Do not be ripped off with bagged potting soil

Soil Foundation

As you walk through the bags of pre-built potting soil in your local box store, it looks like you can buy good soil in a bag.

The truth is soil that grows plants is actually alive with micro-organisms. When this is put in a sealed plastic bag without oxygen, and heated to extreme temperatures in the sun, those micro-organisms die.

If you only use bagged soil, what you will have is fluff often loaded with nitrogen which will make a plant green and tall, but without those micro-organisms you are not getting the minerals and nutrients you were growing the food for.


The answer to nutrient rich soil is to build your own the old fashion way. Aged compost from a farm or someone with chickens is the first element. Soil that has been growing crops or even weeds, proving it is active is your next step. Compost from your own chemical free grass clippings and leaves rounds it off.

The best compost comes from a worms digestive track. So a worm farm is one of your most powerful tools in creating live soil.

All of this takes time and effort. The leaf and grass clippings compost should be turned every week to keep the oxygen or (aerobic effect) in the composting process. This avoids odor as well as speeds up the process. You will probably have to search on craigs list for a farm to get your aged manure.

The results will be worth it though as this foundation is critical to really getting your garden to produce food that makes you healthy. Do not be ripped off by pre-bagged potting soil that is empty of what you really want in healthy food.