The Secret to Healthier Potted Plants

The average Filipino gardener still uses ordinary garden soil in pots. That's why if you ask any average Filipino container gardener what his common problems are, they often can be attributed to the use of poor planting mixture in his pots.

The following chart gives a quick overview of soil-less mix options from GreenHearts:

Click here to read more about our soil-less mix brands

Plain soil is too hard to handle  Soil gets hard and compacted over time, so much so that when the soil dries up, it can get so hard you need to pound it with something to soften and loosen it up again! Even then, you can imagine how stifled the plant roots must feel with both air and moisture having a hard time getting through to them. Good quality planting mixes have ingredients that allow for good aeration of the roots and keep the mix from getting compacted or hardened over time.

Wet Wet Wet  Moisture retention is also a difficult thing to balance. Ordinary garden soil can retain too much moisture that it gets water-logged. Other times, the soil can get compacted to the point that it simply lets water flow right through and out of the pot through canals or gaps -- not retaining enough water to nourish the plant. A good planting mixture retains enough moisture and be quick-draining as well; meaning it allows excess water to flow through. An extra advantage you get from using a soil-less potting mix is that you also avoid tracking mud into the house. Nobody really enjoys cleaning mud and dirt from under their fingernails. Clean soil-less mixes are mud-free and are very easy to wash off.

Wet or dry, soil is also very heavy. GreenHearts soil-less mixes are made of natural ingredients that are comparatively lightweight even when wet.

Soil-borne Problems  The unseen threat lurking in soil, of course, are the pests and microorganisms, weed seeds and worst of all -- soil-borne diseases. Plant nurseries that use soil in their mixes actually sterilize or cook their soil to eliminate these problems before using the soil in their pots. The biggest advantage to using soil-less mixes is the freedom from weed seeds and disease organisms. Of course, this does not mean that the potted plants will be immune to infection or that weed seeds will never find their way into the pots -- birds, bugs, humans and even unsterilized garden tools can still spread these -- but you at least give your plants a better chance at avoiding them and leading healthier lives.

Acid vs Alkaline  One other aspect of container gardening very, very few people consider is the level of acidity of the potting mixture. Most plants are happy within the neutral range of 5.6 to 7.0 pH. Certain plants however are acid-loving (such as azaleas and some peppers) while others such as Mediterranean herbs prefer things on the alkaline side.

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