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Joined: Apr 2005
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Forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong place.
Right now, I have lots of petunias planted in containers. They are doing extremely well. The only thing I used to plant them is Miracle Grow potting mix. Nothing else.
Then, I started planting things in the ground, like Cockscomb, Coleus and Impatiens. When I planted those, I also used only potting soil mixed with the ground soil.
Now, I am wondering if I should be using other stuff too? I bought some compost manure for fertilizing. Should I mix that with my potting soil? How much should I put in there, if any?
And what about peat moss?
Sorry, I'm completely new to this wink

Joined: Apr 2003
Compost Queen!
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Hello New-Gardener,
Welcome, you've come to the right spot...
There's tons' of good gardener's here...
A little bit of every type here,
from the brand new beginner *pardon the pun*
to the Master Gardener's..
You'll fit in nicely!!!

Any of the things you mentioned are wonderful additions to the potting soil you've chose..
Although on it's own, it's a very good potting soil mix... complete with good soil/ humus and peat moss in to it already and most of the time that stuff comes with a fertilizer in it....

My personal favorite is COMPOST... I make it myself, and you can also buy some in bags if you're new to gardening and/or haven't the space or time for it right now...

Peatmoss is a good organic ingredient to add to your mixes... I wouldn't add toooooooo much..
but it's good, I don't have a ratio of how I
mix mine up, usually 1/3 of potting soil, 1/3 of compost and some vermiculite and/or perelite or both...

Some of the potting soils' don't need anything really, they've got the fertilizer added right in, and may be over~kill for some types of plants that don't need such a rich soil content...

Quote
Sorry, I'm completely new to this
Not to worry here, there's a bunch of new gardener's here, and we were alllllllll new to gardening at some point in time too you know...
We remember, and love helping those out that are just learning and love to help the plants out too!

Weezie

Joined: Apr 2005
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Joined: Apr 2005
Great!! Thank you SO much for your help!!

Joined: Sep 2004
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Hi New Gardener. Welcome to the world of plants:) You may be spending more money than you need to by using miracle grow in the garden soil. Using it in pots is what it's designed for. I mean if you have to buy bags of the stuff everytime you want to plant something in the ground it could end up costing you a fortune. Some plants like the coleus and impatiens are pretty tough and will probably be ok in the existing garden soil and as Weezie says the addition of compost and pretty much any other organic matter will improve the soil. Check your existing soil out and maybe experiment with it a little. Have you thought about having a compost bin or heap?


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