What Is the Definition of Potting Soil?
- The gardeners of the Roman empire used potting soil to grow a variety of plants. They used various methods of blending soils to develop a dependable medium for growing cooking herbs, edible fruits, and beautiful flowers. Roman physicians of the first century prized the soil for growing medicinal herbs and priests treasured their supply of soil for raising plants that had religious significance. These ancient potting soils rarely were discarded and instructions for their creation were passed to each succeeding generation.
- Home centers and garden supply stores stock sacks of ready-to-use potting soil. Gardeners prefer this type of growing medium for starting plants from seeds; consequently, it also is referred to as houseplant soil. Potting soil types vary by manufacturer and individual sacks may include some genuine soil or, depending upon the company, may contain very little real soil. The type of potting soil you use depends largely upon your personal preference; check the contents of the sack that is listed on the label to see what you actually are buying.
- Not all potting soils have the same ingredients or the same amounts of various ingredients. A basic potting soil may contain equal amounts of peat moss, perlite, compost and genuine good-quality garden soil. This combination is expanded upon, at extra cost, by adding garden lime, soybean meal, rock phosphate and kelp meal to the basic ingredients. Each sack's cost is relative to the amount and types of ingredients it contains. Choose a potting soil that contains the most desirable growing ingredients for the seeds you intend to plant.
- When you prepare your own potting soil, you can tailor the ingredients to suit your needs. Generic potting soil contains peat moss, sand, perlite or vermiculite, all of which can be purchased separately at a garden center. A potting medium that is soil-based adds sterilized loam to the basic mixture. Other variations of potting soils are peat-based or contain ground limestone or other types of granulated fertilizers.