You have your containers and you have a place to put them. You’re all ready to go, but those containers are dreadfully empty. Before you go plant shopping, you need one last vital ingredient: soil.
Buying soil at the garden store can be very expensive, especially if you are looking for soil that is suitable for growing vegetables. Those vegetables can wind up being quite expensive! However, good soil leads to healthy vegetables, so you don’t want to skimp on the soil either.
If you’re looking for soil for a container, you need to think about the weight of that container. Container soil needs to be fairly lightweight. A container full of dense, waterlogged soil is very difficult to move. It’s also difficult for plants to grow in containers with soil that is compacted. Potting soil mixes contain fillers that help maintain air spaces in your container’s soil.
Oddly enough, most potting soil mixes do not container what you would consider to be soil. They are made out of peat moss, composted plant materials, sand, and perlite. Some of these mixes are fortified with fertilizers.
Potting soil is a substrate for your plants, but it’s up to you to ensure that it is nutritious for those plants. Add small amounts of compost, compost tea, or organic fertilizers to the mix. This will make important nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available to your plants. These nutrients help plants create leaves, flowers, and fruit. If you’re growing vegetables, Sea Soil provides micro and macro nutrients for your plants. Choose their potting mix that contains peat.
When you’re creating container gardens, what you put into the containers determines the vigor of your plants. Before you plant, take a close look at how you will support the health of your plants by fortifying their soil.
Image courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt.