Soil without fertilizer for plants?

[CakeLike]

Hey, I am looking for a suggestion for soil without fertilizer to grow plants in.
I can't really find normal potting soil without fertilizer.
I wan't to use a few plants in my tank in addition to my plastic decor.
I used Jungle Bedding in the past for plants but it didn't work well for me.

[nikkubus]

I'm a little confused as to why you don't want fertilizer. Plants need some type of fertilizer to grow. Perhaps you mean you don't want artificially made chemical fertilizer?

What I use regardless of it's a houseplant or a bioactive enclosure with animals is worm castings, fish water, and the old substrate from my roach and mealworm bins, and other compost I've made, and then combine a small amount of that with cocopeat and vermiculite or perlite. Something like 10-20% fertilizer depending on the type, 20% perlite/vermiculte, and the rest cocopeat. I get cocopeat in a HUGE brick from Amazon because it's the cheapest source for me, and the rest of the stuff can be found at Home Depot or Lowes. You can find cocopeat at Home Depot or Lowes, and if you only need a small amount, that's probably the more economical route for you.

If you really want NO fertilizer at all, cocopeat + perlite/vermiculte will accomplish that, but it probably won't sustain plant growth very long.

[Erie_herps]

I'm a little confused as to why you don't want fertilizer.

I would guess it's due to the worry that they could be harmful to the snake.

[nikkubus]

I would guess it's due to the worry that they could be harmful to the snake.

Yeah that's the best guess I could come up with too. Generally speaking, organic fertilizer safe for plants is safe for animals in correct amounts. It's having way too much or pre-composted that would cause trouble.

[303_enfield]

$4 bag of top soil. An $80 ton of it. Cheap dollar store planting soil is fertilizer free.

Or make your own. A little sand, loam an dirt.

Dirt from your yard? Heat it at 350F for 45 minutes.


Good luck!