Isn’t the potting soil that you buy from the store the same as what you can get for free in your backyard? Can you use them both indoors?
The answer is a simple one: no.
Depending on where you live, the soil found in your yard is a mixture of silt, sand, and clay. Most potting soils sold at home improvement or garden stores are not actually “soils” at all – they are a mix of ingredients that assist a plant in growing. Potting soils are the best choice for indoor plants, as they allow for good, constant growth.
A good potting soil has an open structure, which allows air to reach the roots while also capturing the water that is essential for plant growth. It must have added plant foods and a suitable pH that is balanced between alkaline and acidic conditions. Backyard soils do not have a suitable structure or nutrients for indoor plants. Additionally, they also present the unwanted risk of weeds, pests, and diseases.
Many potting soils are mostly composed of peat – the layered accumulation of partially degraded organic material over a long period of time. Another commonly used ingredient in potting soil is coir, or the outer husks of coconuts. Once the husks are washed to remove any natural salts, coir is dried and compressed. Coir retains water very well – sometimes even better than peat in some instances – especially for seedlings.
Two other options in potting mixes are bark and wood fiber. They are easily transported and lightweight, but their age may hinder their usefulness. Bark must be aged properly, yet potting soils with wood fibers included in them must be used within months. After sitting on the shelf or in storage, bagged potting soils may lock up nitrogen in the wood. Once the bag is opened, the nitrogen is lost and your plants will starve due to lack of this vital nutrient.
For your beloved indoor plants, it is always a good idea to buy a good potting soil. Contact the plant experts at PLANTZ for more information and for our full offering of indoor plants.
Related Posts
PLANTZ at Greenfest 2012
Setting up for GreenFest 2012. Come visit us in Plant Park at the University of Tampa on Saturday and Sunday and learn how to keep your plants at home GREEN. We’ll be sharing secrets from the pros. Lots of other cool plant stuff to see too. Come on out!
CAMLS Facility Interior Plants Project
PLANTZ recently installed interior plants and planters in the new CAMLS facility in downtown Tampa. CAMLS is USF Health’s 90,000 square foot Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, and will serve medical professionals from around the globe with the latest, most high-tech training techniques. “PLANTZ came highly recommended,” said Janine Hartfield, Executive Assistant to Dr. Deborah […]
Morphogenesis Open House Plantscape
Morphogenesis held an open house on June 18th to celebrate its relocation to a new building. The celebration included a visit from Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn and a truck load of greenery from PLANTZ to create an alluring plantscape. The 8,000 square foot facility houses their laboratory where they’re developing cancer immunotherapy medications. Plantscaping for new openings has become […]