It seems the potting soil is not as good as 20 to 30 years ago. In fact it doesn't look like soil at all. Just chopped up wood chips of various sizes. And I don't want the ones that already have fertilizer in them. What is your favorite one for container gardening which is ready mixed?
Potting Soil
I like Hyponex, but in honesty, i buy cow manure, then add in some native soil-we have so much sand, the cow has some decent clay for the roots to hold on to, or, I use some topsoil with leftover horse manure mixed abt 1 to 4 parts, but my flowers stay outside, too cold and dark for indoors plants.
I know what you mean! I usually bought the cheapest 3 cu ft bag at Lowes which really worked well but they have not had it in a while.. ended up buying the miracle grow moisture control.. yuck! I am mixing everything I can with it to 'dilute' it down. I do use a lot of composted manue.. I buy the cheapest bags of manure they have and stack them up.. let them sit for a year and then I have some rather nice stuff to use the following year. It is a rotating plan for each year.. works out very well and it has sat so long I can use a lot of it... very cost effective.
Fancyflea ~ look for Sunshine or SunGro soil. It is excellent for moisture retention as it has peat in it and no fertilizer. I use it for everything although it is a bit more expensive, I find it is well worth the cost.
Podster where do you find Sunshine or SunGro?
I bought StaGreen Garden soil for vegetable and flower. I mixed it with some of Walmarts organic soil which is hopeless by itself. It is like the bags of topsoil some places sell. Miracle Gro is mostly bark mulch and I don't like it at all. This time and I bought StaGreen Garden soil for vegetable and flower and I have a pile of soil that is mostly sand and I have some compost I am going to mix with it and see how I like it. I also have water crystals I soak in 1/2 strength miracle grow to add to it. The StaGreen does have fertilizer.
LhasaLover love your idea of the manure. I will have to try that.
Our local hardware stocks it. The owner is a plant nut too so he uses it. I've never asked where he orders it from.
You might check this link to see if there is a retailer near you... http://www.sungro.com/retail_locator.php
I like the MG moisture control for potting up plants and for annual pots. For my perennial pots I use Ladybug potting soil.It is expensive! I like the idea of the manure too, Lhasa, do you mix it with something?
I mix anything that is inexpensive and light in with the aged/composted manure.. I also use a little perlite and water crystals. It is so hot and dry here that anything that will hold moisture is beneficial. I add some pelleted time release fertilizer and mix all in a big 18 gallon bin for filling my smaller pots. I bought 18 bags of manure a few weeks ago and stacked them for next year. I am almost out of last years manure.. my mother depends on me for her supply also. Anything left at the end of the season.. which there will be none this year, gets spread into the flower beds for winter fertilization and amending... it sure seems to help the spring blooms. Our soil is nothing but sand here... very alkaline and does not hold any moisture.. since I started this a couple years ago, things have been looking better but it is a work in progress.. can't afford to do as much as I would like but it is cheap enough this way.. less than $2 per bag but it is rather strong when I buy it....compared to the fully composted ready to use stuff that is about $5 per bag.. I just let it sit myself and age for the extra $3 per bag!
I love the Ladybug brand soils, but as Anna said, they are expensive! I usually add in some compost and amended soil to make the bags go farther.
I buy all my compost, mulch, soils from Nature's Way Resources. They're the absolute best in the state (and probably the best in the country). Pricey? Yes - but when you consider how much you end up having to "amend" other brands and the cost/time/effort involved, they work out to just about the same.
http://www.natureswayresources.com/
Better nurseries most likely will carry their products. If they don't, tell them they need to! LOL (The Arbor Gate in Tomball carries some but not all.)
(Any time someone sees my gardens, they always comment "You have such a green thumb!" Um... no, I don't. It's the soil I use that makes the stuff grow!)
Do Y'all have any Atwood s store near you .They carry a topsoil that is very good it come from Green Country Soils and I mix a equal amount od peat moss with it and add some MG fertilizer and it is pretty decent that way ,the topsoil is heavy toward the sandy side so it doesn't pack down very much ..I have over 40 planters made from everything possible so I have to be thrifty when it comes to filling them up ...Atwoods is a farm and ranch store I think every town in Oklahoma has one and I know there is quite a few in Texas >>>www.atwoods.com should work for a locator
Fancyflea ~ which were you looking for ~ top soil or potting soil recommendations?
I grow herbs, vegetables and houseplants in containers so may have misspoken on the type of soil.
If you need topsoil, please disregard my recommendation.
Thank you all for your recommendations. Podster, I wanted potting soil for houseplants and containers outside.