Container gardening is not only more popular than ever, but increasing numbers of people of all lifestyles, ages, and gardening capabilities enjoy this wonderful hobby. In addition to providing the opportunity to bring a part of nature inside the home, container gardening is popular because it offers significantly more flexibility than is provided by traditional outside gardens.

In order for container gardens to thrive, however, quality container gardening soil is a necessity because without healthy soil, plants, flowers, and vegetables simply will not grow.
Container Gardening Soil - Where to Start and What to Do

image: plant growing in garden soil
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Getting your container gardening soil just right can be frustrating. With all the types of soil mixes, compost, and fertilizers that are available, it can be difficult to get the right mix. Here are some tips to get you started.

Let's start with potting soil. Check for the amount of peat in the mix. The more peat it has, then the more clumps you get when your plant dries out. So the trick is to not let your plants dry out too much. You can eliminate this problem altogether, however, by making your own container gardening soil.

Start with half a container of potting soil that contains humus and then fill the other half with an equal mix of builder’s sand, peat moss, and perlite or vermiculite. You can also add fertilizer to your homemade mix if you want to.

One important thing to remember about your container gardening soil is to not use any soil from your garden.

Why? Because regardless of how “good” your outside garden soil may be, it is likely that it will fail to provide the correct drainage and, as time goes by, it will become hard and packed down, thus robbing plant roots of much needed oxygen that in turn will reduce the absorption of essential nutrients.
Compost and Fertilizer Can Be Added to Your Container Garden

A lot of people like to add compost to their container gardens. Composts, however, can be good or bad depending on what type you get. Generally, composts are good because they provide nutrients for your container gardening soil.

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image: container garden soilThe downside is that if the type of compost you bought wasn't heated to approximately 150 degrees, you could end up with a container full of weeds. In short, since the high temperature gets rid of weed seeds, you need to check the composts’ temperature and make sure it was heated high enough before you use it. Putting the issue of temperature, aside, once you buy compost make sure to spread a layer on top of your pots or mix it into your soil.

Not unlike composts, many people like to add fertilizer to their container gardens. Liquid fertilizers can work fairly well but you will need to remember to re-fertilize because the liquid forms wash out. To be the most effective liquid fertilizers need to be added after you water your plants.

If you pay close attention to your plants, they will tell you when you need to fertilize again. On the other hand, the directions on the fertilizer package can also give you a good idea of how often you need to add fertilizer to your container garden. Keep in mind, moreover, that organic granular fertilizers are also available.

One of the benefits of going organic is that you can mix the granules in the soil at the beginning of the season and refrain from having to re-fertilize until the next growing season.

One final note about container gardening soil pertains to soil-less mixes. Since these mixes tend to dry out more quickly than regular potting soil, you will need to closely watch the water levels if you decide to use this type of soil. Also, soil-less mixes tend to be lighter as well, so there is a greater chance your pots can blow over if you get strong winds.

The soil in your container garden is so important that it is necessary to periodically check the soil’s moisture. To do this, stick a regular pencil into the soil. For small containers, insert the pencil around two inches and for large containers insert the pencil about four to six inches. If the pencil is dry when you remove it from the soil, your plant needs more water. If, on the other hand, the soil remains on the pencil when it is removed, your soil has enough moisture and is not in need of any more water.
Container Gardening Soil: Conclusion

image: garden soilWhile container gardening is growing in popularity, it needs to be realized that without adequate container gardening soil, flowers, plants, vegetables cannot sustain themselves over time. As a result, it is important to establish a solid growth fostering foundation for your vegetables, plants, and flowers by using soil that is a composition of potting soil, perlite or vermiculite, peat moss, and builder’s sand.

Copyright 2009 - Denny Soinski. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give the author credit.
About the Author

Denny Soinski writes about garden decor, gardening, bronze garden sculptures, water fountains, and outdoor metal sculptures. For more information, please visit http://www.water-fountains-and-garden-decor.com right away!