Potting mix and potting soil are of almost the same type. Plants can also grow in containers through these soils. Potting mix and potting soil are mostly exchanged for reference by any means. If the soil refers to any growth media, it can be dirty and as a result, it is used to grow plants in the container. Potting mix clay works as media. It is specially used for better production. You will find both the potting mix and potting soil in most garden center products. Both of these soils are labeled. Therefore, it is necessary to identify these two soils and also know their differences. Let’s get some information about both these so that you can easily identify them.
What is potting soil:
Soil plating can be your container gardening media, it usually gets dirtier. You can mix the soil with any other soil-less material. Plants need stable nutrition and potting soil is rich in nutrition. Potting soil is dominated by organic matter and minerals. Potting soil includes the dirt of the garden and some other materials. It is mostly used for making potting mixes. If you mix the potting mix with dirt, it will become a potting soil. Potting soil is cheaper than potting mix and also contains more amount of nutrition. But its density can be harmful so the potting mix inside the container is considered more ideal. Organic manure is residual for potting soil.
Benefits of potting soil:
- It easily becomes organic: The special thing about potting soil is that it easily becomes completely organic. Garden soil can be completely organic if you are environmentally friendly. You need to take special care of this matter.
- Cheaper than potting mix: Potting soil is much cheaper than potting mix. You can easily prepare potting soil by using only the soil of your garden or with any material.
- Nutrients: Potting soil is rich in minerals and nutrients. This soil can meet the nutritional requirements of plants.
- Natural: This soil is completely natural so it can last for a long time. A potting mix can break, may become unusable, but a potting seal is always useful.
Some cons of potting soil:
This soil works well in the open, but its problems continue to develop after being closed in the container. This impedes the drainage of water inside the soil container. This soil easily accumulates in the container so there may be a lack of air in the container. It is a natural soil so its particles are hard and heavy. Due to this, seeds take time to germinate.
What is the Potting mix?
The potting mix is specially designed for gardening in containers? It contains all the materials which are necessary for the growth of plants. A potting mix includes many ingredients such as pine bark, compostable organic matter, plus perlite, nutrient, moisture, and drainage management. The particles in the potting mix are very light, for which it can germinate the seeds quickly.
Benefits of potting mix
- Its texture: Its texture is light, so the potting mix can provide the best media to the roots.
- Air-flow and water drainage: Compared to potting soil, it can also keep airflow inside the container and drainage occurs.
- Nutrient: Potting mix has many right nutrients available so it does not need any modification.
Some cons of the potting mix:
This soil is more expensive than potting soil. This soil is very lightweight so sometimes there can be a problem in windy places. Organic parts of the potting mix can break down over time and make this soil unusable.