r/containergardening • u/SashaNatureNomad • 6h ago

Question Why does every container gardening soil recipe have 10 ingredients?

Post image

Am I the only one who thinks most container gardening advice overcomplicates soil?

I've been growing vegetables in containers for a few years now and every spring I see people recommending these crazy mixes with 8-10 ingredients.

Meanwhile some of the healthiest tomato and pepper plants I've grown were in plain potting mix with extra perlite mixed in.

What actually made the biggest difference for me wasn't fertilizer schedules or fancy amendments. It was stopping the use of garden soil in pots.

The year I figured that out was the year everything suddenly started growing normally lol.

Curious what everyone here uses. Do you buy bagged mix, make your own, or just use whatever is cheapest and available?

And has anyone actually compared the results side-by-side?

42 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

71 comments sorted by

45

u/byoshin304 5h ago

I would use Happy Frog and I fill my containers all the way to the top. I don’t understand why so many people only fill them half way.

19

u/MisterProfGuy 5h ago

I think you can argue there's benefit to leaving an inch or two and topping it off with mulch that won't let water wash the mix out. Fabric bags do have the issue of draining too well sometimes and the top gets dry enough to let rain splash dirt out easily.

2

u/EatsCrackers 1h ago

Sure, but an inch or two of headroom can be accomplished by filling to the brim, then watering. The potting soil will settle down to about the right level then, and Bob’s your uncle.

Even if you deliberately leave headroom, though, that’s not the same as some of the pix I’ve seen, where the pot is so empty it can’t stand up by itself!

1

u/cataclasis 1h ago

Yes but if you fill all the way to the top at first it will still settle ~3" within a few days.

3

u/front_yard_duck_dad 2h ago

This is the most elitist statement I've ever read on the sub. I haven't priced out. Happy frog in a few years but those are 5 gallon pots in that picture. That's a serious amount of money. I can buy bulk soil at those prices and make the components. 

3

u/byoshin304 2h ago

Really? I’m sorry I didn’t know that. Everyone I know uses it. I’m from the area where Fox Farms started, and I grew up in a life where it was what everyone used in their grow bags so I can get it easily.

8

u/front_yard_duck_dad 2h ago

I'm sorry for being spicy but the cost of living is really starting to get hard on me and those around me. Stretching every penny and they don't even make those fuckers anymore. 

It's over $60-80 to fill one of those containers with Fox farms. Happy frog where I live. Maybe even more if you don't drive to the far place.

I'm sorry for assuming it's expensive everywhere but the weed industry absolutely made Fox products bougie and ultra premium price here in the Midwest.

Growing weed was illegal here and fox absolutely knew that the people who could afford to have illegal grows could pay a top dollar for soil. 

Again, it's not your fault and I'm sorry for being spicy

1

u/dakotanothing 2h ago

Whaaaat, how much is a 2cu ft bag where you live? Happy Frog is def more expensive than making your own of course but I bought 2 bags for $54 from my local greenhouse recently; I can’t imagine you’re saying it’s more than that to fill a single 5gal bag where you live. Maybe I’m misunderstanding

4

u/stryst 1h ago

My local garden place charges $29 for a 12 liter bag.

2

u/dakotanothing 1h ago

God damn

1

u/stryst 1h ago

There's a reason I'm doing Hempy buckets; the liquid nutrients are actually CHEAPER than real soil.

•

u/Leafstride 38m ago

I would eat a sock before spending 54 dollars for 4 cubic feet of garden soil. Lmao

-1

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago edited 5h ago

Filling containers only halfway has always confused me too. You're basically giving up root space that you already paid for 😅 I've never used Happy Frog personally, but I hear people mention it a lot alongside FoxFarm products. Have you noticed a big difference between it and cheaper potting mixes, or is it more of a consistency thing for you?

I actually put together everything I learned (what worked, what didn’t, and my simple setup) here if you want a deeper breakdown: https://barksecret.com/best-soil-for-container-vegetables/

8

u/Samnm3 5h ago

Fold it down at least. It also blocks low morning sun

4

u/Titan_Uranus_69 5h ago

I used happy frog for my 15 gallon bags. It worked out great, and had no weeds the first year, which tells me the weeds I have now were not in the soil from the start. I've gotten cheaper stuff in the past that had mold or weeds within a week. I plan on just taking off the top couple inches and adding compost to mix in.

0

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

That's actually a good point about the weeds. Sounds like most of them blew in later rather than coming from the mix itself. Refreshing with compost each season seems like a solid approach.

1

u/Titan_Uranus_69 5h ago

Yea, plus I figure mixing in the compost will loosen it up a bit after it settled in the bags.

1

u/Ineedmorebtc 5h ago

It's the perlite that really helps. And fully broken down ingredients, unlike many potting soils that are half chunks of wood.

1

u/RustyMcMelon 2h ago

🤣 OP - they were talking about YOU. Have you seen your photos?

8

u/Supersucker614 5h ago

ProMix HP. You will have to fertilize but great potting mix out of the bag

2

u/Micucci_fan_club 1h ago

I use promix hp found it cheapest at family farm and home. I add alfalfa pellets, osmocote, a little dr earth, some pine bark. Other things too depending on what i need. Vermiculite, sand, more perlite. Etc. Use pine bark for mulch too. It just becomes next years amendment.

1

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

Let me look that up, you have a link?

3

u/Supersucker614 5h ago

Google

3

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

Great i found one on Amazon, looks promising

3

u/bear_685 5h ago

I use promise bx, but found amazon to be so expensive to purchase. If you have an Ace hardware, they do free shipping to the store (at least in my area) is was very much the cheaper option.

1

u/WTF0302 4h ago

I just looked up the prices for ProMix. 😳 💰 I’m going to keep making my own at about 1/10 the cost.

1

u/Diabettie9 2h ago

It’s compressed, so it goes farther than a typical bag of soil. It’s usually worth around two bags of normal soil, so the price evens out.

6

u/Poppy-Pomfrey 5h ago

I use 1 part coco coir, 1 part coarse vermiculite, 1 part compost, and 1 part sifted native soil. It works for everything from container gardening, to in ground beds, to seed starting. I can make it in bulk for pretty cheap and get to control the quality.

7

u/Taycat11 5h ago

I use a mix of promix compressed dirt, and something usually packed with nutrients like coast of maine bar harbor mix.

1

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

That actually sounds like a solid combo.

6

u/Sowing_Seeds1990 4h ago

This may be a case of what some see as success versus others. I'm not saying you weren't successful, but if you are using plain potting mix and you are not fertilizing, I just don't see how you could possibly get the same results that someone gets when they are fertilizing. I've used cheap potting mix with great results as long as I fertilized and amended with some compost. Because I use a lot of it, I decided to make my own the last couple years, which is basically 60% coco coir, 20% perlite and 20% compost. Then I add slow release fertilizer when I plant and again monthly along with a little more compost. I also add bone meal when I first plant but not anymore until the next growing season. I also use a water soluble fertilizer every 1-2 weeks through the growing season. Potting mix by itself has pretty much zero nutrients unless you pay for the more expensive ones that do come with a little bit in there, but even then it washes out with the rain and watering so I just can't imagine someone using plain potting mix and not fertilizing would have very good results

5

u/Remarkable_Peach_374 5h ago

I think the mixes are mostly for bulk/personal preference in consistencey, you could really grow anything in any soil if you did it right, i use some kellogs 3cu foot organic soil straight from the bag, and water every sunday while its almost 110 degrees out daily. I do need to remember to fertilize more often though 🤣

1

u/[deleted] 5h ago

[deleted]

1

u/Remarkable_Peach_374 5h ago

I think the mixes are mostly for bulk/personal preference in consistencey, you could really grow anything in any soil if you did it right, i use some kellogs 3cu foot organic soil straight from the bag, and water every sunday while its almost 110 degrees out daily. I do need to remember to fertilize more often though.

1

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

Sorry about that my bad :)

3

u/Remarkable_Peach_374 5h ago

All good 🤣 i wasnt sure if you were a bot, a troll, or just made a mistake lol

1

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

Genuinely a mistake please, I don't know my toddler is in my hand right now. Lol

3

u/Remarkable_Peach_374 5h ago

Again, all good! Mistakes happen my friend. The child is more important than the reddit too!

1

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

Thank you :)

1

u/steeelez 1h ago

I was pretty nervous about my kelloggs raised bed / potting mix after reading a ton of bad reviews but my garden is going pretty crazy right now. All I added was espoma garden tone in the hole for each plant and it’s taking off like whoa. Also mulch mulch mulch!

5

u/Emily_Porn_6969 5h ago

Garden soil might be ok for a garden , bit not in a container !!!

3

u/throwRAanons 5h ago

I just use whatever potting soil and then amend it with some garden tone and black kow manure 🤷‍♀️

1

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

A lot of people seem to get great results with a pretty straightforward setup instead of some super complicated recipe.

7

u/throwRAanons 5h ago

I’m sure those complicated recipes are wonderful for the plants and probably produce a bit better than my basic set up but i’m willing to sacrifice a few extra tomatoes to not get complicated 🤧

4

u/MisterProfGuy 5h ago

Some people really try to optimize to an excessive degree.

You saw for yourself the difference between soil and potting mix, and that difference is drainage and compacting. You can really fine tune drainage and probably get a PhD in the topic, but for most of us, we really only care if something is fast draining or not.

After that, it's how acidic the mix is, which leads to various adjustments, and then specific plants might do better or worse with specific additions.

The general recipe is base+compost+stuff for drainage.

The main reason I make my own is that I keep cutting down trees and so I end up with a lot of access to pine bark, and I want to avoid peat moss, and it's a hassle to try to research what is being harvested in a renewable way ("live moss") and what isn't (peat bogs). A big brick of coco coir is easy to store and use as needed.

3

u/DisastrousNet9121 5h ago

I use Mel’s Mix. That’s 1/3 peat (for aeration and structure), 1/3 vermiculite (for water buffering), and 1/3 homemade compost (for nutrients and fuel).

Then each year I just replace any missing come with compost because the other two ingredients last a decade.

It’s a lot cheaper than Happy Frog and the others.

3

u/InSoundMind83 5h ago

I use the simplest soil in my growbags amd everything grows like crazy. I think a lot has been overcomplicated these days. I'm not one to say everything was better in the past, but I must say that my father had a garden allotment and he never made stuff complicated. Plant, water and enjoy. 

1

u/taurfea 3h ago

Do you have pretty fast draining soil? I live in a place with clay and my pots literally never drain if I use the soil we get here.

3

u/Popular-Web-3739 3h ago

Happy Frog is great but I can't afford it. I tend to use Mel's Mix which is only 3 ingredients in equal parts: peat or coco coir, compost, and coarse vermiculite. It's easy to mix as needed and makes a light, healthy soil. Sometimes I add worm castings, but those can also just be added in a smaller amount around plants.

2

u/jonnygreenjeans 5h ago

I use 4 ingredients at most. Old soil, perlite, organic granular fertilizer, and manure/compost. Then maybe bone meal depending on what’s going in the bag.

2

u/Euphoric-Cucumber609 5h ago

What are your containers made of? Everyone keeps on telling me it’s “felt” felted what? Because it seems like plastic fibres.

2

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

They’re usually called fabric grow bags or “felt” pots, but yeah it’s basically a thick breathable fabric made from plastic fibers. The idea is just better airflow to the roots compared to solid plastic containers.

2

u/Euphoric-Cucumber609 4h ago

Ah ok, I spoke to someone who was convinced it wasn’t plastic “it’s felt” and that made no sense

1

u/audaciousmonk 3h ago

Felt is a textile, it can be made from natural or synthetic materials, including plastic

2

u/Emily_Porn_6969 5h ago

Fill you containers with potting mix !! Do not fill part way .

2

u/ProudAbalone3856 3h ago

I use peat or coconut coir, compost, perlite, and worm castings. 

1

u/Master_Attitude_3033 5h ago

Wait…so…what DO you use that worked? 🤔

2

u/SashaNatureNomad 5h ago

Mostly just a good quality potting mix with extra perlite mixed in. Keeping it simple honestly worked better for me than all the complicated recipes I tried before.

2

u/Master_Attitude_3033 4h ago

Good, because I’m getting so confused, too! I have regular potting soil and perlite…!

-1

u/SashaNatureNomad 4h ago

I actually wrote up everything I tested and what finally worked for me here if you want the full breakdown: https://barksecret.com/best-soil-for-container-vegetables/

1

u/Shadowfalx 3h ago

I honestly use fairly cheap potting soil, sometimes the potting/raised bed soil, with a bit of vermiculite and a bunch of perlite.

I might add some slow release fertilizer a few weeks after planting then once a year in autumn or spring with some compost. If needed I'll add some shorter term fertilizer as needed.

1

u/audaciousmonk 3h ago

How many ingredients are in the potting mix you use?

1

u/90srebel 2h ago

Just get an organic potting mix from a big box store like Home Depot and add compost to it. Later on add an all purpose general fertilizer like a 4-4-4 etc. done deal for almost all plants.

1

u/horsecowelephant 2h ago

This person keeps posting this image with new topics and then replies to comments linking out to their site

1

u/Unabatedtuna 2h ago

I Just buy a bag mix every year Ain't nobody got time for all this crazy soil recipe stuff, and sometimes the soil recipes end up being recipes for concrete instead lol

1

u/matthewxman79 2h ago

I dig dirt from behind my house and mix with organic material like wood leaves and grass. I also fertilize and sometimes buy dehydrated cow shit.

1

u/Otherwise-Tomato-788 2h ago

I don’t really want to, but some garden soil is all peat moss and some are black sludge. So to cover my bases, I try to mix those when it’s like that, then add worm castings and perlite. I’m more of whatever’s available I’ll throw in (except mulch bc I did that once and it sucked - literally)

1

u/Tactical-Speed 1h ago

I use coast of maine potting soil+ compost

1

u/cofi52 1h ago

I use basically ~80% coco coir and ~20% nutrients made up of worm castings and espoma fertilizer

I eyeball the whole thing and never measure anything when it comes to soil and my plants are growing just fine

Honestly the numbers are probably closer to 85/15 or 90/10 but again, no idea, I don't measure and I'm pretty sure the plant's don't either so I just make sure not to go too harsh on the nutrients

1

u/evening_crow 1h ago

Wife and use "specialty" mixed aroid soil for houseplants, succulent mix for succulents, palm/citrus mix for our potted palms/citrus/fig/persimmon/cherry/mulberry, and FF Strawberry Fields for our strawberry towers. The only things I amended (other than extra perlite/vermiculite) has been blue, black, goose, and raspberries due to the need of acidic soil (Strawberry Fields, acidifier, pine bark, perlite, peet moss). Other than that, it's just primarily some slow release fertilizer and worm castings. We have another vertical planter filled mostly with FF Ocean Forest.

All our raised beds and grow bags are, despite the bad rep... Miracle Grow cuz it's affordable. It retains moisture well for us in the Mojave Desert and plants love it on transplant. We just fertilize periodically to keep them happy. Also, we've broken up used mushroom growing blocks into it a couple times. We have a bunch of tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, squash, pickles, garlic, and onions thriving. It actually made growing easier than we thought considering it's our first try.

Next year I'll probably just amend with some compost and call it a day. It's worked fine for us so far.

•

u/Llothcat2022 31m ago

I put yardtrimmings as filler for bottom half, and mixed homemade compost with peat moss for the top half. Ymmv. My compost is a tad on the heavy side.. peat lightens it up.