Novice or experienced gardener, fan of indoor plants or expert in balcony planters, you must have used potting soil when installing or repotting your plants.
But do you know what this particular substrate is made of?
Potting soil, enriched soil for your plantations
Potting soil is a substrate, that is to say a “support” material used to plant plants.
Sold in garden centers,
it is soil enriched by man
to meet the needs of different plants.
Potting soil is mainly composed of topsoil, peat, compost and organic matter such as manure or plant debris.
It can be supplemented with other elements to improve its structure, its PH, its permeability or its mineral intake.
Also read Topsoil: what is it?
What are the different types of potting soil?
The potting soil can be used for planting in pots, in planters or in the ground, by being placed at the bottom of the planting hole.
You can find many soils in garden centers adapted to different growing methods and different types of plants:
Universal potting soil,
as its name suggests, is quite versatile;
Horticultural soil
is
best suited to flowers and flowering shrubs;
Vegetable garden soil
generally
contains more organic matter to meet the high nutrient needs of vegetables;
Potting soil
for green plants
is specially designed for potting indoor plants.
We then distinguish specific potting soils, adapted to the needs of particular plants.
(for cacti and succulents, for orchids, for rose bushes, etc.) or for specific uses
(potting soil, for seedlings, for cuttings, etc.).
Read alsoHeather soil: definition, use and advantages of this natural substrate
What is the difference between soil and compost?
The main difference between topsoil and potting soil is that soil is naturally present in the garden, while
potting soil is a man-made substrate
.
If found on garden center shelves, topsoil can simply be taken from nature.
The soil is necessarily artificial.