Garden Gurus Unveil The Best And Worst Soil Brands For Flourishing Foliage
Gardening is a common hobby, but it's easy to underestimate how tricky it can be. Not only is it a lot of work to ready the soil for planting and then actually do it, but there are all sorts of reasons why plants may refuse to grow.
Typically, however, the most common explanation for garden troubles has to do with the soil. And when some regions don't have the right dirt to support healthy plants, it takes a little backup. However, before choosing which brand should provide that backup, it helps a lot to know what will happen once that choice is made.
BEST: Gro-Well Brands
According to Terroir Seeds, Gro-Well's products have proved reliably effective for growing, do not need to be mixed with native soils, and aren't made from bio-solids. Their soils are also not known for killing transplanted seedlings, which can sometimes be an issue for other brands.
However, there are a few things to be aware of before buying. The bag's claim that the product is "natural and organic" is a little dubious, and the first listed ingredient is vaguely defined as "compost." Nonetheless, it seems to be a solid and reliable soil, especially for smaller planting operations.
WORST: Vigoro
Vigoro's potting soil doesn't have the best reputation among gardeners and Don Kinzler broke down why in an article for Agweek. Although Vigoro's products are widely available in home improvement stores like Home Depot, Kinzler described their soil as mostly consisting of bark.
Although the soil comes with peat and vermiculite to balance out drainage and water retention properties, Vigoro doesn't include enough of either component in their mixtures to achieve either effect well. As such, it's a mediocre potting soil at best.
BEST: Espoma
According to BestReviews, Espoma is a highly regarded gardening brand and the brand's organic potting mix is known for its excellent water retention properties. This is achieved by the brand's proprietary Myco-tone formula and the inclusion of earthworm castings from where they once ate.
Espoma's soils are also credited for making seed germination more viable and they do their job without sterilizing the soil or introducing pesticides. That said, some customers have discovered fungus gnats in their bags when they buy Espoma's products, so be on the lookout.
WORST: Greenworld
To say the least, Don Kinzler was less than impressed when he reviewed Greenworld's potting soil for Agweek. It may be an affordable product, but that's about all that what he described as a "poor bargain mix" had to show for itself.
The most identifiable feature Kinzler could point out in this potting soil was composted bark particles. Although it wouldn't be fair to call that useless in potting soil, it only proves effective when blended with ingredients that were either missing from Greenworld's mix or present in insufficient quantities.
BEST: The Sill
According to BestReviews, The Sill's organic potting mix is considered one of the most eco-friendly options on the market and works well for both outdoor and indoor plants. It's also known to feature a robust balance of moisture and nutrition to encourage healthy growth.
Although one of the ingredients is vaguely named "compost," the others include coir, rice hulls, and earthworm castings. The only problem is that the "medium" bag only has enough soil for two or three small plants, which means the large option is likely a must.
WORST: Hyponex
Tatiana Karakasheva of The Fire Escape Garden blog once described Hyponex's potting soil as the worst she had ever bought. Indeed, the warning signs were apparent just by looking at it, as the soil was a pallid gray rather than the deep brown that is supposed to characterize healthy soil.
She recalled struggling to find a plant that would flourish in this soil, as it's too heavy and clay-like for most varieties to work with. Hyponex's soil is also considered heavy on perlite, which makes it hard for plants to retain moisture. As Karakasheva said, "Granted, it also happened to be the cheapest one, but I'm not even sure I'd use it for free."
BEST: Burpee
According to BestReviews, Burpee's organic potting mix is celebrated for its superb moisture retention, which gives seeds the right hydration they need to germinate. It's also enriched with the brand's plant food to keep that growth as consistent and healthy as possible.
Moreover, this soil is lightweight, easy to spread, and doesn't need to be broken down as coir bricks do. That said, it's worth noting that it's best to try to find Burpee in stores, as it tends to be more expensive online.
WORST: Good Dirt
Although the reviewers at Green Stalk Garden wanted to like Good Dirt due to its sustainability mission, they weren't terribly impressed by the results of its potting mix. Although plants sprouted quicker than in other mixes they tested, their growth also plateaued a lot quicker.
As the team put it, "They don't look terrible, but we could have gotten three harvests from the plants in the top soils before we got one from Good Dirt." Ironically, they said they would have added more organic material to this one because they needed supplementary plant food for proper plant nutrition.
BEST: Harvest
As Tatiana Karakasheva wrote in The Fire Escape Garden, Harvest potting soils combine the rich colors, textures, and odors of other premium brands with a greater number of organic components. Indeed, this makes Harvest one of her favorite brands on the market.
However, it's worth noting that Harvest features less perlite than many other brands, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the characteristics of a given region's native soil. If moisture retention is sorely needed, perlite isn't a helpful component. If drainage is needed, it can be very valuable.
WORST: Brunnings
This Australian brand is known for making budget potting soil, but affordability is really all its products have going for them. Even in ideal conditions, the soil is considered unhelpfully hydrophobic due to the high concentration of composted pine bark.
Moreover, it's not unusual for the brand's potting mixes to contain inorganic filler, including bits of plastic. Some customers have also noted that its soil has a habit of growing unwanted nettles. The consensus is that it's best avoided.
BEST: Pro Mix
As Kate Van Druff wrote for the Bunny's Garden blog, Pro Mix has become her go-to potting soil due to the cleanliness of its mix. While other soils can have some unwanted debris mixed into it, Pro Mix is able to avoid this problem while costing 40% less than Miracle-Gro.
Van Druff also noted that it's compact, easy to store, and comes in a recyclable bag. Another feature that may pleasantly surprise many gardeners is that it isn't as prone to gnat or fruit fly infestations as other potting mixes and soils tend to be.
WORST: Kellogg Amend Organic Plus
Not to be confused with the cereal company of a similar name, Kellogg Garden Products is best known for its Amend products, which are touted as "organic." However, Mother Jones reported that this is misleading marketing because the brand isn't actually approved for organic farming.
Why? Well, the soil supplement is actually made from sewage sludge. Kellogg doesn't disclose this, nor does it describe its product as deriving from biosolids (feces), but rather as "compost." Unfortunately, the fact that it's sewage sludge means that anything from motor oil to ecosystem-harming antibacterial soap could be lurking in the mixture.
BEST: Michigan Peat
Garden Gate Magazine described Michigan Peat's potting soil as one of the more versatile products on the market, as it's great for loosening up heavy clay soils while also helping lighter soils retain water.
In addition to blending in so well with existing soils, it's also considered soft and easy to spread. It also doesn't have the larger debris that can be seen in other soil mixtures. That said, it's worth noting that Michigan Peat's soil is considered particularly expensive.
WORST: Garden Collection
People often say that you get what you pay for in life, and that certainly seems to be the case for this dollar-store potting soil. In fact, this brand can actually be harmful to plants due to the high clay presence in it.
That's because clay can inhibit oxygen flow to plants and cause water-logging, which leads to root rot. Some customers have also reported getting gnat infestations after using this stuff, which doesn't make it any more endearing to gardeners.
BEST: FoxFarm
As this popular brand's packaging suggests, FoxFarm sources some of its components from the sea. According to Garden Gate Magazine, its principal ingredients are guano, earthworm castings, and the oil and meal of seadog fish. Sandy loam, forest humus, and sphagnum peat moss are also included to keep the soil light and aerated.
The soil's pH balance ranges from 6.3 to 6.8, which makes it great for fertilizers. It's also deeply rich in nutrients that help plants thrive. However, be careful when storing it because it's prone to mold growth.
WORST: Miracle-Gro
Over the years, Miracle-Gro has accrued a great deal of brand loyalty. According to Garden Gate Magazine, it's supposed to supplement soil for up to six months, is easy to water, and is mixed to make it versatile for different plants.
Although that may be true, many gardeners nowadays would take issue with the magazine's claim that their potting mix keeps gnats away. In fact, the biggest issue in modern times that keeps consumers away from Miracle-Gro is the strong likelihood that they'll develop a severe gnat problem after using it. Was there some change in their formula?
BEST: Black Gold
Black Gold is a popular potting mix among experienced gardeners and features Canadian sphagnum peat moss, forest humus, worm casing, and pumice among its components. According to Garden Gate Magazine, it also uses a slow-release fertilizer to give plants a strong start and optimizes for the best commitment to that start.
It's also a great soil for air and water retention. As a bonus, it also has a pleasant, earthy scent to it. Be warned, however, that spiders seem to like its scent as well.
WORST: Back To The Roots
As far as reviews are concerned, there seems to be much about the potting mixes made by Back To The Roots that gardeners consider lacking. For one thing, it tends to feature large clumps in its soil, which makes it more difficult for water to drain from it.
To make matters worse, there are also some gaps in its nutritional profile, and it doesn't tend to deliver those nutrients in an efficient way. Finally, the brand's mixes have a tendency to attract gnats.
BEST: PittMoss
As the review team at Green Stalk Garden discovered, PittMoss's soil offerings impressed early by being light and not prone to clumping. Indeed, its growing performance was also nothing to sneeze at, as seeds germinated quickly and maintained consistent growth when it was used.
The team was also impressed by how easy it was to use and found that it struck a healthy balance between ensuring proper moisture for plants and efficient draining. The only drawback is that it can be a little tough to find.
WORST: Gardenline
The Gardenline potting mix brand is commonly found in Aldi's line of stores, and from the sounds of things, it's a deeply disappointing product. Generally, this has to do with the soil's nutritional richness, moisture, or the presence of biosolids or other hidden harmful components.
However, reviews suggest the problem with Gardenline is more fundamental than that. That's because the harmful components customers find in these bags aren't hidden at all. The large pieces of wood that were mixed in with some bags were bad enough, but others had bits of plastic mixed into the soil.
BEST: Wonder Soil
According to Garden Gate Magazine, Wonder Soil stands out from other brands for featuring no peat but rather including worm castings, kelp, and mycorrhizal, along with the more common perlite. Despite perlite's presence, however, this potting soil is reputedly great at both air and water retention.
Although it doesn't seem like each bag holds as much as other brands, looks can be deceiving because the soil expands to four times its size when used. It's also ready to use as is, and no further additives are required. Be warned, however, that it does sometimes attract gnats.
WORST: Hill Country Fare
For the most part, customers tend to prefer soils that they don't have to amend in any way. Even Miracle Gro can be made halfway decent with the right additives and substitutions, but some brands are perfectly fine to use as is.
Judging by the consensus of reviews, Hill Country Fare is not one of those brands. There are insufficient nutrients in this soil to grow many plant variants without supplementation and some customers found inorganic materials like wire mixed in with the product. Skip this one.
BEST: The Cat Ladies
The independent Cat Ladies brand does things a little differently. While their organic potting soils have some expected components, they come in compact discs that are packed with all the nutrients a seed needs. They include coconut coir for greater drainage and aeration.
However, this doesn't come at the cost of moisture retention, and it also helps that this coir is far more renewable than peat, which makes this brand eco-friendly. The only problem is that these discs aren't enough for large plants and planters.
WORST: Greensmix
The main thing about Greensmix's potting soil that fails to impress is how much usable soil actually comes in each bag. Although the health of the peat itself and its acidity are unknown, the sickly color isn't very promising.
Nonetheless, even the richest, deepest soil would be harder to recommend if it was weighed down by a bunch of useless filler. Indeed, for every two gallons of soil that comes in one of the company's bags, there's about a quart of twigs and other junk.
BEST: Fafard
As Tatiana Karakasheva of The Fire Escape Garden blog wrote, Fafard's natural and organic potting soil made a sterling first impression on her. She could tell by the color, texture, and smell of the soil that it was as high-quality, nutritious, and natural as the package implied.
That said, there was still something to watch out for in Fafard's mixes. Although all the components in the bag are natural, some aren't the most helpful for growth. Despite the fact that only occasional twigs and wood chips are found in their bags, they're best removed.
WORST: Better Gro
Although Better Gro is affordable and readily available, that makes it more of a brand one would use in a pinch than one people should go out of their way to buy. Like many lesser brands, a big problem with Better Gro concerns the filler that's mixed in with its products.
While some of these filler components are useless, others are simply counterproductive. The straw, roots, and other solid plant mass are annoying and often removed, but there's a surprising amount of grass seed in their peat moss. Since this will have any plant competing with the resulting grass, it's not worth the hassle.
BEST: Schultz
As Don Kinzler wrote for Agweek, Schultz uses a carefully researched blend of peat, perlite, and other organic products to balance out the soil's nutrients with its ability to retain moisture without sacrificing drainage. It's also supposed to include a slow-release fertilizer to grow plants at a healthy pace.
Although Kinzler noted that Schutlz has more bark particles included than is typically seen with other brands, he considered this a quality brand all the same. His biggest issue is that its products can be a little tough to find.
BEST: EcoScraps
According to Tatiana Karakasheva of The Fire Escape Garden blog, Ecoscraps has the encouraging tell-tale color, smell, and texture of healthy, effective soil. However, if she has to pick a favorite, she said that this brand is likely the best possible candidate.
This is partially because it has a greater concentration of helpful organic materials than other brands. Yet, it's also partially based on the company's sustainability philosophy, which Karakasheva saw as making the company particularly worthy of her support.
BEST: Esbenshade's Professional
Esbenshade's Professional brand stands out among others because it makes its potting soil from Canadian sphagnum peat moss. This means the peat involved is lighter than in other brands, which makes it easier for plants to access oxygen.
Although it's best mixed with traditional and native soils for the best growing results, it's known for encouraging root expansion and is an ideal soil for potted plants. However, the bag is a little small for its $27 price tag, so shop around.
BEST: Oldcastle L&G Timberline
According to Tatiana Karakasheva of The Fire Escape Garden blog, Oldcastle Lawn & Garden's Timberline potting soils met the standards of quality she watches out for. In other words, not only did it pass the smell test, but she found the color and texture of the soil encouraging too.
Although she also noted the presence of some wood chips and small twigs, that just means that it's not potting soil intended for seed starting. There are entire seed starting kits for that purpose.