Potting soil vs Potting Mix

[amideutch]

This question has been asked many times when deciding what to put in your container and what is the difference between the two. I ran across this analogy in another forum by PV and explains it pretty well. Ami

Different manufacturers blend all kids of different ingredients into their products labelled "potting soil" and "potting mix."

In fact, the same product from a national or international company may have different ingredients in a product with the exact same name or basic label. For example, a potting soil sold under the Scotts label might have composted rice hulls as a primary component if manufactured in Louisiana or Texas, while having composted pine bark fines as a replacement for the rice hull component if manufactured in Georgia.

Another thing you should be aware of is that both potting soil and potting mix might be essentially the same ingredients blended in different proportions. The fact that the label says "potting soil" does not automatically mean the product has "dirt" or "topsoil" as one of the ingredients despite what others may say. A "potting soil" may be composed almost entirely of composted bark fines, forest products, composted manure, and other products that have not necessarily ever been a part of a soils layer in the earth.

However, most "potting soils" contain some form of "dirt" in the strictest definition of the word, simply because the mix may have some sand, limestone, or vermiculite, all of which are sedimentary in origin. But then again, "potting mixes" also may contain mineral components such as sand, limestone or vermiculite which begs the question of whether they too should be designated as "potting soil" instead.

Now ... TOPSOIL <<< there ain't no such animal being sold in bags on a large scale basis PERIOD. There is no legal definition of "topsoil" to which a government entity holds a manufacturer or the guy who delivers it in a dump truck. True topsoil is the top several inches of the natural surface soil layer (soil horizon A) in relatively undisturbed soil layers. Topsoil is the dark, moist, rich layer that contains the highest percentage of rotted organic matter, worms, grubs, micro-organisms, rotted and live roots, rhizomes, all mixed in with the native mineral components of the surface soils layer.

Back when the Midwest was native prairie, the topsoil layer may have been a foot or two deep. It took 10 - 12 thousand years after the melting of the glaciers for Nature to form that layer of topsoil. It only took about 150 years of poor farming techniques to wash that layer of topsoil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Since it takes about 500 years for Nature to build an inch of true topsoil, nobody is gonna sell it for 2 dollars a bag or 60 bucks a pickup load. If you buy "topsoil" in a bag, or in a truckload from a nursery, I'll bet you're actually getting river bottom dredged silt, bottomland farm soil, or a manufactured product containing sand, silt, and a variety of composted leaves, garbage, sewer sludge, etc. Read the label ... if there is one.

So, back to Mix vs. Soil ... what are you getting in the bags labelled "potting mix" and "potting soil?" READ THE LABEL! If the product is packaged by a reputable manufacturer, the label will always have the components listed along with some other information that should give you a good idea what the product is intended for.

Bottom line: If you're starting seeds, rooting cuttings, growing plants indoors or that require a sterile, soilless medium ... make sure the label informs you that the mix meets your needs, is comprised of sphagnum moss, perlite, vermiculite, and other products and is sterile.

If you're filling containers to grow tomatoes outdoors, and the transplants are well beyond the stage where dampening off is an issue ... don't worry whether it says "potting soil" or "potting mix." Just read the label and pick a product that will give you a nice, loose-textured, well drained growing medium capable of retaining moisture but not becoming too soggy and not drying out to quickly.

Bill

[creister]

I just read this, and got a chuckle out of the topsoil in bags comments. How true. We have a nursery here that sells what they call sandy loam. I went over to see it, and of course it was mostly all sand. What they call topsoil is what I call fill dirt, a mixture of what the developers scrape away in the leveling process and sell for resale. Much of it around our area of the world is heavy red clay, or light brown and sandy. Good for leveling the lawn, and that's about all.

[feldon30]

Fantastic writeup.

Here in Texas there is a company that puts out bags of stuff for $1-3 a bag. They are labeled all different things like Compost, Composted Manure, Top Soil, Potting Soil, etc. but if you look at the label it says "contains no more than 10% compost". The other 90% is the silt, sand, and garbage you mention.

[Nightshade]

And whatever you do, never, never "save" money by buying the Hyponex brand of potting soil unless you want to learn about soil and potting mixes the hard way. I mixed it with 60-70% vermiculite and even then, it was heavy as wet cement. Nothing ever thrived in it.

Does anyoe know how HD or Lowes or Wally World lable bark fines? I don't think I ever see that on a lablel. I do see bags of shredded bark that are for mulch but none of it is ever aged, so I am afraid to use it in a potting mix.

Jan

[Ruggs]

Years ago I saw on HGTV a mix for starting seed and have had super results..3 qts peat, 3qts compost(home made) 1qt pearlite...2tbls.greensand...2tbls black rock phospate and 2 tbls dried blood with this I add 2 qts of my garden soil. I use this for all my seeds.
Ruggs

[outsiders71]

The best mix I've used is home made. 60/40 Coir/Play sand (which has been filtered and cleaned). I used to use perlite but have found sand to be better for aeration, though it will make the pots heavier. Not to mention it won't float up to the top or grow algae.

[Polar_Lace]

I've used some of these Potting Soil Recipes and Soil Reconditioning with a lot of success.

~* Robin