Well Drained Soil Mix

This soil is usually just as good as or better than garden soil.

Well drained soil mix.

Just add the peat and perlite for aeration. Simply put well drained soil is soil that allows water to drain at a moderate rate and without water pooling and puddling. Sphagnum peat moss comes from sphagnum bogs. Lime increases the ph of a potting mix to around 6 0 and is ideal for plant growth in containers.

Well drained soil is a soil where water infiltrates at a medium rate somewhere between running off and draining as though someone pulled a plug. When added to potting soil and the soil is watered the flakes help hold water. Soil that is water logged does not drain well and is anaerobic oxygen deficient resulting in drowned and rotted roots. It provides plants with iron for lush green growth and enhanced water filtration.

Potting soils with vermiculite are good for plants that like a lot of water and for starting seeds. When added to soil it helps increase air space and improves water drainage. Sphagnum peat moss is well draining and well aerated but it s very low in available nutrients and it has an acidic ph typically ranging between 3 5 and 4 5. I was explaining to someone recently that flowering cherry trees absolutely require well drained soil to succeed.

These soils do not drain too quickly or too slowly. The best soil is about half air space and half solid mineral with 2 5 percent organic matter. Compacted clay soils are notorious for encouraging. Vermiculite also helps aerate the soil so it doesn t pack down.

Your cherry will be dead in a year if you plant it on. Limestone is added to peat based potting mixes to help balance the ph. There are few things a gardener can do that will improve a garden more than creating well draining soil. Well that s not a problem they responded i m planting on a slope so water drains right past it sloping soil is usually poorly drained i replied.

An alternative to using garden soil is to use a cheap bag of all purpose potting soil. For cactus plants or succulents you may wish to add a little sand to this potting mix. Soil drainage is a very important factor to consider when planting salvia agastache lavender penstemon and other perennials that like well drained soil. The essential element in well drained soil is oxygen which is just as important as water in growing healthy plants.

It bulks up potting mixes without adding a lot of weight and once wet it holds water fairly well. How to create well draining soil.