Soils and layers
Bagged potting soil
Rich bagged soil. Feeds plants well, and moulds at first.
What the simulation uses
- Holds water
- 60 % by volume
- Water it keeps after draining; the rest runs down to the drainage.
- Pore space
- 85 % by volume
- Room for air and water between grains; low means roots suffocate when wet.
- Weight
- 350 g/L
- How heavy a litre is.
- pH
- 5.5 to 6.8 pH
- How acid it keeps the soil.
- Mould risk
- high
- How much fresh food it gives white mould; high-risk soils fuzz over in the first weeks.
- Breaks down in
- 1 to 3 years
- How long it lasts before rotting down to fine soil.
- Nutrients
- high
- Plant food it brings.
- Presses down to
- 72 % of its loose depth
- How far pressing can pack it, keeping its weight.
Description
Blends of peat or coir, bark, compost and perlite with lime and fertiliser. In a closed, humid jar its fine texture packs down and runs short of air. It breaks down within one to three years.
Also called potting mix, multipurpose compost.
Estimated, where sources were thin: composition varies by brand; all physical numbers estimated.