Well Drained Soil Mix

Potting soils with vermiculite are good for plants that like a lot of water and for starting seeds.

Well drained soil mix. When vermiculite is dry it looks like spongy flakes. These soils do not drain too quickly or too slowly. Compacted clay soils are notorious for encouraging. Limestone is added to peat based potting mixes to help balance the ph.

An alternative to using garden soil is to use a cheap bag of all purpose potting soil. Soil that is water logged does not drain well and is anaerobic oxygen deficient resulting in drowned and rotted roots. Soil drainage is a very important factor to consider when planting salvia agastache lavender penstemon and other perennials that like well drained soil. Sphagnum peat moss is well draining and well aerated but it s very low in available nutrients and it has an acidic ph typically ranging between 3 5 and 4 5.

Well that s not a problem they responded i m planting on a slope so water drains right past it sloping soil is usually poorly drained i replied. The best soil is about half air space and half solid mineral with 2 5 percent organic matter. Sulfur helps lower soil ph by reducing excess alkalinity. This soil is usually just as good as or better than garden soil.

It provides plants with iron for lush green growth and enhanced water filtration. I was explaining to someone recently that flowering cherry trees absolutely require well drained soil to succeed. Sphagnum peat moss comes from sphagnum bogs. Vermiculite also helps aerate the soil so it doesn t pack down.

The essential element in well drained soil is oxygen which is just as important as water in growing healthy plants. When soil drains too quickly the plants do not have enough time to absorb the water and can die. It bulks up potting mixes without adding a lot of weight and once wet it holds water fairly well. Simply put well drained soil is soil that allows water to drain at a moderate rate and without water pooling and puddling.

When added to potting soil and the soil is watered the flakes help hold water. Your cherry will be dead in a year if you plant it on. There are few things a gardener can do that will improve a garden more than creating well draining soil. Well drained soil is a soil where water infiltrates at a medium rate somewhere between running off and draining as though someone pulled a plug.

How to create well draining soil. Lime increases the ph of a potting mix to around 6 0 and is ideal for plant growth in containers.