Q&A – What is in bagged soil?
Question:
What is the definition of the different kinds of soils purchased by the bag? Specifically: Garden soil, Potting soil, Top soil, Raised bed soil. All of these have the same components, so how do they differ? Also, none of these have "clay" as a component. Why not? You would think true soil would contain clay.
Answer:
Garden Expert Tonya Ashworth goes through what is in common kinds of bagged soil.
Garden soil will have a lot of wood products and not as much peat or organic matter. This kind of soil is designed to be put out in the landscape.
Potting Soil is fluffier than garden soil and contains more peat and also vermiculite. It is designed to not compact but stay loose in pots.
Topsoil usually comes from the top few inches of the earths surface. It generally does not contain a lot of organic matter, but you can mix in compost if you would like to.
Raised bed soil is between potting soil and garden soil. You don’t need to use this for raised beds, you can use the less expensive garden soil.
Many of these products are not very nutrient rich so you may want to mix in some compost to feed the plants better. These products do not contain clay because clay retains water and slows drainage.
Related Videos:
Soil Preparation
How do I amend my hard soil
Related Resources:
Bagged Potting Mixes and Garden Soils for Home Gardeners
Using Soil and Soil Mixes
What's in that Bag?—Soil Amendments
What is the definition of the different kinds of soils purchased by the bag? Specifically: Garden soil, Potting soil, Top soil, Raised bed soil. All of these have the same components, so how do they differ? Also, none of these have "clay" as a component. Why not? You would think true soil would contain clay.
Answer:
Garden Expert Tonya Ashworth goes through what is in common kinds of bagged soil.
Garden soil will have a lot of wood products and not as much peat or organic matter. This kind of soil is designed to be put out in the landscape.
Potting Soil is fluffier than garden soil and contains more peat and also vermiculite. It is designed to not compact but stay loose in pots.
Topsoil usually comes from the top few inches of the earths surface. It generally does not contain a lot of organic matter, but you can mix in compost if you would like to.
Raised bed soil is between potting soil and garden soil. You don’t need to use this for raised beds, you can use the less expensive garden soil.
Many of these products are not very nutrient rich so you may want to mix in some compost to feed the plants better. These products do not contain clay because clay retains water and slows drainage.
Related Videos:
Soil Preparation
How do I amend my hard soil
Related Resources:
Bagged Potting Mixes and Garden Soils for Home Gardeners
Using Soil and Soil Mixes
What's in that Bag?—Soil Amendments