Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [potting-soil]

Soil used for pot plants

Potting soil mixes are intended for use in pots. As such they are typically mixed for particular application - unlike an outside bed which is typically topsoil or modified topsoil.

Use this tag for questions about potting soil mixtures, which to use, etc.

151 questions
10
votes
2 answers

Is there a way to recycle old potting soil?

When I repot all of my potted plants each year, I end up with a rather large amount of used potting soil. It seems like a waste of good organic material to take it to the landfill. Is there a way of saving and recycling it to make it usable in some…
J. Musser
  • 51,747
  • 21
  • 116
  • 323
6
votes
1 answer

Does mixing ash with your potting soil make a difference?

I always have some ash left in the barbecue. Would mixing it in the potting soil be a good or a bad thing for my pot plants? The ash is only from charcoal so nothing nasty in it.
Neil Meyer
  • 587
  • 8
  • 15
6
votes
0 answers

LECA in potting mix: Good or bad idea?

I've purchased a bag of LECA for use in hydroponics. Recently, I have taken out the pellets from a pot that is no longer used for hydroponics and then I stored the medium. I was thinking of using this medium as part of a soil mix, rather than on its…
Christmas Snow
  • 1,734
  • 9
  • 18
3
votes
1 answer

Do stones in potting soil provide any benefit wtasoever?

I have several pots on my apartment's balcony and am looking to increase the number. I use soil dug out from a local mountain forest. It is not difficult to remove the stones from the soil before putting it in pots. IS there any benefit to removing…
Vorac
  • 1,248
  • 1
  • 9
  • 16
2
votes
1 answer

Does it make sense to chop up dead branches and leaves for use as fertilizer?

In terms of pot plants, how effective would it be to put back into soil dried out or broken parts of a plant? Is it worth the effort? It would seem logical, but I don't know how much of the actual plant (sans water) are substances suitable for use…
user1306322
  • 757
  • 2
  • 5
  • 14
2
votes
0 answers

Would "carbon soil" work? Why have I never seen it?

Correct me if I'm wrong: the major functions of soil(a bunch of tiny stones with some dirty stuff in between) to plants are: anchoring point a sponge-like substrate for the "dirty stuff"…
Vorac
  • 1,248
  • 1
  • 9
  • 16
2
votes
1 answer

COIR + Compost as a simple/crude potting mix analog?

I am in a fairly unusual position of being able to get large quantities of bags of used coir at no cost from time-to-time. Can anyone confirm if mixing coir + compost (home made) will make an OK'ish general purpose mix for a raised bed growing…
davidgo
  • 4,073
  • 1
  • 15
  • 28
2
votes
1 answer

Recipe for potting soil

I live in an area (Delhi, India) where sterilised potting mixes are unavailable. And potting mixes are expensive. So I prepare my own usually. I want to prepare potting soil for planting roselle and lettuce separately. I have the following things…
Aksh
  • 351
  • 2
  • 8
1
vote
1 answer

I would like to find a new use for my left over sm pet bedding (unused of course. )

Care fresh sm pet bedding , I bought this over the summer because we found a baby bunny all alone in the street and I brought it home took care of it till It got strong enough to be released back out into the wild but I was using this temporarily to…
Kathleen Baiona Kat
  • 11
  • 1
1
vote
0 answers

Using palm frond chips instead of coconut chips

After having success with potting mix containing coco chips (coarser than coco coir, replacing wood chips) for aroids, I want to try and get some pure coco chips for making my own moss poles. The moss poles are made out of a cylindrical mesh…
Christmas Snow
  • 1,734
  • 9
  • 18
1
vote
1 answer

Root bits in old potting mix

I have root bits from the previously grown basil in a soil that is perlite vermiculite coco coir and compost. Is there a way to remove them? If not, then how much new potting soil should I mix in? Moreover, how do I ensure that these root bits don't…
Aksh
  • 351
  • 2
  • 8
1
vote
1 answer

Growing tomatoes in pots

I had a tomato seedling 30cm high growing in potting soil in a large pot, but the pot had no drain hole so the water built up and went sour. I have replanted the tomato into another holed pot, but am left with the old smelly sour potting soil. How…
Jan
  • 11
  • 1
1
vote
1 answer

Need short details about perlite, Vermicompost, bone meal and such

I am not looking for definitions or such, but a quick rundown of what is better for soil aeration and drainage? I will need to purchase a few stuff depending on what they do. I already got vermiculite and it's not good for water drainage and…
4-K
  • 3,167
  • 11
  • 44
  • 63
0
votes
2 answers

Golden vermiculite any good?

I got this vermiculite for plants and wondering if this is good enough or not. It's golden in color. Very shiny, like gold. Should I use this for succulents? How is this thing going to help the plants?
4-K
  • 3,167
  • 11
  • 44
  • 63