Potting media is one of those things I buy with very little pleasure. It often seems too expensive, the bags are heavy, and it gets used up all too quickly, no matter what tricks I employ (other empty pots in there taking up space, and so on).  And then I’m never sure which type I should get. The soil-less mix is mainly peat moss. Even though it’s recommended by most of the longtime gardeners I know, clearly peat moss—the harvesting of which destroys wetlands—is an at-risk resource. We’ve talked about that on this site before. And then there’s the perlite and vermiculate in the mixes.

While there are many alternatives if you are amending garden soil or applying mulch, it’s hard to find a potting mix that doesn’t contain peat moss. I’m not saying there is going to be an alternative available to consumers soon, but there is a glimmer of hope. The USDA has recently announced—as many of you saw—that researchers in Auburn, Alabama are working on a potting media made entirely from the loblolly pine, which can be farmed commercially, and grows easily in heavy clay soil. It’s called Whole Tree—according to the article linked above, it’s being used by commercial growers to grow seedlings for nursery sale. It may also be evaluated as a soil amendment.

In the meantime, it looks like I will be off to the garden center to find the cheapest stuff I can for planting my container bulbs and forced bulbs this fall. (I then reuse as much of this media as I can for summer container plantings, when the bulbs are finished blooming.) I actually prefer a soil-based media if I can find a good one—it seems to hold the moisture better. How do you solve the potting media dilemma? Make your own? Don’t bother with lightening the soil at all? Or are you one of the pro-mix faithful?

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