I didn't mix native soil with amendment...

Unfortunately, I didn't read the packaging on Garden soil(soil amendment) and made the mistake of using it in my pots without mixing it with any native soil. Going back and remixing isn't the option I'm interested in taking because I potted nearly 20 containers. My question is, will the plant bother to grow in soil that is purely an amendment?

Second question, I noticed that the soil in one section of my yard is very poor with cracking and clumping in the top layer. Any time I try to grow a flower in it, it easily lifts right out of the soil. What can I do to rectify this? Thanks.

Hiya Greenlife,

It the poor soil area in your yard, it would make sense to begin a mulching program there. A layer of mulch/ compost will protect the soil from the weather and help the soil to retain water, thereby eliminating the "cracking" scenario you have been experiencing.

In regard to your potted plants. The success of those plants will be marginal unless the amendment is not a really rich or fresh organic. Many composts are well aged and can easily support plants on their own, although this practice is not recommended.

When potting new plants it is always advised to utilize 'potting soil' instead of a 'planting mix'. Potting soil is specifically designed/ formulated for use with potted plants.

Good luck with your plants and soil.

Best,
Don

Thank you for your response. You're right in saying that my soil is poor. I will follow your advice and use mulch regularly. I normally mulch upon planting but am careless in regularly reapplying it to the soil. And, I will be sure to use potting soil the next time around. In my carelessness, I thought potting soil and garden soil served the same purpose. BTW, does potting soil need to be replaced with time?

Soil amendments are normally mixed with native soil only in the ground. In a pot you would use straight potting soil. Although I sometimes mix them for potting anyway. The reason it is not reccomened is that regular soil tends to prevent drainage in a pot with only one or a few holes for the water to exit. Potting soil is bascially organic material (peat moss) and perlite or vermiculite for added water retention and lightness. I have made my own before. Unfortified potting soils have little nutrients and you have to fertilize anyway since nutrients get used up or flushed out of a pot rather quickly. A soil amendment will probally work for a potted plant. It may drain faster than some potting soils depending on its compostion. Soil amendments vary in composition a lot depending where you live, as well.

Thank you for the explanation. Sadly, I wasn't differentiating to the point where I was dumping potting soil into the ground.

This weekend I emptied all the old dirt from last summer's "dead" flowerpots and made some observations. Some soils had huge, fat worms. Some soils had NO worms at all. Some soil was lumpy, ooky, clay with not very many worms at all. Some "soil" was that potting stuff with the white styrofoam "pills" in it. NO WORMS WHATSOEVER in any pot that had this stuff in it. Which leads me to believe it ain't dirt at all!

My question was what to do with the old soil? Somewhere on another thread someone said throw it into the flowerbeds. So I targeted a little flowerbed after I scooped back the layer of leaves that were placed on top as mulch for the winter.. Then I started wondering if I would be wasting my good compost by mixing it with the "trash" dirt. So I started separating the soils as best as I could, using the worms to guide me. If there were worms in what seemed to be viable soil, the worms got thrown into my new compost bed and the soil was kept. No worms meant it was trash soil/artificial potting stuff and it went aside. I found a huge container with nothing but sand, too. And then there were the containers with half soil on top of a layer of decomp leaves. This had a few worms, depending on the leaf decomp. Some was kept it if looked viable.

All in all, I threw a good bit of what seemed to be viable soil into that small bed. And, I supplemented and amended this with the newly harvested compost. I believe I did ok, but some help or comments on what and when to toss old soil into the flowerbeds for replanting/amending, and when to simply toss old soil into the trash would be appreciated.

P.S. my logic on the soil was that if the worms liked it, it was worth keeping...

Thanks.

Linda

I dump old potting soil on the ground or on to a compost pile. If it is good for potted plants then it should help the area it is dumped at. It is such a small quantity it can't hurt and is one less bag for the landfill.

Worms can sort out what is food for them and what isn't. If you have lots of decaying vegetation, then worms should be plentiful. If the soil has no food for worms, then more than likely there won't be any worms there.

Thanks!