Container Potting Mix

Dr. Gary Bachman: When planting the garden, one of the easiest activities is growing. Combination containers today on Southern Gardening.

Announcer: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University extension service.

Dr. Gary Bachman: When growing in containers, it's important to use the correct soil, which isn't soil at all. In fact, there's no soil in the correct growing mix. For the best growth and flowering performance in containers, a soilless peat-base mix should always be used. Bagged mixes are often called potting or container mixes and have no soil. They are found under a variety of trade names but are similar in their basic recipe. They are composed of organic components like peat moss, core fiber, and bark. Both vermiculite and perlite are inorganic components.

Potting mixes for containers need to be light and airy and drained well. This is where the vermiculite and/or perlite come in. These container mixes are readily available at your local garden center and come in a variety of bag sizes, from quarts all the way up to multi cubic foot bags. And there are mixes for specific plants like succulents and herbs. Many commercial container mixes have some added fertilizer, which is beneficial in getting plants off to a good start, but not enough to sustain growth through the entire season. I always feed my container plants with controlled release fertilizer at planting and supplemental feeding with water soluble fertilizer through the growing season.

Container gardening is a fun way to add color to your landscape, and using the correct growing mix will go a long way to help you be successful. I'm horticulturist Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.

Announcer: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University extension service.