Inexpensive Bagged Topsoil is Bad for Gardens | Walter Reeves: The Georgia Gardener (2024)

FAQs

Inexpensive Bagged Topsoil is Bad for Gardens | Walter Reeves: The Georgia Gardener? ›

Inexpensive bagged topsoil is rarely any good. In my observation, it is usually composed of poorly composted wood chips, silt, and sand. This mix will not support good plant growth.

If you are gardening, you will want to avoid thicker topsoils that retain water very well – it's true that all plants need water, but thicker topsoils will not allow for much air to reach the roots of the plant. Topsoils with a loamy texture are great for gardening because they are easy to till and promote airflow.

How Long Can You Store Potting Soil? Opened bags of new potting soil can retain quality for around 6 to 12 months. For unopened and unused potting soil, you can store it for about a year or two before it goes bad. Usually, potting soil lasts longer when stored in a dry and cool container.

When you need a large quantity of soil or compost, it's quicker and cheaper to buy it in bulk.

Soil, Topsoil, and Dirt

Healthy topsoil has the high amounts of organic matter and microorganisms. It has compounds in it such as sand, silt, and clay that make it ideal for growing. It has concentrations of nutrients including potassium, phosphorus, and iron.

Avoid chalk topsoil as much as possible; look for loam instead. Loam is the best kind of soil to use because it's suitable for your plants and has a neutral pH balance that will not alter your vegetation's properties. To get the most out of your topsoil, consider screening it.

Loamy Soil: The gold standard for most gardeners, loamy soil has a balanced mix of sand, silt, and clay. It retains moisture while ensuring good drainage and is rich in nutrients and organic matter.

Potting soil can lose nutrients and structure over time as it supports plant growth, but with proper care, it can be rejuvenated for multiple planting seasons. Reusing potting soil not only helps reduce waste but also saves you money.

Inexpensive bagged topsoil is rarely any good. In my observation, it is usually composed of poorly composted wood chips, silt, and sand. This mix will not support good plant growth. In addition, having different layers of materials in your raised bed will make for a very poor rooting environment.

Scotts Premium Topsoil

The premium topsoil by Scotts is our best pick for all-purpose topsoil. This product is a mix of organic matter coupled with peat moss, making it rich in nutrients. The premium topsoil by Scotts is our best pick for all-purpose topsoil.

What is better than topsoil? ›

Deciding Between Topsoil and Garden Soil

High-quality enriched soil tends to cost more than topsoil, but the needs of your garden – and not the price of the landscape material – should be the deciding factor. Keep in mind, too, that if you have a large area to cover, you can consider combining the two soils.

Depending on the quality, bulk topsoil typically costs between $10 and $50 per cubic yard or around $100 to $750 per truckload.

There are roughly 27 cubic feet in a yard, and a 40-pound sack of dirt commonly covers around 0.75 cubic feet. This really intends that there are roughly 36 sacks of dirt in a yard.

Yes, garden soil can go bad! You can expect an opened package of potting mix to deteriorate in nutrients levels in 6 months. You might be hunting the soil packet for an expiration date, and you most likely won't find one. Even with a sealed bag of potting mix, it doesn't have an eternal shelf life.

Wood byproducts are one of the main ingredients in bagged soils. Much of the wood in bagged soils is leftover bark from paper and lumber mills -- bark that is stripped off before wood is treated with chemicals. Bark holds up plants and improves drainage.

As a general rule of thumb, you can aim for a depth of 8'' of fresh topsoil when you start this project. There is nothing magical about the 8'' number, but it's a good starting point and will give you a number to do some calculations with based on the size of your garden.

It's best to use it wherever you're lacking soil, for example, to fill in a low spot in your lawn, or as a base layer in a new garden that's missing a foundation of soil. If you use topsoil in a garden, you'd still have to add additional compost or manure to help your plants thrive.

They will grow better for the added nutrients, though again, you'll still need to feed them regularly in order for them to grow properly. So, here's the basic rule: general gardening projects = topsoil, pots or hungry plants = compost.

Signs of healthy soil include plenty of underground animal and plant activity, such as earthworms and fungi. Soil that is rich in organic matter tends to be darker and crumbles off of the roots of plants you pull up. A healthy, spread-out root system is also a sign of good soil.

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.