Potting Mix or Soil?

Potting mix and soil are different and are used for different applications.

Potting mix is used in pots and containers, not in the garden.

Soil is found and used in the garden and never in pots.

So what’s the difference?

Potting Mix

Container or potted plants prefer plenty of drainage and a sterile environment. So, to begin with, a good potting medium will have no soil! Usually this means it is a combination of coconut coir or peat moss, pine bark, and vermiculite or perlite (none of which provide nutrition to plants). This is what potting mix is usually made up of, despite looking just like plain old dirt. These ingredients on their own are definitely not an effective potting medium but together create a great environment for pot plants.

Good potting mediums stay aerated and do not compact in pots and containers. They are sterile, hold moisture so they won’t dry out too quickly and provide plenty of oxygen to the roots.

General Potting Mix Ingredients

Decomposed pine bark
Coconut coir
Sand
Wetting agent
Controlled release fertilizer

If you’re unsure, always read the ingredients list on the bag.

For the best quality potting mix, look for the red tick logo on the bag. This signifies that the potting mix has fertilizer and has met the Australian Standards for Premium Potting Mix.

Did you know almost all potting mixes have fertilizer already in them?

Soil

Depending on where you live, the soil in your garden will be made up of different percentages of clay, silt and sand. If you live near the beach, generally your soil will be more sandy; if you’re in the highlands you’re more likely to have more clay, silt or a combination of all three creating loam. Even in a single suburban garden your soil can vary every few centimetres! In the back corner you may have a dense clay-loam soil built up from pooling water, but near your clothes line there could be more sand from a pre-existing path that was laid down.

Soil can be very complicated and difficult to get right. Some drain poorly and are too compacted for new roots to grow through. Others don’t retain nutrients or water well. We have found that the number one cause for plant deaths in customer gardens is the soil quality. And it can easily be fixed!

There are many ways in which you can amend your soil to create the perfect environment for your plants to thrive. But to fix your soil you first need to know what type of soil you have.

Find out what type of soil you have here.

Soil Amendments

Soil amendments such as compost, sawdust, wood ash and leaf mulch just to name a few

A soil amendment improves the physical qualities of the soil, creating a better

environment for roots to grow and

ultimately improving the health and well-being of your plant.

Click here for a list of Soil Amendments and their uses

Below is a list of soils and potting mixes with their uses explained.

Our Potting Mixes:

Debco

Superior Organic Potting & Planting Mix

For pots and gardens
Has great water retention
Contains organic blood and bone
Composted pine bark
pH balanced

Premium Potting Mix

Indoor and outdoor plants
Used for broad range of plants including ferns, flowering and foliage plants, trees and shrubs, annuals and perennials

Native Potting and Planting Soil

Banksia, Wattle, Proteas and Cordylines and Flaxes
Low phosphorus
6 months of feed

Cacti and Succulent Mix

Made with good drainage and aeration
Contains 6 months of feed

Other potting mixes and garden soils

Seed Raising Mix

Coarse Sand
Composted pine bark
Mineral fertilisers

DIY Seed Raising Mix

2 parts sifted compost (remove all large chunks, seeds don’t like large chunks of bark)
1 part coconut coir
1 part sand
Sprinkle of worm castings or Blood and Bone