Best soil for containers from Lowes

[Al@NC]

I have several gift cards for Lowes and was wanting to get a good potting soil for my 5 gallon buckets. By chance has anyone used:
HARVEST 32-Quart Potting Soil


http://www.lowes.com/pd_385540-79138-ORGPM32H_4294707723__?productId=3692380&Ns=p_produ ct_avg_rating|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_avg_ra ting|1&facetInfo=




It has a bit a of price to it but I don't mind getting it with the gift cards.


Al

[Father'sDaughter]

For containers you want to make sure you get potting mix, not potting soil. I've never tried the Harvest, so can't offer an opinion there. I went with a recommendation made on this site and used the large sized bags of Miracle Grow Potting Mix with some bagged composted manure mixed in, and had great results in my five gallon grow bags.

[Cole_Robbie]

That is way too much of a price, even if you have a gift card. Buy a real pro mix and you should pay $4-7 per cubic foot. Use the Lowes card for building a greenhouse

[nnjjohn]

I tried using my own mix of compost and backyard soil... the results were poor yields,, nice plants but something was missing.. I'm with the others here with organic potting mix and manure.. That will be my next backyard project.. going to use a wheel barrel and dump those 5 gal.containers and start a miracle grow potting mixture.

[FILMNET]

Fertiloam potting is cheap if you can find it never in Box stores, just mix 1-2 of this light and wet, with homemade compost and feed them with some Epsoma. Secret to to have rocks and a lot of holes in bottom and the final soil should be loose plant deep and with luck the plant will survive the first 30 days.Then its tough, BER and any disesae will kill plants fast, because these are weak in pots not like in ground. Also no dirt from the yard, smaller garden center sell potting soil from other companies not MC, Epsoma has a starting fertilizer a new one for re-potting, its great

[Al@NC]

All of the potting mixes are called potting soil at Lowes even though the bags say "Potting Mix".

Harvest is one of the few Organic mixes offered at Lowes, Miracle Gro I thought was deemed non-organic.

Apparently Lowes used to offer Pro Mix but it is not available in any of the Lowes where I live.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by Al@NC

All of the potting mixes are called potting soil at Lowes even though the bags say "Potting Mix".

Harvest is one of the few Organic mixes offered at Lowes, Miracle Gro I thought was deemed non-organic.

I guess as long it says"mix" on the bag, than that's what you want. And, Miracle Gro has both a regular potting mix (green bag) and an organic potting mix (brown bag). I usually see both at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

[nnjjohn]

yes, My mistake was using yard dirt added to the top .. but did have good pot mix in between, this will be an easy fix project and I'll add more good miracle mix too this time keep it at the top and the hard stuff down.. I'll just dump everything in the wheel barrel and mix.. use the drainage stone mulch to fill the bottom of these 5 gal. planters.. Last season , I did okay with the cherry tomatoes .. that is all I use these containers for anyway.. just the salad size matos.. the super beefs and big boys are under my light fixture ..leaving the light on andwill check them for water ( I use filter water and spray) and won't wet them too much but won't let the mix dry either.. I hope the stems get thick and green like store bought flats.. I never had much luck in the past with seedlings, hopefully by learning from tomatoville..I can het big healthy tomato gardens around my house going this summer!!!!

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by nnjjohn

I tried using my own mix of compost and backyard soil... the results were poor yields,, nice plants but something was missing..

Yes, Tilth. Compost and backyard soil are far too dense and compact. In a container, they press down on the roots and prevent proper growth and airflow, as well as providing poor drainage.

Originally Posted by nnjjohn

That will be my next backyard project.. going to use a wheel barrel and dump those 5 gal.containers and start a miracle grow potting mixture.

I would keep an eye out for potting mixes like ProMix, or make your own with a mixture of peat moss and other ingredients.


I actually buck the trend and put about 10% compost in my containers, but that only works if the rest of the soil is *very* light.

[Zana]

As some one who's had as many as 160-200 containers of varying sizing growing at one time, I've experimented quite a bit with my own mix. If I opt for cheap potting soil...or even black earth...then I'm adding allot of other stuff like peatmoss, vermiculite, sand, compost into it. Every year I dump the previous years' out and combine that with new stuff. Occasionally I use straight potting mix with some compost. And like Feldon I figure I've got 10% compost in each pot...perhaps more in the larger containers.

Don't forget to lay your foundation with good drainage in your containers. In my larger ones (36in dia. x 30in high) I've got at least 4 to 6 inches of coarse gravel in the bottom mixed with some small pebbles. That way if it rains heavily, the roots aren't sitting in a swimming pool at the bottom...plus I drill holes about 2 inches up all the way around the container.

[Al@NC]

It's nice to get all of the different perspectives! Last year being my first year I grabbed miracle gro garden soil and it setup like a brick!!

I'll definitely go softer with a softer mix this year...

Al

[efisakov]

Hello, Al,
I just mix pit moss (at Lowes a huge bag for $10) and garden soil (any brand that has up to 9 months feeding), and as Zana suggested as well, lay bottom of the containers with some stones for drainage.
1 part pit moss to 3 parts garden soil approximately (by volume).
Good luck.

[nnjjohn]

Great advice from all of you! Last year all my plants were slow to yield because my pots had hard dirt on top...I had no idea.. it looked real rich and dark but it turned hard in the summer months.. I'm getting few big peet moss .. QUESTION,, would free bark mulch from the towns compost dump be safe for fill at the bottom 6 inches over a layer of gravel at the bottom for drainage and fill ? I figure I can stretch these NPK potting mixes and peet moss ,, I have at least two full wheel barrels to remix ,, three are 5 gals and I have about four 3 gallon size planters.. not sure though if they are big enough to use for Sungolds

[kforbs126]

Anyone ever try the Kellogg's potting mix from lowe's for containers? It's cheaper than MG.

[guruofgardens]

Just picked up 2.0 cu ft. of Pro Mix HP with myco for $16@ at Lowe's. I found it online, ordered and paid for it, then picked it at the local store so I didn't have to pay postage.