Tropical garden soil

Question

Concerning the soil type preferred by the Pygmy date palm, and other tropicals to be planted in an indoor growing bed, I am unclear on the proportions of the various soil amendments to add. I intend to make up my own potting mix as I need at least 50 cubic feet to fill the space. At 10.00 per ft, the bagged mixes can become quite expensive for that amount. I don’t want to use local topsoil as it’s not pasteurized though, and baking that amount in my oven is impractical.

Thanks for any advice!

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Answer 1

1/3 sand and 2/3 soil (whatever basic soil you have) is a typical mix. This article gives a great overview of some more elaborate possibilities:
http://www.junglemusic.net/palmadvice/palms-potting-soil-for-palms.htm

Also see this article about palm fertilization:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep262