Hi there! Just a quick question to everyone out there, I've noticed lately that the quality of the different "potting soils" I've been buying seem to have really gone downhill. The last bag I bought from Home Depot (not sure of the brand right now, as I'm at work) ended up being basically finely shredded mulch! What the heck?!? Have any of you noticed the decline in quality as well? Can you guys recommend a good brand of quality potting soil?
Thank you in advance!

No! Have not seen a decline. I have been using plain old Miracle Grow potting soil for over 30 years!!!
I love it.
Not the moisture retention stuff.

Yes, I have noticed it. I also bought what was supposed to top soil that was just finely shredded bark, so I did use it for mulch! It is best to find one brand, such as Bill with Miracle Gro, and try to buy only that. A lot of store brands are less expensive, but not really a bargain because they are poor quality.

I work at a big box store and yes, picking a brand (and a product within the brand) is the first step for quality control.

There are differences between topsoil, lawn soil, raised bed soil, garden soil, organic potting soil, potting soil and potting mix. They are all supposed to be different, so please don't expect them to be comparable.

And now my rant:
In whatever genre of products that you are most familiar with, be they hard goods (even lawn mowers) or plants, producers are forced to cater to the general public's wants, even if those wants are ill placed. for instance, we sell two types of topsoil: one that is a heavy black muck and one that is black, but is not as paste-like, and also has some sand mixed into it. People go for the black paste as soon as they see a grain of sand in the other , even though all land plants hate growing in paste substrate and even though the muck is more expensive.

My point is that there are reasons why producers are leaning toward mulchy materials. Yes, they are becoming cheaper for them to use, because the more traditional alternatives have finite sources of raw materials, the depletion of which will impact the environment in the future. So the change (i.e. using recyclable materials) is a good thing, environmentally speaking. The other reason is customer demand. The general public can't seem to figure out that watering and fertilizer isn't the solution to every problem. So producers have to make mixes that drain better to accommodate the general public's "knowledge", and give them what they think they want. It's sad, but the truth in every facet of commerce.

So if you picked up on that last part, you just need to water and fertilize more in mulchy materials until the organic components break down. Plants really do love growing in light, airy substrates. And mulchy materials inherently have a better balance soil flora. Just look at nature's forest floor or prairie soils.

edited for grammar

For long-term plants in big pots I use Ferti-lome Ultimate Potting Mix. It's expensive but way better than anything else I've found for holding its structure, not drying out, and holding moisture evenly without getting soggy. A few days ago I pulled a sweet flag (Acorus gramineus) out of an 18" pot that I potted in early 2018 and have shamefully ignored. Its roots were severely crowded and I expected the soil to be dry and compacted, but it was still fresh and uniformly moist throughout the solid root ball.

I have a similar complaint to haushinka's about so-called soil conditioners, some of which are even called "compost" which appear to be entirely wood and bark chunks and chips. The bags often state "for starting seeds"—that's a laugh! Very frustrating to find something to enrich or mulch garden soil when I'm out of my homegrown compost.

I too use Miracle Gro products. I haven't noticed a decline in quality but haven't tried anything else. Read the label. If Miracle Gro changes the formula, I will be buying something else.

I bought Kellogg's Cactus, Palm soil last winter to plant some native seeds in because the stuff is absolute garbage (it has ground chicken feathers in it!) but that's what the natives want around here - gritty, fast draining and drying, no nutrients.

I've never heard of Fertilome Ultimate Potting Mix. Where do you buy it?

Chicken feathers?!
My goodness. 🐔🐓 Simply incredible.

DaisyI said: I've never heard of Fertilome Ultimate Potting Mix. Where do you buy it?

Local independent nurseries. I've never seen it at big boxes or hardware store chains. It doesn't contain fertilizer, btw.

Feather meal is a common additive in fertilizers. It has an NPK of 12-0-0. I bought some a few months ago when I couldn't get blood meal, but don't have any results to report because this has been a weird gardening year. I did use it on my basil, which has been bountiful, but I can't isolate the reason for that. Sure wasn't the scorching weather! According to some studies, feather meal effectiveness at providing nitrogen manifests only after it is completely decomposed.

One thing to remember when selecting any kind of dirt, potting soil, mix, etc is what you want it FOR. Are you doing cacti in clay pots? Ferns in plastic pots? Do you want soil for a raised bed outside? Pots outside? What's your climate like? What are the plants needs? For me in the South, yes drainage is always key, but I am rather resistant to watering three to four times a day in the summer.
My best results have been to buy a medium mix( not too much bark or sand or "paste"), and then mix it with compost. I don't do this with my houseplants, but this works for my outside needs. I do like Miracle gro and Pro mix for houseplants. And I don't get the kind with fertilizer.

Feathers have been in fertilizers for at at least 25 years. I don't see anything wrong with that, or what the big deal is. It's an organic , recycled and renewable resource. Then again, I like having all kinds of insects in my yard, not just the honey bees and butterflies that everybody loves.

I did not say there was anything wrong with feathers, nor was it a big deal. I just never realized that they were used.

I have found other potting soils with chicken 'meal' but try to avoid them. Maybe its my own personal bias but I don't think potting soil should have anything in it I wouldn't add to my compost pile (If I had one ). Chicken poop yes, chicken feathers and parts, no.

The appeal of the Kellogg's was the lack of nutrients and the gritty mixture. According to the bag, the only added nutrient is iron - .09%. That's it. So far, the natves have been very happy.

Leftwood said:There are differences between topsoil, lawn soil, raised bed soil, garden soil, organic potting soil, potting soil and potting mix. They are all supposed to be different, so please don't expect them to be comparable.

Daisy: -- Read the label.

Take that advice.

If I may clarify:

I (Leftwood) NEVER said: "Daisy: -- Read the label."
RpR flubbed up in his reply, and it is HE who is saying that.

Ha. I wondered about that too, and re-read the posts. He's actually quoting Daisy from her earlier post, and he agrees with both comments in the box. I think his final comment is general advice to all. At least that's how I choose to interpret it.

nmoasis said:Ha. I wondered about that too, and re-read the posts. He's actually quoting Daisy from her earlier post, and he agrees with both comments in the box. I think his final comment is general advice to all. At least that's how I choose to interpret it.

Give Zoe a Seegar!

Leftwood said:If I may clarify:

I (Leftwood) NEVER said: "Daisy: -- Read the label."
RpR flubbed up in his reply, and it is HE who is saying that.

Daisy (me) said "Read the Label."

Well thanks for straightening this out.

I've found that brand names mean a lot. For the last 30 years I've been happy with Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting soil. It was recommended by two Ag teachers I worked with. I used it for seedlings right out of the starter pellets, containers, my green house, and when the plants were through I added it to my outdoor garden plots to amend the clay soil. One year I tried a Vaigrow or Vitagrow, I'm not sure of the name, but it was a Home Depot sale I just couldn't pass up and it seemed to be just as good. We moved last year and for a while all I could get was a brand called All American and it was a lot of sand and dirt. As you might expect, it was also cheap. Miracle Grow's price is, ouch! Their best price is through Sam's Club. The other brands were cheaper but I think you get what you pay for. At the back of a book That I think is called, "Square Foot Gardening," the author gives you the formula and tells you how to make your own potting soil. That's my two cents. I hope that helps, Hank