What's in your potting soil?

Local gardening stores offer a multitude of soil mix choices this time of year. This overview of the attributes of soil and how to amend commercially produced potting soils will increase the success of your container and raised bed plantings. This article is posted on the Ask a Master Gardener Blog and provides a comprehensive explanation and strategies for improving commercially produced soil.

All soil primarily consists of sand, silt and clay mineral particles. Sand is visible to the naked eye. Clay is the size of bacteria. In a natural setting, soils have pores made by plant roots and insec...