Best Soil for Different Types of Gardening: Container Gardening
As gardening season is underway, many of us may be trying to figure out things like…what plants do I want to plant? where am I going to plant said plants? what type of soil do I need for my plan to happen? The great news is that whether you live in an apartment, row-home, condo, single-family home, HOA, etc. you can have a beautiful and productive garden with the right approach.
Container gardening is a great and versatile approach that has many benefits for gardeners of all property sizes. A container garden is any plant potted in any sort of pot or vessel as opposed to planted directly into the earth. Container gardening has many benefits including, but not limited to: Portability; it’s not hard to rearrange your garden into a better combination if you can pick it up, Soil Quality; ability to control the growing media for your specific plants, Saves Water; instead of watering an entire garden, you are only watering specific pots, Convenient for various living arrangements; when growing in pots, you can control the size and footprint of your growing space. You can even go grow vertically if so inclined! Container gardening enables gardeners of all home types and sizes to be able to garden and enjoy all of the benefits of gardening without maintaining and owning a large amount of land.
That all sounds great but how do you ensure a successful container garden? where do I start? what is the best soil to use?
Start by picking an area or two where you will be keeping your containers/pots.
Choose the type of material you want to use for your containers- for example are you going to use terracotta pots or plastic pots or window boxes or a combination.
Depending upon where you plan to have your containers and how much sun they will get, choose plants you will enjoy growing and/or eating.
Choose or make a soil that will provide all of the necessary nutrients the plants need to grow successfully.
Potting Mix is the type of soil best used with containers. Potting mix is not garden soil—which is heavy and includes sand, clay, and other cheaper additives that won’t work for containers. Potting Mix is “soilless.” It’s lighter and fluffier than ground soil to allow enough air and water for the roots for healthy root growth and also provides enough anchorage for roots. These soilless are sterile, so there is no chance of introducing pest or disease problems. If you are ambitious, and have a large number of plants to pot, it may be a money-wise move to make your own potting mix.
Below is a basic recipe for DIY Potting Mix- please note that each type of plant may have specific needs, so remember to do your research!
Basic Organic Potting Mix Recipe
1 bucket (10 quarts) coconut coir
1/2 bucket (5 quarts) perlite
1/2 bucket (5 quarts) vermiculite
1/2 bucket (5 quarts) screened compost or composted cow manure
2 cups fine sand
2 cups organic DIY fertilizer: mix together 2 cups rock phosphate, 2 cups greensand, 1/2 cup bone meal, 1/4 cup kelp meal
For more information on soil or compost, please reach out to cat@soilorganicsolutions.com! Remember, Healthy Soil=Happy Plants!