The Best Potting Soils Provide Nutrients and Help Promote Drainage—Here Are Our Top Picks (2024)

FAQs

Is potting soil good for drainage? ›

The good news is, all potting mixes are well-draining, so all you need to do is choose a potting mix that's appropriate for the type of plant you're potting up. Bagged potting mixes are pre-packed with the nutrients your plants need, so there's no need to add soil, compost or anything else.

The best soil for potted plants will contain a blend of coconut coir fiber, vermiculite, perlite, organic fertilizer, sand, compost, and peat moss and is rich in basic nutrients required by the plants.

Soils with a higher content of small particles (clay and silt) are often considered more fertile because they have a higher capacity for holding nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and potassium than sandy soils. (However, extremely clayey soils can create other problems for many plants.)

Note potting soil contains true mineral soil and can become compacted, dense, and water-soaked. While potting soil might provide a good amount of nutrients from the compost it contains, you will still have to add other amendments to improve overall soil texture and drainage.

Sandy soil is made of sand particles that are rough in texture. This prevents them from sticking tightly together. The space between sand particles is large for water to flow through it. Hence sandy soil drains faster than other types of soil.

Soil is a major source of nutrients needed by plants for growth. The three main nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Together they make up the trio known as NPK.

Plants need topsoil for essential nutrients, water, air, and microorganisms that break down organic matter and add nitrogen.

Compost is the most nutrient-dense part of soil since it contains purely organic material. Commercial compost is usually a mix of materials, such as fallen leaves and byproducts from forestry practices.

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.

Unhealthy soil doesn't have the moisture and nutrients needed to thrive, which makes it dry, crumbling, and cracked. When you pick up the dirt, it might crumble quickly in your hands or be difficult to break apart. Proper watering and irrigation will improve the soil's condition in these instances.

How to rejuvenate old soil? ›

Add a handful of a slow release fertilizer like manure. Mix in one part compost for every three or four parts of the old potting mix. Apply a liquid fertilizer like compost tea every two weeks. Mix an organic fertilizer like worm castings or coffee grounds to the top few inches of garden soil.

One of the best things to put at the bottom of a planter for drainage is broken pieces of pot. You can use any unwanted plant pots or chipped crockery for this – simply smash them up into small to medium-sized pieces. Adding a layer of broken pieces of pot like this will prevent compost loss out of the drainage holes.

Perlite works better to help drainage, this means its also better for loosening heavy, compacted soil.

Potting mixes usually contain ingredients like coarse sand, vermiculite, and perlite, which help facilitate drainage for potted plants. However, if you'd like to boost the drainage potential of bagged soils, you can mix more of these amendments into your potting mix.