Conventional potting soil mixes commonly rely on commercial topsoil, which may be treated with chemicals to kill weed seeds and pathogens. Conventional potting soil can also be contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, or inorganic fertilizers. For these reasons, organic gardeners may wish to buy or make potting soil mixes for their container gardens.
Organic gardeners have multiple potting soil choices to shop for at the nursery or online. One may consider price, formulation, availability, and environmentally sustainable ingredients in making a selection.
Organic Mechanics makes a potting mix that uses compost and worm castings to nourish plants. The company doesn’t use peat, as peat bogs are environmentally sensitive resources that suffer from over harvesting. This OMRI-listed product has a many devotees, including Longwood Gardens and Chanticleer Garden.
Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix feeds plants for two months with nitrogen, phosphate, and potash derived from poultry litter. The soil is available in 8, 16, and 32 quart sizes.
Gardeners who start seeds can use Natural Beginnings Seed-Starting Mix from Gardens Alive. This soil-free mix includes coconut fibers to increase air circulation, which decreases damping-off disease.
Gardeners with large container gardens may not have the budget to buy all of the organic potting soil they require. Some gardeners also need special container soil mixes to grow plants like cacti or African violets. These are reasons to make organic potting soil. Gardeners who compost at home have an advantage of a free source of organic potting mix material teeming with beneficial soil organisms. Leaf mould is another good ingredient, which adds acidity for plants that require a low pH.
Sharp sand or fine grit is useful for drainage. However, sand is a heavy ingredient, so perlite may be substituted as a drainage agent.
Gardeners can experiment with equal amounts of compost, leaf mold, and sand for a basic potting mix. If one is growing alkaline-loving plants in containers, add a handful of powdered limestone to the soil mix. Plants that require excellent drainage can tolerate a higher ratio of sand to compost.
Heavy feeders grown in containers can benefit from an addition of slow-release organic fertilizer to the soil mix. Organic gardeners can add alfalfa meal for nitrogen, bone meal for phosphorus, and kelp meal or greensand for potassium.
Because of its light and fluffy nature, potting soil will settle considerably over the growing season, making the plants appear sunken in the pot. Gardeners should fill their pots up to the rim, and tamp the soil down gently before planting. Gardeners can also water the soil before planting and add more soil to prevent excessive sinking.
Save soil by using fillers in large pots. Add large plastic hollow containers, such as milk jugs or laundry detergent bottles, and cover with soil. Recycle these containers at the end of the season. Gardeners can also buy plastic disk inserts that fit in the bottom 2/3 of the pot, allowing one to use less soil to fill a large container.
Source:
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
Most homeowners have probably spent hours looking at the different types of garden seeders. You may have even come across…
When it comes to vehicle lovers, cleaning their cars on a regular basis is essential to maintaining the paint job's…
Gas chainsaws are the perfect tool for a variety of outdoor tasks, including chopping up logs for firewood, clearing brush…
A home can be a daunting project, one that takes some time and energy to maintain. With hard work, determination,…
Today ginger is grown all over tropical and subtropical regions in Asia, in parts of Africa and South America, and…
Onions are one of the most popular vegetables in the world, and growing onions is a snap in the home…