Need to purchase some potting soil today - I have trouble with the soil drying out or being so dry when I get it that I cannot get it rehydrated. I put water in it and the soil floats. Does not seem to integrate fully and dries out constantly
Last year I tried miracle grow moisture control but it was the worst! So dry and the housplants hated it. Had to water twice as often.
I don't know what to get now........any ideas.
potting soil question
Both peat and pine bark based soils become hydrophobic (water repellent) when moisture levels drop below about 30%. The key is to keep them hydrated enough so they rewet easily. There are also surfactants (wetting agents - basically detergents) that make water wetter, and when mixed with watering water, help with your problem.
If you place your container in a pan of water, as deep as practical so that it doesn't cause the soil to float, within an hour or so, the entire soil volume will be moist.
An excellent basic container soil mix that you can adjust to suit your individual plants and needs:
5 parts pine bark
1 part sphagnum peat
1-2 parts perlite
garden lime
controlled release fertilizer
a micro-nutrient source (I use micro-max and fish/seaweed emulsion)
Al
thanks