Is My Potting Soil Too Hot? Commercial Soil Analysis

[TorturedSoul]

Compare to Coast of Maine's website...

"Here at Coast of Maine we are proud of the quality and consistency of our compost-based soils. Compost (naturally decomposed organic matter), we believe, is the key ingredient."​

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Stonington mix ingredients: 40% sphagnum peat moss, coco fiber (coir), composted manure, perlite, fertilizer (see below) and mycorrhizae​

@SmokingWings, this is curious...

New dirt on the block...

Head River Organics, Organic Living Potting Soil

Ingredients: 25-35% Aged Forest Products*, Canadian Sphagnum Peat, Finished and Cured Compost, Perlite, Worm Castings, Kelp Meal, Fish Bone Meal, Feather Meal, Kelp Meal, Azomite, and beneficial Microbes

*on the bag it says, "pine fines"

Yeah, I've seen mention of "cured compost" on Coast of Maine's website, too. I don't know whether it was finished . I'll check...

Bar Harbor Blend - Uses: House plants, hanging baskets, window boxes, container gardens – Also terrific for growing vegetables! Our great all-purpose potting soil is made with natural and organic ingredients such as lobster, kelp, compost, perlite, and sphagnum peat. It is designed for potting indoor and outdoor container plants. Water and fertilize less with this nutrient rich, compost based potting soil. It is OMRI listed for use in organic gardens. 70 – 80% sphagnum peat moss, composted manure, perlite, aged bark and fertilizer (composted poultry manure, lobster & crab shell, and kelp meal). Target pH 6.2. 0.4 - 0.11 - 0.7

Castine Blend Organic & Natural Raised Bed Mix - Uses: Raised bed gardens, planter boxes and large container gardens. Grows amazing vegetables! An enriched blend of fully cured, locally-sourced compost, peat, biochar, worm castings, dehydrated poultry manure, kelp meal, lobster meal, greensand, lime, and mycorrhizae. Great for growing healthy vegetables, herbs, and flowers. It is OMRI listed for use in organic gardens. 50-60% sphagnum peat moss, composted manure, aged bark, hard
and soft wood biochar, fertilizer (composted poultry manure, lobster & crab shell, kelp meal, earthworm castings, and greensand) and mycorrhizae. Contains 2% hard and soft wood biochar. Target pH 6.5. 0.6 - 0.35 - 0.22

Cobscook Blend In-Ground Garden Soil - The ideal soil amendment for all your beds and gardens. It is carefully formulated to provide balance between structure, water retention, drainage and aeration for growing vegetables, annual and perennial flowers in the ground. It provides the rich and diverse soil your plants need. This product is formulated from compost, sphagnum peat moss and aged bark. Target pH 6.0. [I didn't notice a more specific ingredient list or NPK information, but my left eye is bothering me pretty bad today, and I'm not reading - just "glancing."]

Wiscasset Blend Earthworm Castings [Whoops, this isn't a planting mix? Oh, well...] - Uses: Soil conditioning, top dress indoor container plants, compost tea – Great for vegetables! Made of 100% earthworm castings which are naturally rich in microbial life. It will help convert the nutrients already present in your soil into a more plant-available form. Earthworm castings hold 2-3 times their weight in water thus adding moisture retention properties to garden soil. Earthworm castings add humus, enzymes, as well as microbial life to the soil. Target pH 6.8.

Penobscot Blend Organic & Natural Planting Mix - Uses: Planting amendment for annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees; conditioning garden beds and borders. Also terrific for growing vegetables! We believe Penobscot Blend™ Organic & Natural Planting Mix is the ideal soil amendment for bedding annuals and planting perennials, roses, shrubs and trees. It provides the rich and diverse soil your plants need. Formulated from compost, aged bark, oyster shell and mycorrhizae. Target pH 6.5.

Quoddy Blend Lobster Compost - Uses: Planting amendment for conditioning flower beds and borders, vegetable gardens, herbs and annuals. Terrific for growing vegetables! Coast of Maine Organic Products Quoddy Blend Lobster Compost is made with lobster shells, compost and sphagnum peat moss. It is a dark-brown, complex soil filled with everything your plants need for healthy growth. It drains well and is an ideal soil conditioner for existing beds that need reinvigorating. Compost, sphagnum peat moss, aged bark, and lobster & crab meal. Target pH 6.5. 0.6 - 0.3 - 0.2.

Planting Soil for Acid-Loving Plants - NEW PRODUCT! Uses: A great soil conditioner for improving and revitalizing the soil in and around plants that thrive on lower pH soils like: rhododendrons, azaleas, hollies, blueberries, strawberries, ferns, fuchsias, camellias, dogwoods and conifers. Organic & Natural Planting Soil for Acid Loving Plants is the ideal planting mix to improve and revitalize the soil in and around plants that thrive in lower pH soils like: rhododendrons, azaleas, hollies, blueberries, strawberries, ferns, fuchsias, camellias, dogwoods, and conifers. Made with premium ingredients, it contains compost, sphagnum peat moss, and aged bark. Target pH 6.0.

Planting Soil for Roses and Flowers - NEW PRODUCT! Uses: A great soil conditioner for improving and revitalizing the soil in and around your roses and flowers. It is naturally lightweight and contains just the right ingredients to get your beautiful flowers off to a good start. Organic & Natural Planting Soil for Roses & Flowers is the ideal planting mix to improve and revitalize the soil in and around all of your rose varieties, flowering annuals, and perennials. Perfect for supporting continual blooms and healthy foliage. Made with premium ingredients, it contains compost, aged bark, and lime. Target pH 6.2.

Tomato & Vegetable Planting Soil - NEW PRODUCT! Uses: A great soil conditioner for improving and revitalizing the soil in and around your vegetable garden beds. It is naturally lightweight and contains just the right ingredients to grow plentiful, flavorful tomatoes and vegetables. Organic & Natural Planting Soil for Tomatoes & Vegetables is the optimal soil conditioner to revitalize the soil in and around your vegetable garden beds. It is naturally lightweight and contains just the right ingredients to grow plentiful, flavorful tomatoes and vegetables. Made with premium ingredients, it contains compost, lobster, and lime. Target pH 6.8.

Island Blend Organic Cactus & Succulent Mix - Uses: Cactus, succulent, tropical palms and citrus plants. Designed for cactus, succulents, tropical palms, and citrus plants. This pH balanced formula is made from: sphagnum peat moss, compost, sand, aged bark, biochar, fish bone meal, and kelp meal. It is ready-to-use and offers both excellent drainage and sufficient water retention. It is the perfect blend to promote root and plant growth. Target pH 7.0.

Schoodic Blend Organic & Natural Composted Manure Blend - Uses: Conditioning vegetable gardens and flower beds. For those who prefer traditional manure composts. This is an all-purpose soil conditioner designed for gardens, beds and borders. Made with a blend of composted cow manure from several local beef and dairy farms, and sphagnum peat moss [also mentions aged bark, further down the page (and "cured" compost, lol)]. Target pH 6.5.

Monhegan Blend Organic & Natural Black Earth Lawn Soil - [Yawn! Blah blah blah...] This product is formulated from composted manure, sphagnum peat moss and aged bark. Target pH 6.5.

Topsoil - [Cheap stuff, I guess.] Coast of Maine Topsoil is an economically priced blend of garden loam, compost, and sphagnum peat moss. Use for creating a base layer in raised beds, patching and filling holes in lawns. This product is made in New Hampshire

I had originally intended to keep going and list their "amendments," because some of them looked interesting when I glanced at them, but there are a lot of them, plus their "mulch" products appear to also be meant to break down and enrich the soil they're used on - aged cedar, dark bark, dark harbor blend enriching, Fundy blend organic enriching mulch & seaweed, hemlock, natural cedar (yes, two different cedar mulch products), and pine & spruce; seven different "mulch" products.

I don't know whether you'll end up wanting to add any of this to your chart. If you do, it might not be the worst idea in the world to verify the N-P-K numbers I listed, because I typed (not copy/paste) them, and I was having trouble seeing, so no guarantees that a .50 wasn't a .60 (or vice versa).



Coming Spring, 2023, Fast Eddie's Super Premium Organic (guaranteed to contain carbon covalent bonds ) Double Plus Extra Good Soil-Colored Mix with FULLY Cured and Finished Supreme Once-Living Compost! Guaranteed to contain no bugs that didn't want to be there. Reserve your bag TODAY only $299.99/cubic foot.

Disclaimer: Just kidding (FFS).

 

[cbdhemp808]

I had originally intended to keep going and list their "amendments," because some of them looked interesting when I glanced at them, but there are a lot of them, plus their "mulch" products appear to also be meant to break down and enrich the soil they're used on - aged cedar, dark bark, dark harbor blend enriching, Fundy blend organic enriching mulch & seaweed, hemlock, natural cedar (yes, two different cedar mulch products), and pine & spruce; seven different "mulch" products.

I don't know whether you'll end up wanting to add any of this to your chart. If you do, it might not be the worst idea in the world to verify the N-P-K numbers I listed, because I typed (not copy/paste) them, and I was having trouble seeing, so no guarantees that a .50 wasn't a .60 (or vice versa).

Maybe start a Coast of Maine's potting soil thread? What I was going for are popular mixes used by cannabis growers, and leaning toward ones that are specifically geared toward growing cannabis. Love the carbon covalent bonds

 

[TorturedSoul]

Love the carbon covalent bonds

Well, people do seem to be interested in organics .

I don't know whether it's been mentioned in this thread, or if it's in your chart (mind isn't fully functional at the moment), but Sunshine Mix #4 is still being used by people to grow cannabis. Also Sunshine Advanced Mix #4.

I once thought about digging up some of that rock and red clay mud that we call soil in my neck of the woods, baking it until it was good and dead, and then adding a bunch of perlite to it and trying to see if that would work. But then my oven went to heaven, so I made do with just the perlite, lol.

 

[SmokingWings]

it seems kinda silly/strange to me for this major potting soil company not to use the word "compost" anywhere on their product bags or on their website.

I have the feeling that the word "compost" on the bag could cause negative reactions. Tell someone that you or I have a compost pile behind the garage and there can be comments from inexperienced gardeners and from non-gardeners like "doesn't it smell" or "you will get rats and mice" or "compost piles are messy". I have run into them and have talked to others who have had the same comments thrown at them.

There is more, like inexperienced and new compost pile creators doing things like adding thick layers of grass clippings and creating anaerobic piles with the smells, etc created by not having enough oxygen and carbon mixed in instead of aerobic piles which smell like freshly turned soil on a perfect day in a forest.

Even Cured Compost will sound better than just the word "Compost" in the ingredient list to new gardeners.

Then there is the commercial compost made by composting operations that get their raw material for "yard waste" that is picked up on trash day in cities and larger towns. The biggest problem I see coming there is that way to many people do not bother to separate out plastic from the grass clippings, leaves, weeds, shrub trimmings, etc. Since the plastics will not decompose, maybe never, the small pieces show up in the finished product. Who wants to see part of a plastic bag in the potting soil on the kitchen windowsill?

*on the bag it says, "pine fines"

Very small pieces of Pine wood, bark and/or needles. I had come across mention of a large wood composting operation on the east side of the US. One thing was the mention that this business was experimenting on recipes for what woods to mix to get what would be a near perfect "wood based compost". The company had been experimenting for years on this. Couple of weeks later while wandering the internet looking for more info on composting wood I ran into articles on the webpages for a company called Metzler Forest Products or a similar sounding name.

They had discovered or come to the conclusion that adding Pine products to their experimental piles of decomposing wood sped up the process and was also creating a product that created some of the best growing mixes for use in gardens, landscaping, farms, orchards, etc. My impression is that it had to be Pine, not Spruce or Cedar, or other evergreen woods. Something to do with what they were calling "the sugars in the pieces of Pine".

 

[jokerlola]

Has anyone heard of Paonia Soil Company (paoniasoilco.com? They have living super soils. I got several samples in of their “Bomb 50/50 from the owner at the 2020 Denver Indo Expo. They appear to sell an extra amendment for their soils called “Dynamic Dressing” and talking to the owner, he said that the Dynamic Dressing would need to be added to complete a grow.

 

[CaptainLucky]

Has anyone heard of Paonia Soil Company (paoniasoilco.com? They have living super soils. I got several samples in of their “Bomb 50/50 from the owner at the 2020 Denver Indo Expo. They appear to sell an extra amendment for their soils called “Dynamic Dressing” and talking to the owner, he said that the Dynamic Dressing would need to be added to complete a grow.

That thread is a year old but I’d like to see it started again. CL

 

[Emilya Green]

he said that the Dynamic Dressing would need to be added to complete a grow.

This sends up a big red flag for me. A real supersoil needs only the bottom third of the container filled with supersoil and the rest just a good soil like roots 101, and this setup will get you through the entire grow. What's wrong with his soil then??

 

[jokerlola]

This sends up a big red flag for me. A real supersoil needs only the bottom third of the container filled with supersoil and the rest just a good soil like roots 101, and this setup will get you through the entire grow. What's wrong with his soil then??

I’d have to read through their website but I don’t know if they advertise their soil as being able to grow from seed to harvest. What I remember him saying is that depending on pot size, length of grow, they recommend adding the Dynamic Dressing. I was asking him about growing outdoors which can be a very long grow if you get your plants out by Memorial Day, which is what I try to do. I’ve had photos go all the way to December but most have gone to end of October/early Nov. I’ve never tried Paonia full out. I only used their samples mixed with my then current soil so idk if it is good or not.

 

[NAGreengo]

Has anyone heard of Paonia Soil Company (paoniasoilco.com? They have living super soils. I got several samples in of their “Bomb 50/50 from the owner at the 2020 Denver Indo Expo. They appear to sell an extra amendment for their soils called “Dynamic Dressing” and talking to the owner, he said that the Dynamic Dressing would need to be added to complete a grow.

Living soils need nourished as the 'Living Organisms' in living soil will eventually deplete the key nutes from the soil. IME ---*Pot Size Matters*... the bigger the pot (7g+) the less often it will need amended. I've never had a living soil that didn't need fed at some point.

 

[jokerlola]

Living soils need nourished as the 'Living Organisms' in living soil will eventually deplete the key nutes from the soil. IME ---*Pot Size Matters*... the bigger the pot (7g+) the less often it will need amended. I've never had a living soil that didn't need fed at some point.

I have grown with Sohum for 2 grows and the first time I wanted to see if it really was a seed to harvest water only soil, so I ran the whole grow with only water (Young clone to harvest). At harvest the 2 plants I tried it in were still fully green. I think I got a decent yield but the plants grew smaller than the the same strain of plants I grew the year before in soil I added nutrients to. The next time I used it, I followed their grow length chart for my pot size and started adding bloom nutes when the chart said the soil would run out of nutes.

 

[cbdhemp808]

he said that the Dynamic Dressing would need to be added to complete a grow

I want some of that for my salad!