Potting soil
 

What is the best packaged potting soil for beginners. I am looking for a potting soil to use straight out if the bag and not having to add anything. A soil that is fool proof as far as over watering.

Re: Potting soil
 

coconut husk but this is expensive.

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I have coco coir. Will that do ?

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I am not sure if that will do because of its size. What is best are 1/4 and 1/2 size mixed together.

Re: Potting soil
 

Coconut husk = Coir. It is a soil ingredient, but not a "soil".

Straight out of the bag in San Diego:

• I make "Soil Mix #2" which Tony (sunfish) can bring home on Thursday.
• Kellogg's Patio Mix is an excellent soil and reasonably priced at the big box stores.
• Sunshine Mix No. 2, which Tony is bringing home on Thursday.

Re: Potting soil
 

Thank you Benny and Richard

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promix hp--call around--a lot of the independent type garden centers use it.

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Haven't seen it in southern or central California.

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I know this is not optimal advice, but I'll be honest....I use Miracle Grow potting mix or Miracle Grow garden soil. I try to avoid the 'moisture control' or whatever that has additional stuff to keep water in it. When I was back in Iowa, I always potted my bananas with topsoil out of our garden (where I planted them during the summer). I can't say that's a good option most places, but in Iowa, we have some of the (if not THE) best topsoil in the US. But yeah, basically, I never add sand, perlite, etc like so many others do here and my plants grow wonderfully. I fertilize monthly with a basic 12:12:12 fertilizer.

Don't hate me...like I said, this isn't the best advice, probably, but it works well for me.

Re: Potting soil
 

I have had good results with Jungle Growth from Lowes and Fafard 2B.

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Well, yeah -- I'm totally jealous of your soil :D

The Miracle-Gro brand potting mix is formulated for neutral to acidic water supplies which are prevalent in the eastern half of the U.S. So if it is cost effective in Iowa and you need something out of the bag, then go for it!

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my Missouri pride is all up on it now! i say we have the best tops soil in the country! i had a ditch dug to relocate a water pipe at the front of my property and the good black soil was 16 ft deep you could grow any thing in it and it never got compacted heheheh im sure your iowa soil is good but not quite as good LOL but that was a cow pasture from 1908 to 1997 had alot of organic mater in it if you get my drift LOL

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Well, I will agree with you that MO has some pretty awesome soil. As we both know, it varies a lot depending on the region of any state. I did some research just for my own knowledge and here were my findings....

I couldn't find any rankings of national soil samples by quality. But in terms of the % of soils having the least limitations for cultivation, the top five states (in order) are as follows:
-Illinois
-Indiana
-Iowa
-Ohio
-North Dakota
Missouri ranks 19th in the list. Keep in mind this is not ranking overall soil quality (which is difficult since there are so many factors at play). Just thought this was interesting and wanted to share (sorry, I realize this is off topic...but it's soil talk, so it kinda works, right? :ha: ). So though we have over twice the percentage of quality soil as Missouri, the jury is still out on the quality battle. I would much rather compare any midwest state's soil quality to NON-midwest states. Trying to make comparisons of nearby states is difficult to do. Let's just agree that both our soils are awesome rather than trying to compare quality!

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I don't know about national rankings, but Almanzo & Laura Wilder thought the soil in Missouri was excellent!

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Ive used the miracle grow potting mix before and had good results, but they weren't the cheapest option. I recently purchased a HUGE bag of 'Lamberts ready to use potting mix' for under $10 at my local Home Depot. I've used it with several different fruits and ornamentals with fantastic results.

As mentioned earlier, the only soil I think you should stay away from is one that has 'moisture control' written anywhere on the bag.

Re: Potting soil
 

I have used the Sunshine mix. And never had an issue with it being dry for the first few inches and wet on the bottom. This is one of the main points Jungle growth makes. When the Jungle Growth at one inch depth feels dry to the touch, so is the Jungle Growth throughout the pot---time to water.

Pro mix hp,Fafard 2B. , Jungle growth,sunshine mix and the coconut husk mix all seem to be good potting soils for the beginner ,like me.

Re: Potting soil
 

Ha ha Sunfish, you are not quite the 'beginner' LOL. Lamberts, Sunshine etc, I never heard of many of the potting mixes mentioned.
I also use miracle grow potting mix - no moisture control, but it has timed release fert. It may cost a little more but it is excellent stuff for me. I also add perlite for better drainage.

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what is "Soil Mix #2"?

Re: Potting soil
 

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and that['s what you guys make? where do you get the big bags of spagnum moss and coarse perlite? what nursery or do you order online?
Thanks