RE: soil vs soil-less
perennials@hort.net
  • Subject: RE: soil vs soil-less
  • From: &* M* <1*@rewrite.hort.net>
  • Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2016 21:07:50 -0400

Thanks Nancy and Russell,

 

My bags of what I consider cheap topsoil read “a combination of natural mineral soil, compost, and sand. So it has some actual soil in it. This Wal-Mart stuff had nothing resembling soil in it. In fact it would be suitable as a fine mulch.  I do like adding fines to my mix; they add texture. And fines are usually more expensive than top soil. So I’m not disappointed.  Just had never seen this before.

 

Kitty

 

From: owner-perennials@hort.net [mailto:owner-perennials@hort.net] On Behalf Of Nancy Robinson
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2016 8:33 PM
To: perennials@hort.net
Subject: RE: soil vs soil-less

 

I would add some compost and large grained sand.  I really like the small pine chips( which sounds like what you had given to you) if I can find them too.  Don't forget some lime sand if you are potting hellebores.  Nancy   Tennessee 

Hi, Kitty.  In my experience, most "topsoil" sold in bags is actually composted material of random origin, with perhaps a bit of sand in the mix.  The "mucky" ones tend to be composted material that's broken down into very fine clay-sized particles.

 

Russell

 

To: p*@hort.net
Subject: soil vs soil-less
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2016 16:57:22 -0400
From: 1*@rewrite.hort.net

A little off-topic but I am potting perennials so…

 

I mix my own potting soil, usually eyeballing it at 45% bagged top soil, 45% sphagnum peat, and 10% perlite.  This gets adjusted if I happen to have compost or something else available, or if a plant needs it, I’ll add grit. And I always put in time-release fertilizer.

 

A guy just gave me 3 bags of top soil he got at Wal-Mart that he didn’t need.  At a glance it seemed nicer than the usual cheap muck-based top soil I buy. But when I started using it, there didn’t seem to be any actual soil in the bag. I checked it and it is composed of Pine Fines, Hardwood Fines, Forest Fines, Forest Products, and a touch of Sand.  Sand is a component of soil but fines have to break down before they become soil.

 

This seems like a good additive for my mix but it isn’t soil. There’s no clay and I depend on having some clay for  cation exchange. So I’m mixing some of the muck brand top soil in with it but still wondering if this is going to be a good mix.  I also cut back a bit on the sphagnum peat.

 

Maybe I’m overthinking this as nurseries use soil-less mixes all the time.  But do you think my mix is ok for overwintering pots and do you think they should get away with labeling a bag as top soil when there is no soil in the bag?

 

Kitty

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