Comparing Potting Soil $ vs. $$ vs. $$$ Which is Best?
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- Опубліковано 30 кві 2018
- potting soil is something many gardeners (myself included) use and we all are aware of all the options out there. Many are at different prices and so I set out to compare cheap to expensive the different potting soils out there and see if you really get what you pay for.
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I love experiments like this and I appreciate UA-camrs like you that go through the time and effort to conduct these trials and publish them for the rest of us.
Exactly.
Last year i started about 16 apple trees from seed. All started around the same time. When i moved them to bigger pots i ran out of potting soil and used some regular good old soil from the garden for 1 of them. Before long it was about 50% bigger than all the others. Fun accidental experiment
I believe you have worms in your soil from the garden. They have worm casting that help the plant to stay healthy and grow bigger.
@@scottbiz1127 They cast spells.
@@logidet Lol
Hi Luke,
I did a similar experiment with one of my science classes testing the quality of potting soil when starting a variety of seeds in a variety of potting soils. We used six different seeds types and six different potting soils. Started, watered etc all the same. All the students took care of their own plants which help to mitigate any better or worse treatment during planting, watering, care etc. The only different variable was the soil. Our results showed the Organic Pro Mix was the best for all seeds used. Fastest germination usually but fastest and strongest seedlings after three weeks of growth after germination. Nice to see our experiment is replicable with transplants. Love your videos and the info you provide. Keep up the good work!
The pro mix how can I increase drainage? Adding vermiculute?
@@persadsanjay No perlite. Vermiculite is the opposite. Holds water.
Thank you for this informative, unbiased comparison. You saved me a lot of time and dissatisfaction as I would more likely buy the cheap stuff.
As a newbie gardener, I so appreciate your content! Thanks
Wow what a difference . Love this video. Thank you for your help
Thank you! I always wondered what the difference was but never had the amount of money needed to make the comparison. It’s good to know it’s worth the extra money. Now if I could just afford it!
Wow, what a big difference! Interesting, thanks Luke!
Great video, currently I’m using some cheap but very good soil, light and rich at a good price point, I’m hoping to get some trifecta soon to mix in and use with it.
This is awesome! I'm not a seasoned gardener but it's not my first rodeo either and I would probably grab the one without fertilizer. Something about it never felt right to me. Now I make my own mix and the fertilizer comes from whatever organic compound I add to the water.
Thank you for doing this test. Great information.
Thanks for the thorough video. You are a very passionate and engaged plant man.
This is one of themost wanted videos so far, mate. (y)
Prefer promix without fert ... can put in my own in a more controlled situation...love promix ...fert is easier to add than remove, like cooking but...thats just me. Thanks for this...getting some soil tomorrow!
Wow! Those results! Great video
This was very informative. Thanks for sharing.
Love the promix. The main reason it has no nutes is so you have an option to use the fert of your choice. Teas, organics, high end additives. Gives the pro the option of any and all...
I have tried em all too, but man, nothing compares to my homemade half peat half coco and then add perlite and vermiculite plus add worm castings and fertili ze however you want! This is, by far, the winning combo! The drainage coupled with awesome water holding Capability cannot be beat! Try it if you can! You wont go back!
Say no to peat
That what I did. In USA they have plenty peat moss so won’t run out in Canada. So no problem in US.
Nah nvm, just depends on how you water it 👌
In Australia, that would cost me a kidney
i would love to see this test long term
bigjohn6458 Look up Khang Starr’s video on UA-cam, he has a soul test similar to this with lettuce, he’s a pepper grower primarily but has great insight
thanks for the recommendation! :)
Exactly, is the expensive mix filled with additives that will drain out quickly, or with compostables that will last for a greater length of time?
Thanks for the comparison, Luke! It would be great to do a 60-, 90- days follow-up! Cheers!
I used mostly my compost mixed with whatever potting mix is on sale for pots. My layered beds all look healthy. I started the rows by layering cardboard over heavy sand, then I used whatever cheap potting mix and cow manure I could find topped with compost then topped with wood chips. I cant lug bags of materials any more. Every year I pull back the wood chips (that break down wonderfully) and add my home made compost ( no digging) then push the chips back. The cardboard, wood chips and compost make the magic happen in my beds. I do fertilize with organic blood and bone meals occasionally. My plants produce great and Im a newbie to vegetable gardening. Great video. TFS
I used MiracleGrow Potting Mix until a few years ago, the quality went down, started finding big chunks of wood in it and other things.... so I started mixing my own. Best lesson ever... now I make cheap organic potting mix exactly how I want it!
Im glad you did thos video because i have been gardening for a long time but i always thought that the more finer and broken down it was the better. When i see peices of bark looking stuff i assumed that it would bad for the roots to try to grow through.
I have trust issues with bagged potting soil... I always mix my own. This is a great warning for new gardeners...not all dirt is the same. This weekend I went to the local Farm supply store there were like a dozen different varieties of potting soil, I was tempted to get some because they were on sale....but I bought the COIR, the spangum, the vermiculite, perlite, and went home and mixed my own with my giant pile of rescreened mushroom compost. I am going to sit down and do the math but with those 30 gal geo bags I think i am saving a small fortune doing it myself.
Exactly how I do it! Works awesome!I always use worm castings for my micros but...
We just spent a few hours mixing our own this morning for elevated beds that are new this year. The mix was beautiful and cost us about 1/2 of what even the bulk mix that the local greenhouse mixes and offers. Easily 1/4 of what a prebagged mix would cost.
@IX eleven Coco peat and peat moss work if you add perlite or vermiculite and use it as a seed raising mix but it contains no nutrients so you need to add fertilizers and organic matter to use it as a potting mix.
Ever since you introduced me to Pro Mix that is the only thing I have used. I love it. It is far superior to anything else I have found. I haven't found a place in Arizona to buy it, but I can find it in South Dakota. I will just have to take some with me when I go south for the winter.
Wow Luke! Amazing video. Thanks you
Good vid. Very informative. As always you've got to try diferent types of growing mediums to find out what's best for your situation and local conditions.
Thanks for this!
i'm cheap, i use what i can afford at the time. I even have used the cheap all purpose soil and sifted it out to remove all of the pieces of small wood. Still seems to work pretty well.
If you have green thumb you can grow stuff in clay soil and top soil
Great video, very interesting!
This was actually a really nice video. Thanks :))) I always have problems with the Miracle Grow brand. The beginning it doesn't look to bad but then I always experience problems down the road because it compacts, dries out fast, cracks, etc. I used to try to have a 1 to 1 ratio of miracle grow to compost but that became unrealistic and was not working at all. So here's what I did and I want your opinion:
I got a lot of compost and got a lot of vermiculite. I mixed coco coir and vermiculite in a ratio of anywhere from 1:1 to plus or minus .5 on each side. I then also added some compost and when I didn't have enough I added Dr. Earth fertilizer instead since it's organic and has good quality. I only started this mix this year and so far, the vermiculite and coco coir has been eh but I haven't tried with some compost and fertilizer yet. So far, the Garlic I got from an organic market that I put in the fridge and all that is doing amazing. Some of the tomatoes I just planted so hopefully they do really well. I just planted potatoes so I hope there is enough organic matter and enough fluffiness to allow the potatoes to grow. Onions same. I have beans and Asparagas, finally. I just want to know what you think of the mix of Coco Coir, Vermiculite, Homemade compost and or Dr. Earth bloom fertilizer.
I’ll be finishing the setup of my garden within the next week & I’m actually using that same Miracle Grow potting mix that you reviewed, but I’m adding a mix of perlite, vermiculite, and steer manure mix. If needed for texture, i also have playsand and/or pea gravel that could be added. The natural soil here is clay, which has given me...mixed results in the past.
Why would you use vermiculite and perlite together?
Edit: after reading you should definitely not use vermiculite
Also for the love of God.. do NOT add sand to your clay soil. You'll make something similar to concrete
So, sometimes the cheaper choice may become the most expensive, if you consider adding more fertlizer. Would be interesting doing this test, adding fert to the other 2 and comparing the results and final cost.
I used Promix with added vermiculite,Composted Steer manure, some pelitized chicken manure as a tea when watering,and sprayed my seedlings with dilute kelp spray.
Things are looking good.
I like to use a mix of the ProMix with Mushroom Compost in my raised beds, it does a great job. I start my seeds in ProMix with worm castings. I never use anything associated with Monsanto (ie Miracle Grow).
Good video, I shared this out to a several folks who are new to gardening this year...
I did NOT know Monsanto owned Miracle Grow. I will never use their products again.
@@peterturner1582 They're not, Miracle-Gro is owned by Scotts, Scotts has a marketing agreement with Monsanto to be the exclusive distributor of RoundUp in North America. That's the only connection between the two companies
@@peterturner1582 Scotts owns Miracle grow, they are a contract manufacturer for monsanto products but dont make it.
Its called pro mix for a reason, a lot of folks who grow at large scale want a good blank slate to work with and full control of the process. However I don't know a lot of pros who would purchase tiny 16 quart volumes of that material so perhaps having a fertilizer included would be advantages for the casual consumer market.
I did a soil test on the promix and it came really rich in N, with some P and no K, so i guess that's why the plants grow so well with the mix, the promix guys add so much organic matter that it becomes N available to the plant
Yes....or they soak it in a high N wash like manure or fish
Fish. Shrimp n oyster shells! If it the one I'm thinking about the NPK is 30-20-10! Which highly makes sense with your conclusions!!!👍
Great vid thanks,rudy
I would love to see a trifecta+ comparison with and without it as well as a leading brand.
Ive recently made the change from other potting soils to pro mix and the results are night and day.
Pete Garza try making your own! Save big!!!
I've been lot happier with making my own mix cost and function wise the bags are convenient but when you make it you can change to your needs.
I wish I had seen this video earlier. I heavily invested into the Kellogg Raised Bed and Potting Mix. The soil compacted and root rotted all of my pepper plants. I mixed in perlite and sand to make it better, but hopefully I don't have root rot again.
pine bark! either go find a dead tree and peel it off or buy in the store if thats your option... enjoy!
Promix does not come with any extra added fertilizer as different plants at different stages require different ratios of N.P.K and this allows the gardener to add these when required without risk of over fertilizing.
Great Video! Thanks!
Good information. Luke like to see a growing guide on Honeyberries. Thanks.
Cool video, I'd like to see more comparisons in the future. It looked like the promix was inoculated with mycorrhizae so maybe that played a role in the plants development?
Said the same thing to myself when watching the video. I've never seen a bag of ProMix so I'm curious what exactly is in their potting mix.
@@paddy6358 It's OMRI-Listed so, nothing to be afraid of (The organic one).
Canadian sphagnum peat moss (60-75%)
Peat humus
Compost
Perlite
Gypsum
Limestone (for pH adjustment)
Organic fertilizer
Mycorrhizae - PTB297 Technology
Great information 👍🏼😘🌸 Thank you !👍🏼😘🌻❤️🍎🫑🌶🌽
Would be nice to see more videos like this one.
Hi Luke. Love the channel. I live in an apartment so am stuck to container gardening for now. Should I buy a dedicated potting mix and add compost and worm castings and Trifecta+, or make my own mix?
Hope your doing well I've heard good things about Pro Mix when you transplant or even start from seed do you add any type of soil to the pro mix and what do you think about using pro mix for cannabis
well explained.. thank bro
Can the promix be used in a raised bed, or only containers? If it can't be used for raised beds, what do you recommend? I have been using Jiffy for seed starting and that has been working great for me. Just curious what you recommend for the raised beds?
the thing that probably made the promix tomato grow so much better was their addition of mychorrhizal fungi. When it comes to growing basically anything, beneficial soil life is key. A healthy soil ecosystem is a healthy plant!
That you are doing this is so funny, Luke. Mark my hubby ordered local privately owned soil, they say it's 50/50 topsoil /mushroom compost. Well he though it would be more cost effective since I start so many seedlings. So, I challenged him and bought a bag of the Burpee mix you used in your seed starting tutorials, then a bag of Just natural with worm castings added , thirdly a bag of FOXFarms with bat guano AND worm castings added. We started 2 weeks ago, but will be measuring results with tomatoes seeds I bought from you btw:)). I'm pretty sure I can guess the winner, but that you did a video is even more evidentiary proof of my hypothesis. I am loving fortification in justification of my costs. Tank you so much for making this awesome now, I'M shaking!lol
How did your test go? I am a big fan of FoxFarms and would like to see if the cost is justified.
Let's hear the results
Updates?
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that either. The third one is so much bigger than the other two :-0
Very interesting video thank you.
Potting soil is just that, soil. Potting mix is a mixture of different ingredients, such as peat moss,forestry products,and char coal .They are 2 different products for different purposes .
Potting soil is an oxymoron. Soil has no place in pots and containers. You need to purchase or mix your own potting mixture.
@@peterturner1582 It's a scam to sell top soil for more.
Great video, good to know. Have you ever grow ginger or tumeric, it be good to test.
Thank you luke, I heard there is salts in mirical grow, which could cause said effect in the plant and growth.
I love the pro mix, & I use it because it has no fertilizer. It allows me to build my own organic soil. It’s all preferable though ✌️
That is amazing... not shocked by the cheap brand but very shocked that even without fertilizer the top brand was so much bigger
I currently use the mid brand but will for sure change if the results stay like this... if toy do another vid in a few More weeks bc i really want to see the difference even though only 1 has fertilizer
Of course, there are times where one must use what they can, even when it isn't the best.
I got a bunch of raspberries planted where one of my previous neighbors used to dump goat manure (along with rabbit and poultry manure) and bedding when they had to clean out the barn, although that stuff is all but gone now. Trying to get stuff from a farmer from down the road, as they have what amounts to a petting zoo, to say nothing about stuff from the other nearby farmers, but I lack a truck, or some such thing, to haul the stuff in, so that I can dump it where I want to put it.
This blew me away! I had no idea the potting mix could make such a difference!
New Gardner here. I am making TONZ of mistakes! I need help on something- I expanded my garden by pulling up sod and then flipping is grass side down to fill the garden space and put compost/ humus over the top- I’m seeing that I’m going to have grass in my garden 😖. My question is- can I still plant in this area even tho the sod is obviously not composting like I hoped. I was going to put newspaper around my plants and then mulch over that- will the plants do ok or struggle?? Or should I just dig out that sod and start over?
If I got garden soil delivered for a raised bed & it looks incredibly rich complete with worm castings, do I need to add something to minimize compaction?
To me it’s all about slow and quick release fertilizer, need both to thrive. As long as it drains well, holds moisture, smells like dirt, and affordable it’s good!
Are you ever going to have John from Growing your Greens to your garden/farm? He definetley travels around a lot, and you mentioned he inspired your to start growing? I think it would be a really interesting video having the both of you sharing tips. It seems he's been to Michigan before, even mentioning you in his video, even tho it was kind of a weird joke about our lousy growing season, ha.
Growing season let's grow big...
Yes I have a question I'm wanting to build a 12 inch tall raised bed garden I don't know what how the layers of soil go in or what soil should be going in any help would be nice thank you
I'm not sure if you've covered this. But how would I go about ridding my yard of chemicals. So as to have cleaner product from my growing? Any advice would be awesome, thanks.
My brother in law used Miracle Grow, and could not keep up with the heavy growth of the vegetables, especially the tomatoes!. Ended up making lots of pasta sauce lol
In my area the Promix Premium Vegetable and Herb Mix has fertilizer for up to 3 months as well as mycorrhizae inoculation.
oh wow, cool! Then I would definitely want that over the other stuff.
Same in our area at Menards ,, fertilizer , mycorrhizae inoc. ,, 4 cubic yards. On sale 12.56 ..promix .
The Promix you used MIgardener has organic fertilizer in it. On your bag in the video it has the pink circle that says feeds up to 3 months and includes organic fertilizer in the ingredient list on the back. Promix also lists it on their website. I am so glad you introduced me to this brand in your videos awhile back and this new video proves it. This year I mixed a few OMRI listed brands together in my bed hoping for success.
true grit you got 4 cubic yards of promix for $12?
Walmart is selling the 2 cubic foot compressed size at some of their stores. It is Promix's largest consumer size and is supposed to space out to 4 cubic foot (results vary though). I got mine for 8.90$ this year (at a walmart in a low cost of living area).
What is the best mix to get for a new gardener?
im experimenting with quartz sand and compost, currently in pure sand just with compost on top im mostly growing fruit trees in containers, do you know if worm castings as a top dressing would provide the optimal nutrients? or is it not soluble and will it leave behind PK after the N has been used up? i just want to know if i can use worm castings or even mature compost instead of urine lol :p
Often the expensive mixes have been rinsed or soaked in a soluble fertiliser such as manure and that can affect medium term growth. Im realy surprised that cheap soil would have sand and soil. Here in NZ almost all bagged compost is made from the vegetation garbage at the landfill. It is minced and mixed with pine shavings and sawdust then rinsed through manure wash before settling. My old recipe is clay pumice sand and peat with fast release fert. Grew about 200,000 plants in that and they went well.
I have videos on my channel comparing 2 of these exact brands this guy compared. I used them as seed starter. The third brand is a Cow manure brand.
Can we mix either of the potting mixes? I am following since I am currently in Michigan and I am interested in doing indoor vegetable planting.
Thanks. Based on your suggestions from earlier videos, I am giving ProMix a try this year. So far I am loving it! It's available at my favorite nursery so its convenient for me too. Thanks for the work you do here on you tube!
MI Gardener the reason promix has 0 fertilizer is to allow the grower to ensure consistency in their own “pro mix.” Some growers add in a mixture of kelp meal powder, worm castings, bat guano for plants. I think I need to use the azemite and rock dust you’ve talked about.
I see what your talking about I have used Promix I really liked it its good soil mix but then you should never stay with just one but of corse some people can,t do that
Great videdo
How did your outdoor raised bed filled with 1,000,000 bags of Promix do? Were there any issues with water retention?
I have been wondering the same thing.
Theres a video answer to your question.. He didnt use more then 80 % of that product
When potting soil you recommend
Please advise
You can order promix online from Menards for $6.44 One cubic foot bag. I go to the store and it’s the same price. I have been using it for many years and have great results. I do run it through a sifter. Then I make soil blocks with it.
thank you
Are you using bark for mulch in those tree pots?
After watching the close-ups of the mix and comparing screen shots side by side, there is very little difference in the appearance of the miracle grow versus the promix. I guess the true test is the growth rate of plants, but I wish you had grown multiple specimens in each mix.
Just for the heck of it, have you experimented with using a 100% mix from things you make in your own yard, such as compost and leaf mold? That would not only be free in cost, it would be a negative expense when you consider how much less garbage you will have to send to the landfill. We have a large lot with 2+ acres that must be mowed once a week. Just collecting the grass from one mowing yields several cubic feet of grass and weed clippings. Adding about a dozen crushed eggshells a week, chopped banana peels, shredded cardboard from the egg cartons, tissue paper rollers, shredded newspaper (about the only thing it is now good for), alfalfa meal, molasses, and yeast, it takes 15-18 days to turn each pile into finished hot compost, and in one mowing season (first of March until end of November), we end up with many cubic feet of finished compost. Additionally, the work it takes to turn the piles and work with them is equal to a 3 to 5 mile walk in calorie burning.
Our compost works great in self-watering containers, and in the raised beds, it retains moisture even during our heat wave and droughts in July and August.
Have you read 'the land ethic' by Aldo Leopold? If so, what are your thoughts on it? If not, I can't recomment it enough(also, freely available online as both audio aswell as written and quite short)
We're lucky enough to live on a lake. Do you think I should be adding aquatic vegetation to add to my soils/compost? I already add fish scraps, but other than kelp, I haven't heard much about using freshwater vegetation or if it's advisable.
for sure! it most likely will not contain the 60+ elements like u would find in kelp, but hey it will still have 25 or so! def add it to the compost pile and enjoy! organics rock. They blow away the synthetic game without killin the soil with salts lol... happy gardening
Wow I didn’t expect that either
Can these bagged potting mixes/soils be contaminated with fungus gnats? I saw a youtuber say we need to sterilize the bagged potting mix/soil... Also is there anyway we can build our own to avoid these pesky fungus gnats?
I guess you can do it with HOT composting. Because it kills off the fungus gnat eggs and germs.
Well, while I don't think it was your intention, you sold me on the pro mix. Would you recommend it for my potted lemon trees?
If you're getting a tree, I'd certainly go for the best you can get. That tree is living in there for the rest of its life.
Fully agree, totally worth the small investment. I've since repotted a Variegated Pink Lemon tree and it's bouncing back from the atrocities it suffered from poor shipping and the big box store.
Of course... just because I missed out on two massive sales of Pro-Mix Moisture Control and ended up coming home with 4 big bags of Miracle Grow Moisture Control Mix. So... re: the lack of Fertilizer, what’s your theory on this???
Would I use the Promix when planting seeds or transplanting or both ?
carol parrish both for sure!
There's a Pro-Mix seed starting mix that I recommend. I've had a 90%+ success rate when I was germinating my own seeds.
You could buy cheap soil, and put manure with it or plant chicken eggs or put banana peels in it... I planted an egg in an potted plant and it grew really well, but I do have very good soil and the egg was natural... not store bought. But I’m sure you can work with whatever you get😀!
in Canada promix is cheeper than miracle grow. maybe its higher price in the U.S. is because of some kind of tarrif. the promix probably has more more compost and more nutrients readily available.
How can it both hold water and drain water?
I am definitely a Promix user. I buy it by the big bale. If you were to take each of the plants out of the pots you would be even more astonished at the roots. The Promix wins.
Pro mix doesn’t seem to be available in our big box stores here in northern Indiana. Anyone have a good source to recommend?
Dads Mimi usually have to hit up a nursery for the stuff even down south. Although our Walmart started carrying it over the winter.
In my opinion, you're not missing anything; it's very hard not to get damping off, and if you do even slightly over-water, it's game over. I got mine at Home Depot, but I'm in Canada.
I do lile promix but it takes a day or 2 to get wet. And promix does have a small ampunt of fertilizer. I.e. poultry manue feather meal. My bag says feeds for 9 months. And its organic. Awesome video though.
It's OMRI-Listed for use in organic gardening, though.
Can you talk about what you use more? You do in the videos but only for a second & it's hard to understand. Especially for myself a beginner. I want to know what works best with what. Plants need different needs. Even with fertilizers. If any of that makes sense. If you can talk more about that would be awesome. Thanks.