Soil is anything a plant grows in. It can crushed glass if a plant is growing in it. I know some make a distinction between potting soil and potting mix, but potting mix IS a soil. It's not what the medium is called that is important, it's what it's made of and the % of those ingredients.

You want a soil that will guarantee aeration for the intended life of the planting (between repots) so we generally stay away from soils that contain small particles in abundance. Garden/topsoil compact easily, reduce aeration, and increase water retention, so the great majority of those participating on this forum advise that you leave them out of soils.

Dirt is what you find under your fingernails. If you have enough of it, it could be a soil.

Al

thanks tapla for your explanation !

i did go ahead and buy 2 sacks of yardcare potting soil to check it out. i took a look at it but it looks and feels "heavy". i bought a sack of supersoil potting mix for my seedlings and both brands just have the feel of the hyponex potting soil. would there be something to add to these brands to "lighten" it up. peat moss,vermiculite, etc. ?

last year i used promix-bx with excellent results. i also bought 2 sacks of hyponex that was pretty much garbage. the hyponex seemed heavy and compacted and really retained the water and my results were only fair compared to promix.

wildlifeman

Heavy potting soils can be mixed with a substantial amount of pine bark fines to produce a very productive container soil. 5 parts pine bark fines: 1 part of the heavy bagged soil should work fine. You'll want to add a little garden lime to the mix, though.

Al

tapla,

thanks again for your response !

pine bark fines and lime are definitely available locally at a reasonable price. will go with your recommendation.

wildlifeman

I think I fotgot to tell you to add a little perlite in the mix - especially if you're lucky enough to find partially composted fines. My bad. ;o)

Al