Soil And Compost

Soil and compost are important when it comes to plant propagation and growing garden ( backyard ) plants.

Soil must be suitable for the type of plants you wish to grow, and should be either, acid, alkaline, free draining or moisture retentive, etc. It all depends on the types of plants you wish to grow.

Choosing the best type of compost for plant pots and tubs, hanging baskets, window boxes, troughs or any type of plant container and especially for propagating really helps in achieving the very best results.

With the right compost you will have lush garden ( backyard ) plants with all season long flushes of brilliant flowers.

Under NO circumstances use garden soil for plant containers, patio pots and tubs, hanging baskets, troughs, window boxes.

And definitely not for any form of propating in plant pots, plug pots, seed trays, inserts etc.

The structure of garden soil is not suitable for containers or for propagating.

And garden soil can contain micro-organisms, weed seeds, possible diseases, slug and snail eggs, to name but but a few nasties.

Any of these will almost certainly mean disaster for all garden plants you try and grow in them.

Oh! And don't forget - don't use garden soil in plant containers!

SOIL comes in, more or less, five different types. Clay, chalk, sand, silt, loam and indeed any combination of two or three or more.

Some types are better at holding water and nutrients than others. Whilst some are better than others for drainage.

Acidity and alkalinity also plays a role in the types of plants that will flourish, just grow or not survive at all in a garden.

However, with the addition of various elements such as lime or the addition of bulky organic materials the soil condition can be improved and modified to allow for the growing of plants that otherwise would not do well in an unconditioned soil.

COMPOSTS as used in pots and containers are easy to use. Various types are available depending on the type of plant you wish to grow.

With composts it is usually just a case of buying a readily available commercial bag of compost, filling a pot or container and adding the plants.

But for propagation purposes, the use of a readily available commercially mixed seed and cutting compost, is best.

Or a normal potting compost with the addition of vermiculite, perlite or horticultural sand added for better drainage can be used for some seed and cutting propagation.

Most cuttings will root in a mixture of horticultural sand and peat. And most seeds will germinate successfully in most composts. It all depends on the type of plant you are propagating.

Details of soil and compost and any necessary additives will be given in the individual plant type propagation details in plants-free-for-life.com.

Well, that's soil and compost covered, please use the left nav bar to go to Sowing Seeds next, or to browse this site and find out more about plants-free-for-life.

If you want any further information on soil and compost, or how to propagate and grow your favourite garden ( backyard ) plants please feel free to contact us

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