Garden Soil or Compost: Which Is Best for Your Flower Beds? | The Dirt Bag (2024)

FAQs

Garden Soil or Compost: Which Is Best for Your Flower Beds? | The Dirt Bag? ›

Using premium soil is faster and easier than adding compost to your planting beds. On the other hand, if you enjoy hands-on gardening and would rather have complete control over the composition and consistency of your growing medium, compost is probably the right choice for you.

Soil falls into three main types - sand, clay and silt. Generally speaking, the best potting soil for growing flowers is an even mix of the three aforementioned soil types and is called sandy loam. This mix will ensure optimum growth conditions for most flowers.

Topsoil is better for use on larger areas of land, such as garden spaces or for landscaping projects, while compost is better suited for potted plants and flowers. Topsoil has enough nutrients for general purposes, including lawn turf, grass plants, flowers, shrubs and even trees.

Add a mixture of compost and purchased topsoil in a 1:2 or 1:1 ratio, to the top of the bed. There are vendors who sell topsoil mixed with compost. Alternatively, fill the bed with compost and a soilless growing mix in a 1:1 ratio.

When it is ripe, or fully mature, compost is the perfect organic amendment for planters and flowerbeds, the vegetable garden, lawn, and generally all plants. It improves soil structure. Prepare the earth by mixing compost into the soil to ensure healthy plant growth.

Growing plants in pure compost can cause problems with water retention and stability as well. When mixed with topsoil, compost works wonders with water, as it allows good drainage through heavy soil while it retains water in sandy soil. Used on its own, however, compost drains quickly and promptly dries out.

Use it when you're planting or maintaining flower beds. Garden soil is the cheapest way to enrich the soil in gardens and flower beds. You can also use garden soil as an ingredient in homemade potting soil.

Compost – Promotes Healthier Plant Growth. Compost is most well-known for its contribution to healthy and resilient plant growth. It has a number of complementary benefits to plant growth, among them that it balances soil density, adds and retains nutrients, and discourages disease, pests and weeds.

In vegetable gardens, compost not only adds a low level of nutrients, but it also adjusts the soil's moisture- holding capacity, increasing the soil's ability to shed or retain water. Potted plants, flower gardens, and new trees and shrubs all require specific ratios of compost to soil.

Compost is usually used more as potting soil, a top-layer fertilizer to your plants, or to amend your current soil. Whereas topsoil is better for building up your soil level or as a landscape filler.

What not to fill a raised garden bed with? ›

Raised beds that are small and shallow (under 12 inches deep) are typically only filled with soil. Adding other organic materials to shallow beds usually isn't a good idea. Sticks, twigs, and other materials further reduce the limited soil space and can interfere with plant root growth and water drainage.

We recommend buying high-quality, nutrient-rich soil in bulk. Or, you can make a soil mix with equal parts topsoil, organic materials (leaves, composted manure, ground bark), and coarse sand.

Yes, filling a raised bed with just compost is possible, but it's important to proceed with caution. Here's a closer look at the factors to consider: Nutrient Intensity: While compost is packed with nutrients that plants love, an all-compost environment might be too much of a good thing.

Use organic compost.

The soil needs to be loose and fluffy (filled with air that plant roots need) and be chock-full of necessary minerals and nutrients, so be sure to add copious amounts of compost to your existing soil when preparing your beds for edibles.

For existing garden beds: Apply a layer of compost, a quarter-inch to 1-inch deep, to the bed surface each year. Add other amendments such as lime and N-P-K fertilizer as needed. Incorporate the materials into the top 8 to 12 inches with a digging fork or spade.

Topsoil is excellent for landscaping and filling spaces, but potting soil is better if you need a growing medium for container plants. And if you want an Earth-positive soil that's beneficial for any potted plant, you'll love Rosy's Indoor Potting Mix.

Topsoil is the main source of nutrients for plants, and it is crucial for their survival. Without topsoil, plants would struggle to absorb the necessary nutrients and water to grow and thrive. Topsoil is usually sold to home gardeners in bags at hardware stores, nurseries or garden centers.

Work the soil when it is moist, but not wet. Turn the soil over to a depth of at least 12 inches. Add 2-3 inches of compost and turn it into the bed. Either cover the bed with a thick (3-4") layer of mulch or use a weed and feed to help keep weed seeds from germinating.

Sphagnum Peat Moss: It helps hold water moisture and improves aeration. Perlite and Vermiculite: They add air space to the soil for better root health. They're also essential for improving drainage in your gardening containers. Compost: It provides organic material for your plants containing essential nutrients.