Well, we are back in business again! Fortunately, we were able to source our beloved ProMix this year! So, let’s talk about why we think this soil is worth the extra premium.
Basically, not all potting soils are created equal. While various potting soils might look similar, they do not always perform similar. There is a lot going on that you can’t see, such as pH correction, mycorrhizae additions, agents that help the soil retain moisture and the general quality of the various ingredients.
One of the other important measures we take with a given potting soil is the seed free nature of it. We want the plants we intend to grow in our soil, not errant seeds introduced via the soil manufacturer. This is one of the biggest differences between “premium” and “cheap” potting soils in our experience, the premium soils don’t grow things we don’t expect.
More importantly, though, our experience with “less premium” potting soils come down to things like fungal infections and even fungus gnats being introduced by the soil. While you can fight these off successfully, its our general preference to avoid them to begin with. Again, this is one of those areas where you’ll often see a difference between “premium” and “bargain” soils.
Now, the question of “is it worth 20 extra bucks more per bale?” That’s certainly debatable. If you’re on a tight budget, you can definitely use “less premium” potting soils with great success. Just like we did last season when we couldn’t source ProMix locally. But, if you’d rather avoid problems and 20 bucks is worth that to you, then a premium potting soil like ProMix is worth it.
Some people do make their own potting mixes and there’s merit to that, too. For us, though, our per season potting soil needs are high enough that that means a lot of time we’re spending crafting up soil. Plus, we’d need to do it outside in the freezing cold, which isn’t the weather for playing in dirt.
We’re glad to be back to using our tried and true soil mix this season. We did figure that last year was a fluke (more like an “oopsie”), but we were prepared to go with Sunshine mix again if we couldn’t source ProMix. If you have a favorite potting soil, tell us what you like to use!
