You often hear the terms garden soil and potting soil or potting mix used interchangeably; however, these are two very different products.
For all of your gardening and landscape projects, using the right type of dirt can makeall the difference forgrowing beautiful, healthy plants that require less water and maintenance.
What is Potting Soil or Potting Mix?
Despite its common name, a potting soil blend may not have any actual soil in it at all.
Most blends made for potting have some type of mulch, typically bark, along with vermiculite or another drainage enhancer. Potting mix also contains a significant amount of nutrients designed specifically to encourage the growth of container-based plantings.
If you grab a handful of potting mix and squeeze, you might notice that it doesn’t clump together at all. This is by design, as container plants can’t grow and thrive unless their roots can move freely through their potting medium.
For that reason, potting mix is also very lightweight.
What is Garden Soil?
Garden soil, on the other hand, is heavy and dense. If you grab a handful and give it a squeeze, it will clump together – at least to some degree.
A good garden mix does contain soil (technically compost), but without added nutrients or mulch. It is designed to hold plant roots in check. Otherwise, the plant may expend all its energy in root growth while becoming stalled out above the ground.
So, when should you use a garden mix and when is potting mix more appropriate?
Which Soil Should You Use for Garden and Landscape Projects?
As we say here at The Dirt Bag, always use potting mix in your pots and garden soil in your garden.
Potting mix is meant to stand alone, as opposed to being mixed in with existing soils. It is a self-contained product designed to provide potted plants with everything they need to grow and thrive.
Garden soil is meant to be spread around.
Mix garden soil in with your native dirt to improve it. Its organic components break down over time, to enrich and improve the native dirt it’s mixed with. Use it for planting flowers, bushes, trees and even fruits and vegetables in your garden.
When you’re ready to plant, dig your planting hole larger than the plant’s root ball. If your dirt is particularly abysmal, dig an even larger hole. Now fill the hole about halfway with garden mix and combine it in with some of the dirt you removed, plus some bat guano or another plant nutrient blend. Settle your plant gently in the hole and fill in the spaces with a garden and native soil mix.
You can also use garden soil as a top dressing throughout your garden and planter beds. This helps hold in the moisture and nourish the dirt all season long.
At The Dirt Bag, our exclusive Garden Soil Plus blend is designed just for Northern Utah. Dark and rich, its organic properties will give you the biggest, healthiest plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables on your block.
Available for delivery in one cubic yard bags or in bulk, call The Dirt Bag today to order your Salt Lake City area garden soil delivery.
FAQs
Which Soil Should You Use for Garden and Landscape Projects? As we say here at The Dirt Bag, always use potting mix in your pots and garden soil in your garden. Potting mix is meant to stand alone, as opposed to being mixed in with existing soils.
What is the difference between bagged garden soil and potting soil? ›
Garden soil is an amendment that is mixed with native soil, while potting soil is used alone for container gardens like potted houseplants and window boxes. Choosing the wrong one can lead to problems like moisture buildup and soil compaction, which cause root damage and inhibit plant growth.
When should you use garden soil? ›
Since garden soil has good organic matter already added to it, it's ready to use in the garden. It's best to use it wherever you need soil in a garden, like in raised beds, an outdoor container, vegetable plots, flower gardens, or around rose bushes and ornamental shrubs.
Can I use garden soil instead of potting soil? ›
Yes, you could use either garden soil or potting soil to grow outdoor plants. However, potting soil is a better choice as a growing medium as it's specifically created to support plant growth. But neither is the right choice for indoor plants or container gardening.
What happens if I use garden soil in a container? ›
Answer: Plants grown in containers require a well-drained growing medium. Garden soil alone is not a good growing medium. Garden soil compacts when placed in a container, resulting in poor water drainage and aeration.
Can you use bagged garden soil for potted plants? ›
Don't use it in containers. Since it doesn't have vermiculite, perlite or pumice, it lacks the drainage required for containers. Garden soil won't let plant roots breathe.
Why potting mix is better than garden soil? ›
Potting mix is meant for houseplants, seed starting, and container gardens. Since it's less dense and much lighter than garden soil, it makes it easier to move plant pots around—that's especially important for large houseplants or containers that you need to shift.
Can you put used potting soil in the garden? ›
It can be dumped directly out of your containers and into established beds and borders. You can use it in raised beds or wherever your yard has holes or eroded areas. It can also be mixed into compost piles. The old potting soil you reuse can help you save money for what all gardeners want: more plants.
Why can't you use Miracle-Gro garden soil in pots? ›
If you use garden soil, such as Miracle Gro Garden soil or Vigoro Garden soil you may run into some problems. Garden soil is simply too heavy, making containers much harder to move around than if you used potting mix. That extra weight will lead to compaction from watering.
Can you mix topsoil with garden soil? ›
Deciding Between Topsoil and Garden Soil
Keep in mind, too, that if you have a large area to cover, you can consider combining the two soils. Do you need help choosing the right type of soil for your northern Utah garden project?
Gardening magazine's trial of the best soil mixture for raised beds found that a blend of 50% topsoil, 25% coarse sand and 25% compost was best. It determined that although the mix was quite heavy to put in the bed, it didn't settle much and was simple to dig.
Does unused potting soil go bad? ›
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.
Why is garden soil not for pots? ›
The reason is that it tends to dry out more quickly than other types of soil and it can become compacted in pots,' Rodger says. This makes it harder for plant roots to grow and access the nutrients they need – meaning your container gardening ideas' health will be impacted in a few ways…
Can you use bagged garden soil in raised beds? ›
If you don't have the time or the inclination to create your own raised bed garden soil, you can buy bagged soil formulated for raised beds. It's a legitimate option, especially if you are creating fairly limited raised beds.
What is the difference between potting soil and raised garden soil? ›
Potting Mix is formulated to feed the soil for plants growing in indoor and outdoor containers, while Raised Bed Soil with its slightly larger particle size, has versatile uses for both larger containers and raised bed gardening.
Does bagged garden soil go bad? ›
Typically, bagged or bulk potting soil has a shelf life of about one to two years when stored in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and moisture. However, the effectiveness of potting soil can decline over time due to several factors. One critical factor is the depletion of essential nutrients.
