Yup, me too...I bought a similar bag...on sale...very cheap...and what difference can there really be in potting soil.

I found out pretty quickly.

The inexpensive stuff is mostly clay...ground up..yes...but clay nonetheless. We cant go by what is on the package...unless we are soil scientists and know the difference by looking at it so we trust the name on the bag and what its supposed to do.

I suppose that means buying the more expensive bag and trusting the manufacturer didn't sell us a bill of goods.

There really is a difference though. Maybe, before you buy one bag...you tip over another and put a hole in the bag, then using your hands feel it, smell it, squeeze it...

sounds like the makers are using a lot of soil in their mix?

you could try using a soil wetting agent powder on top and as you water this should help loosen the soil or make it less hydrophobic.

but long term look for better qulaity mixes especially for potting, the other alternative is to tip the plant out of the pot loosen off as much of the old mix as you can and repot into a better medium.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

You need to read the labels carefully. A soil-less potting mix will be primarily peat moss, and an assortment of coarse amendments (perlite, vermiculite, bark). Many companies also package their own garden SOILS, which prove to be entirely unsuitable for use in containers.

Yes, Jeannie, even the bags of potting soils and garden soils have labels.

I'm sold on good potting mix. I spent $18 a pop for 2.8 cu. ft. bags of Metro-mix 500 potting mix this year for a portion of my contatiner garden. I am shocked at how fast those plants are growing compared to the others. The plants that are in each pot are not the same, so I can't say for sure that it's the metro mix, but the pots with the metro-mix are all dong great. The other pots are doing just like every other year, which is just OK.

Commercially available potting "soils" will be peat moss, finely ground bark, or finely ground coir, I have never seen a potting "soil" sold that was made from clay. These potting "soils" can dry out, once properly wet, and repel water and peat moss is well noted for being hydrophobic.

I agree that it's always better to pay a little more to buy quality potting mix when possible.

I like Pro-Mix and the label said it contained a wetting agent, but I find it very hard to moisten initially. I always moisten well in another container first, keep mixing and adding water until evenly moist. Then I fill the planting container with the moistened mix, plant, and water again and allow to drain. Make sure there are adequate drainage holes and if necessary elevate a little from the ground with pot feet or something similar (milk jug caps work well for me).

Karen

Alisonn, are you using potting "Soil" or potting "Mix"?

I used to get the two mixed up. There is a vast difference between "Soil" and "Mix" (as several people have mentioned in this thread), but I just couldn't seem to get it through my head.

According to most of what I've read, "Soil" shouldn't be used in containers because it does what yours is doing - compact too densely.

Until recently I didn't have many container plants, but the plants I did put into pots greatly improved when I changed from potting "soil" to potting "mix".

Forget the title, "Potting Soil", "Media", etc. Look for the ingredients. Peat based or Pine fine mixes are usually good. If you get the 4 or 6 cu/ft professional mixes such as Pro-Mix are all good because they are designed to be used in greenhouses by professionals making a living growing.

Search on line for professional mixes and find one that is available in your area. Premier, Shultz, Sunshine are all fine dependable baggers. Scotts/Miracle Gro is just expensive, call a local wholesale greenhouse and ask what they use and will they sell you a bag?

Again forget the term "soil"; it may not refer to anything that is in the bag.

I didn't look that closely at the bag, just noted it was for potting. I try to buy fertilizer-free soil, and it's harder and harder to find these days. But I know the stuff that hardened was purchased at Walmart, so I'll look elsewhere.

Thanks for your helpful comments.

I tryed the stuff from wal-mart and had the same trouble. The label says it has a selection of things in a either or list. Such as peat or top soil, pearlite or sand, vermeculite or saw dust.
In each case the cheap junk was in the bag. In other words it is made of top soil, sand and sawdust. I don't care how many time you watered and fertilized the plants were yellow and stunted.

Baggers who supply Wal-Mart buy bags with Wal-Mart labels so what is in the bag could be 50 different mixes within certain parameters yet they can be quite different. Wal-Mart looks for the best price regardless of quality so consider the value of your plants or time when using cheap potting media.

I alway add a bit of lava sand and compost from my compost pile to the potting soil/mix. That way I know it won't totally compact. I also put mulch on top to keep it from drying out quickly.

Stephanie

Alisonn, I had the same problem with some potting soil I bought about five years ago for 99 cents a bag at a BX on a military base. It was loose and crumbly when I bought it, but it had an odd color, sort of grayish. Anyway, I got the bags home and before I could use all of them, they got rained on and they turned to stone. And I mean STONE! The plastic bag is long since crumbled and fallen off, but those rocks are still out there in the yard, holding up fence posts.

I used two bags before the rain started and mixed them into the good soil in my yard where I was building a rose bed. Those areas of the bed do not produce the healthiest roses, but the bad soil is completely mixed with the good soil. I have to add a lot of other good stuff every year to counteract the bad soil. I never use anything purchased anymore in garden beds, although I do use the expensive potting mixes in outdoor containers. But, I figure if my plants can't grow in 100% home-made compost then I guess they're just gonna have to die.

Cheryl