r/containergardening • u/SashaNatureNomad • 10h ago

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

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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?

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u/InSoundMind83 9h 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. 

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u/taurfea 8h 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.