usepotsoil

Using Potting Soil...

Kill with potting soil? You bet.

All of us assume that when we go to our local stores and nurseries and pick up a bag of "Potting Soil," we can take it home and POT plants with it. In general, this is not a good idea.

Potting soil as it comes in the bag from nearly any outlet is TOO fine and silty, often moisture retentive to the point of being stagnant and quite literally STINKY. As with all potting media, if it smells bad, it IS bad.

The fine particle size is detrimental to the health of your plants--it allows too little air to reach the roots. Imagine yourself faced with the choice of being buried in sand or in marshmallows. Perhaps it's a strained analogy, but you get the idea.

Using this stuff without significant amendment to open it up and improve drainage is potentially fatal to potted plants. A good potting mix for most plants is 50% solids, 25% water (moisture), and 25% air. NO ONE thinks about the air.

If you have potting soil on hand try a little experiment. Make a ball of slightly most mix in your hand and open it up. Does the ball sit there like a baseball, or does it crumble apart and fall off your hand? For almost all plants in pots, you want the ball to fall apart in your hand. If it doesn't, the spaces between the particles won't allow enough air to reach the roots.

Your potting mix should be fluffy and light. It should smell good. If you've got potting soil, mix in some perlite, small gravel, grit, Turface or Axis (golf course products used to increase drainage, or coarse sand to improve its texture and "open it up." This will allow air to the roots AND improve drainage in the pot--two critical components for the health of your plants.

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