When you’re starting a new garden, you need to get the soil right. The wrong soil can make your plants sick, or worse, kill them. Potting soil is one of those things that if you buy it from the store and use it as-is, you’ll be fine β€” but if you want to get some extra bang for your buck and kickstart healthy plant growth at home, there are ways to improve upon even the best-quality potting soils (and save money in the process).

So why should you know anything about this seemingly boring topic? Well, chances are that if you’ve ever planted anything in your yard β€” whether flowers or vegetables β€” then growing something requires using potting soil at some point along the way! It might be time-consuming at first learning all about it (but trust me: it will become second nature after a while), but knowing how different kinds of soils affect plant growth will help ensure that every plant thrives under your care.

What is potting soil?

The first thing you should know about potting soil is that it’s a mixture of compost, peat, and soil. It’s used to grow plants in pots. Potting soil is the most common way to grow plants in pots. You can buy potting soil at a nursery or make your own.

Why is potting soil required?

Potting soil is required to help plants grow in containers. It’s also required to help plants grow in the ground, and even as a top dressing around trees in an orchard. The reason for this is that potting soil contains nutrients that are needed for healthy root growth, allowing your plant to flourish and stay strong.

To find out how much potting soil you need for your project, simply enter the width and depth of your container below!

How to choose potting soil?

If you’ve never purchased potting soil before, it may seem like a daunting task. There are so many different grades, brands, and types of potting soil available that it can be hard to know what to buy! The best way to determine which type of potting soil is right for your plants is by understanding the ingredients each kind contains.

To keep things simple, here’s a breakdown of the main factors that affect which type of growing medium will work best for your plants:

  • Drainage: Potting soils must drain well so water does not sit at the bottom of the container causing root rot or moldy conditions. If there isn’t enough drainage in your container (and therefore poor drainage throughout), try adding more perlite (a lightweight volcanic rock) or vermiculite (a mineral material derived from mica).
  • Water retention: Your pots will require some moisture as they dry out between watering cycles; however if they remain too wet for too long this can lead to root rot or moldy conditions as well! Make sure there isn’t too much fertilizer in your mix because excess fertilizer will cause nutrients to leach out into the surrounding environment which means fewer nutrients left over for those hungry little roots! Try adding some organic matter such as composted manure or peat moss when mixing up new batches every few months just keep reusing old containers instead throwing them away after every season since they’ll have built up plenty of nutrients over time.

How to use the potting soil calculator

The potting soil calculator calculates how much potting soil you need for a container. To calculate this, all you need to know are the dimensions of the container. First, you need to pick the shape of the container. In terms of shapes, you can pick from rectangular, round, and a truncated cone.

Once you pick the shape, all that is left is to input the dimensions of the container. The “quantity” variable refers to how many containers of these dimensions you have. So, if you’re calculating for just one container, you should set the quantity to 1.

FAQ

Why is potting soil required?

Potting soil is designed to keep the soil from becoming too compacted, which can suffocate roots and impede the flow of water and nutrients.

What’s the difference between 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.

How long does potting soil last?

Unused potting soil lasts roughly six months before it degrades in quality, while used potting soil should be replaced every year or two.