WHY YOUR BAGGED SOIL DISAPPOINTED YOU

Your plants aren't struggling because of what you're doing. They're struggling because of what's missing from your soil, and if you've ever bought good soil, done everything by the book, and still ended up disappointed, this one's for you.

I had someone write to me a while back, she was growing in raised beds and bought some bagged soil from a garden centre. Although it was a good brand and she did everything right, her veggies came up small and stunted.

This one trips a lot of people up, and before I knew anything about microbiology and soil health, myself included. Because although the soil looks great and smells soily, (not sure that's an actual word) there isn't a whole lot going on in that new soil.

Here's why

Commercial compost and potting mix in Australia are made under strict rules for good reason. Under the Australian Standard AS 4454, commercial windrows have to reach a core temperature above 55 degrees Celsius for at least three consecutive days to eliminate pathogens, weeds, and seeds. Which is a good idea, who wants weeds in their new potting mix?

Now, that's actually the same temperature range home hot composting reaches too, so the heat itself isn't the real issue. The difference between home made hot compost and commercial soil, potting mix and compost is what happens after the heat.

A compost pile left in place naturally moves into a curing phase once it cools. Mesophilic bacteria and fungi recolonise it, migrating back in from the surrounding soil, the air and worms moving through it, that's a well-documented part of the composting process, and it's exactly what rebuilds the biology the heat destroyed.

Bagged commercial soil never gets that. It's heated, then immediately packaged and sealed, no soil contact, no recolonisation, and it can sit on a shelf for months before it reaches your garden in a plastic bag where the oxygen levels drop over time further killing off an aerobic organisms

. Same heat but no path back to being alive again.

So what you're buying, even from a good, properly certified brand meeting the Australian Standard AS 3743 for potting mixes, is basically sterile, and stays that way sitting in the bag.

What this means for your garden

That's a different problem to soil that's declined over years, and a different problem to structural issues like sandy soil sitting over clay too, but it lands on the same result. Plants that should be doing well, but instead not growing to their full potential, and no obvious reason why.

If you've ever bought 'good soil', done everything right, and still ended up disappointed, this could actually be why.

The fix

Put the biology back, and give it something to feed on while it establishes. One teaspoon of RootWise Balance, a concentrated soil biology product, in a full watering can, applied weekly for the first month, then fortnightly to maintain. A layer of mulch on top helps too, by giving the biology a food source to work with rather than starting from nothing.

Most people notice their soil holding moisture differently within about two weeks. Visible plant response usually follows within three to six weeks.

If this sounds like your garden, you're not alone, and it's genuinely fixable.

RootWise Balance, $45. 60-day money-back guarantee.

John

Living Earth Biology

Your plants aren't struggling because of what you're doing. They're struggling because of what's missing from your soil.