Why is garden soil only for in ground and not for containers?
Image by clattermonger
Night shots of the flower beds finally filled with soil. I couldn’t wait till the morning to take photos of them.
Question by cquiton: Why is garden soil only for in ground and not for containers?
I bought Miracle Gro garden soil so that I can plant my vegetable plants in containers. I didn’t read the part that said “not for containers” Why is this?
I do have some but not lots of potting soil that I had planned to mix together with the garden soil.
What do you think? Answer below!
3 Responses to Why is garden soil only for in ground and not for containers?
Leave a Reply
Plain an simple answer Drainage. while Potting soils need to retain moisture Garden soil don’t.
mitchell
November 26, 2011 at 7:07 am
It’s because garden soil is typically heavier than potting soil, and in container gardening you want the soil to be a bit lighter.. often you see that it is amended with vermiculite to make it lighter and to help with water retention.
You can amend the garden soil you have by adding things like fine sawdust, ground coffee, and my favorite, coffee bean chaff. Be sure to add lots of compost as well!
Phoebe
November 26, 2011 at 7:08 am
If there is not an explicit reason written on the bag, as to why you shouldn’t use it in containers, you can use it. It may be that the soil isn’t as rich in nutrients as grow-bags or other mixes are; i.e. you’ll have to add fertiliser.
lazybones
November 26, 2011 at 7:17 am