There were no ready made potting (or compost) mixes available to the Victorian gardener, so they had to make their own. A basic ingredient was peat (although not usually bog peat, but heather, moss or wood peat), a light loam, sand, leaf mould (highly prized for seedlings), well-rotted stable manure, ground bricks and mortar, gravel, lime, wood ash and broken bits of terracotta pots for drainage. Even ground bones and horn might be found in receptacles under the potting bench. It depended on the use as to what proportions were mixed. Sandy loam was a well-tested standard - three parts loam to one of sand. Leaf mould and grit was useful for seedlings. Sieves were used to sieve out the larger lumps for seedling mixes. Each gardener would have his own recipes for the perfect result. One sample of a mix is as follows:

For Cineraria: the soil should be rich and light, consisting of turfy loam, leaf-mould, very rotten hotbed manure, and sharp sand, the turfy loam always predominating. The compost should be prepared long before it was needed, and turned and mixed several times to keep it free from vermin and to render it perfectly sweet and mellow. It should be broken down into a fine texture, but should not be sifted.