Soilless potting mix

14 years ago

This may sound like a stupid question but what exactly is soiless potting mix made of? What do most people use it for? I'd like to pot up some plants to take to a swap, and today I purchased the MG moisture Control potting mix..evidently it is not soiless potting mix. Do people use soiless potting mix as a seed starter? Just curious! Is there anything I need to know or be aware of using this moisture control potting mix?

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
14 years ago
It's not so much what a soilless mix IS, but what it ISN'T. It ISN'T a mixture of mineral soil (garden soil/topsoil) and other amendments. Soilless mixes simply contain no mineral soils, yet they can contain other mineral ingredients like Turface, granite, perlite, pumice ........ so go figure. ;o)

I would consider MG soils as soilless, but I don't think that particular designation necessarily defines them as a good choice for container culture.

Seed starting media should be sterile and very well aerated, so most 'from-the-bag' media that are not designated as sterile are probably not the best choice for seed starting.

What you need to know about it is that it is very water-retentive and doesn't retain its structure well, so you'll need to be careful about how you water when using it. This is particularly true when the planting is young and nut well-established.

Al
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Soilless potting mix

Comment (1)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

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