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Planting Mix vs. Potting Soil etc.

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Hi Patricia -  did anyone ever answer your question on the gardening
soils?  It's been awhile since you asked these questions, but I didn't
see another answer on the list, so I thought I'd answer anyway.  This is
a breakdown of various bagged garden products:

Top Soil -  Meant to be used as is from the bag on top of your native
soil.  An example is, I have to remove about a foot of soil from my rose
bed because I want to plant a new rose there and take out the old one. 
(The old rose roots will inhibit the new rose's root growth.)  So, I
will just add Top Soil to my excavated hole and plant directly in
there.  I might mix it up a little bit, but not too much.  Another use
for this would be on top of a lawn bed area that you're getting ready to
sod or lay grass seed.

Potting Soil -  Meant to be used as is from the bag in containers.  This
is a sterile, non-soil based mix that is light weight but still holds
moisture.

Planting Mix -  Meant to be added to your garden soil as a soil
amendment.  This is NOT for containers.  You put a thick layer of this
stuff on top of your soil and mix it in the first 8 inches or so or
dirt.  This gives you an enriched soil in which to plant in.

Steer or Cow Manure -  Meant to be added to your soil as a soil
amendment, also acts as a fertilizer.  They say this is heavy in salts,
so you want to be moderate in its application.  HOwever, this really
helps heavy feeders like sunflowers!

Humus w/ manure -  Humus is the black crumbly sweet smelling stuff that
you find at the bottom of the trees in a rainforest.  It's basically
composted plant matter.  It's really good stuff to add to your soil, as
it will make sandy soil retain water and nutrients better and clay soil
it will help drain better with more aeration.  Sounds like this product
is just humus (or compost basically) with some added composted manure.

Another note on humus, sometimes bags have composted sewage sludge in
them.  Many organic growers don't like to use any sewage products (like
the popular Amend product by Kellogg) because it can carry heavy
metals.  It's personal preference, as I've also heard other people say
that this isn't true anymore (Roger Swain from the Victory Garden PBS
show just commented on this subject a few weeks ago - he uses sewage
products).

Hope this has helped.  happy gardening

zone 9, so cal

"Patricia J. Santhuff" wrote:
> 
>
> Come to think of it, that raises another question. I've bought three
> different products at Home Depot -- "Humus with Manure" (90% humus), Top
> Soil, and Black Kow brand composted cow manure. They all LOOK exactly the
> same, tho the cow manure definitely smells different than the others <G>. IS
> there any appreciable difference between the commercially produced top soil
> and humus-with-manure products? If so, how should I use them?
> 
> I could ask the same thing about Planting Soil and Potting Soil -- what is
> the difference, and how should I use them? If I get too much of one (don't
> know which) in my potted plants, the don't retain any moisture and I have to
> water them often.
> 
> Basically, I just don't know how (and when) to use these various products.
> I'm (quite obviously) a first-time gardener, and I've got a lot of work to
> do on my soil -- acidic and a bit clay-ey, tho not as bad as most red clay
> soils in this area (thankfully). That's why I was so interested in the
> tumbler quick-compost method.
> 
> Would appreciate any insights on these -- or other suggestions.
> 
> TIA,
> 
> Patricia
> Zone 7, West Georgia
> 
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