50% coarse river sand for my Aloe Vera plants. They seem quite happy and are growing well. The coase river sand I got in a 40kg bag from Hardware and General Building Supplies for about $6. Just keep in mind how the natural cacti like to grow, and you'll have no problems I reckon.