MIXING YOUR OWN CARNIVOROUS PLANT MEDIA
It is quite difficult to find pre-made carnivorous plant media. As such, I make my own. This is how I prepare my 'standard' media, learned through a process of trial and error. Links to sources for peat and perlite can be found on the links page.
STEP 1: ACQUIRING THE COMPONENTS
My standard carnivorous plant mix is a 1:1 peat:perlite mix. Although any brand that is 100% peat will work just fine, the cheaper brands of peat tend to require more work before it is usable. Shown on the right is a photo of some low quality peat. As you can see, it is very uneven in size, with lots of chunks, sticks, and sometimes even bits of plastic.
FILTERING THE PEAT
NOTE: WEAR A MASK! This step will produce peat dust which floats in the air and if inhaled is not good for your lungs, so only do this in a well-ventilated area and wear the appropriate protection such as a face mask, gloves, and eye protection.
During this step, the sticks, roots, stones, plastic, etc. are sieved out of the peat. I use a 1/12 inch, or approximately 2mm, coarse sieve that I got on Amazon. A simple kitchen sieve will also do just fine for smaller batches, and is what I used to use.
Filtering the peat itself is quite simple, if tedious. When I am left with the coarse material, I pick out the sticks and other unwanted material and put them in a separate container. Then, I crush the peat chunks by hand and sieve again until most of the material has been sieved.
The filtered peat is then put in a bucket and sufficient water added to soak the peat while the perlite is being processed.
RINSING PERLITE
NOTE: WEAR A MASK! Like peat, perlite in the bag has a ton of dust, that if inhaled is not good for your lungs. As such, as with the previous step, wear the appropriate protection such as a face mask, eye protection, etc.
Perlite is the other component of the carnivorous plant mix. I keep my perlite moist, to minimize dust floating in the air when I handle it.
When filtering perlite, I first gauge how much filtered peat I have. Then, I estimate how much 3/4 of that volume would be, and scoop the equivalent amount of perlite into my sieve. This is because during the next step some peat will be lost in the process. I then use my sink tap to run water through the perlite, thoroughly rinsing it until the water runs clear. It helps to agitate the perlite with your hands during this process to make sure no dust remains.
MIXING AND RINSING THE MEDIA
This step of the process removes the ultra fine peat dust that is still in the peat and allows for easier mixing of the peat and perlite. I like to remove the peat dust as I find it causes the peat to sour faster and leaves a residue behind in my trays after watering.
I have a second, finer sieve for this process that is 1/20 inch, or about 1mm. Again, if you do not have one, a kitchen sieve does just fine if you use a smaller water stream.
I take several handfuls of the peat and put it in the sieve to drain. Then, I slowly add handfuls of perlite with the tap running slowly over the media and mix thoroughly. You should see a black runoff coming out from under the sieve. Continue to mix the peat and perlite under the tap until the runoff is light brown (if you look closely you will see individual particles of peat in the runoff). This tells you that most of the peat dust has been removed. Shut off the tap as soon as this happens, as if you overdo it you will not have any peat left. Squeeze dry and put it in a container; this is your final product. Repeat until all the peat has been mixed.
FINISHED MIX
This is how your peat:perlite mix should look. Plenty of perlite for drainage with soft, fluffy peat in between. If you take a handful and squeeze it, the clump should easily fall apart in your hands. I usually store the media moist like this. If you are very particular about sterilizing the media like I am you can do so with a microwave. I reuse old microwave-safe takeout containers, fill them with media, and pop them in on high for 5 minutes or until the media is steaming heavily. Then, I allow it to cool to room temperature without any assisted cooling.