growing your container garden

A Topsoil Mix Can Help You Grow A Lush Garden And Beautiful Flowers

If you need to add more soil to your garden area or to fill raised beds, it's convenient to have bulk topsoil delivered. However, topsoil alone isn't always the best material. Instead, you should choose a topsoil mix that has other ingredients added that provide nutrition, drainage, and air for plant roots. Here are some things to know about buying topsoil mix.

Topsoil Quality Varies According To Its Origin

Topsoil is often the byproduct of a construction project. When land is cleared for a housing project, the topsoil is collected and then sold. The quality of topsoil varies considerably. Soil from a wild field or woods has a high nutritional value for plants since grass, weeds, and tree leaves have been decaying and sinking into the soil for years.

Soil also varies by composition. It might be mostly sand or it might be clay instead. Since there is no standard for topsoil, other things are mixed in with it, such as compost, peat moss, and manure so that your plants can get off to a good start.

Triple-Mix Is A Common Topsoil For Gardens

Let the garden center know you want to use the topsoil for gardening so they can help you choose the right product. Topsoil for sod or for filling in holes might be different than what you need for a vegetable or flower garden. You may find a triple-mix topsoil to be a good choice for a garden. The mix is usually a blend of topsoil, compost, and peat moss, but the specific ingredients in the mix can vary by brand.

You'll also find topsoil with more than three ingredients, and you can find topsoil with just two ingredients. Let the garden center know the type of soil you have in your yard, such as clay or sand, and they can help you choose the right blend for your garden. You may even find a garden center that can make a custom topsoil mix for you. If you have your soil at home tested, you'll know its exact composition and nutritional content, so you can choose the ideal topsoil mix.

You Could Make Your Own Mix At Home

If you know a lot about gardening and what type of soil plants require, you may want to mix your own topsoil at home, although that would be a lot more work than buying soil that's already mixed. One situation where you may want to do this is when you're gardening in containers. Soil used in containers may not even have any actual topsoil in it at all. Container gardening relies on sand, peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, or sphagnum moss for good drainage.

Buy the individual ingredients you'll need in large bags or in bulk, and then mix them together in a wheelbarrow and you'll have the right mix for the type of flower or vegetables you want to grow.


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