When you decide to container garden, you need to consider which soil you want to put in your containers. You can either purchase soil from a store or online, or make your own. Either way, you need to choose a soil that will help keep your plants healthy as they grow in your container garden.
Best Soil for Container Gardening: Moisture
Your plant will only be able to have access to the water inside your containers. Typically, container gardens have to be watered at least once a day because water evaporates more quickly from containers. You want to purchase or make soil that will hold water well but will not stay soggy.
- Soilless mixes are adjusted for good drainage and aeration, however they do dry out quickly and need to be watered often
- For plants that require well-drained soil and do not need moisture retained over a long period of time, choose coarser materials, like bark, sand, or perlite
- For plants that prefer moist soil, use less coarse materials like peat to make up your soil
Best Soil for Container Gardening: Fertilizer
Fertilizer will help keep the soil in your container garden nutritious for your plants. Make sure you don’t over-fertilize because the sun will burn your fertilizers and kill your plants.
- When you put the soil in your containers, you can add a slow-release fertilizer that will continue to feed your plants over time
- Otherwise, you can add the recommended amount of water-soluble fertilizer every two to three weeks
- Adding fish emulsion, liquid seaweed, or compost occasionally will boost the trace elements in your soil
Best Soil for Container Gardening: Custom Soil
It’s not too difficult to create your own soil made up of different materials. You can also always add materials to the potting mixes you buy in the store. Here’s a few different mixtures to try.
- One part peat moss, one part garden loam, one part vermiculite or perlite, and lime to bring the pH to 6.5
- Two parts packaged potting soil, one part coarse sand, and one part peat moss
- For acid-loving plants, use two parts packaged potting soil, two parts coarse sand, two parts peat moss, one part leaf mold, and one-third well composted manure
Best Soil for Container Gardening: Long-term Soil Tips
Depending on what type of soil you choose to use, your soil will have different lifetimes that it is okay to use and still keep your plants healthy.
- Soil-based mixes will hold water and nutrients longer, and so can be used longer; however they are prone to pests, weeds, and disease
- Soilless mixes are reusable, so long as the plants in them during the growing season stayed healthy; once they lose their ability to drain water and hold oxygen, it’s time to get new media
- To help reduce the cost of soilless mixes, you can mix one part soil into three parts soilless mix
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