Espoma Organic Potting Soil Mix - All Natural Potting Mix For All Indoor & Outdoor Containers Including Herbs & Vegetables. For Organic Gardening, 8qt. bag. Pack of 1

Alright, planted a bunch of seeds into small compostable pots and added more nutrients. The soil was dry which you usually don’t see so it took a lot of water to moisten it up. I’m sure it saves on shipping not to have water weight.

Great product, great service

Good

No fungus gnats but some mushrooms but overall not bad potting soil. We ordered it because we needed to get some soil faster to start our tomato plants. It was going to take eight or nine days or more to get the miracle grow soil that we ordered.We do have a few mushrooms here and there but when you put them out in the sun or under light they die.I think the biggest problem with some folks is they don’t know they’re buying living soil. It’s not sterilized. Sterilized is probably better for seedlings But I am no expert. Our tomato starts are looking pretty decent.I think it really has to do with how fresh the soil in the bag is. If it sat on a pallet in the sun for a season it’s going to have issues. Any soil would. We have some miracle grow potting soil left over from last year that stinks so badly of mildew we can’t use it.

good dirt

A Great Choice

Update 11•2019🙄😐☹So very disappointed! Earlier this year i found tiny puncture holes made with a tiny object but when I opened the package all was fine. After I used what I needed I closed the bag rolling it tightly to keep air or fungus causing gnats/fruit flies [had that problem with another very popular brand. I cleaned the roots of my plant and replanted all of my plants in this brand because of the rich black soil and the micro organism in soil it was rich lightly fluffy no bugs for years .. as I said I bought a few packages earlier this year everything seemed fine except for the puncture spots. At the end of this autumn Ibegin to prepare my plants for a very very cold winter. And realized I'd have to start using another "boutique " soil i.e intact without bundled ruts and bugdrying NY apt. Throwing away soil that seem to be littered with roots, branches,bugs fruit flies eggs I was so disappointed. Althought it is a worm casting soil I never ever spotted any worms--○••until I started working in it eww , litteredwith roots, 2 worms &.fruit flies coming up from the soil. Eww, happily i was work out of the disposal sink dump the soil down disposal and promised myself to NEVER ORDER this again. I kinda knew that the soil was having marketing troubles ; the usually expensive product was at a give away sale ½ off smh I've already found a replacement no I just cant do it! Pay for unprocessed? Weedy buggie soil? No, no, no. And I swore buy stuff!Case closed--'I only buy this brand for my apt garden ... I've grown summer veggies, I love my basil & other herb plants and I've even grown succulents!I'm also growing a lemon plant [3yrs] from seeds! I'm hoping it grows to be Ponderosa lemon tree-- evident in the tall trunks, full foilage that in another year maybe! --Update 9•2019 the fuller foilage of tree! Yay!--Since 2014 when I began this hobby I used another popular brand and my plants were FILLED with bugs I cleaned them up and NOW THIS IS THE ONLY BRAND FOR MY INDOOR GARDEN GROWN WITH LOVE & ESPOMA! See how my garden grows? Summer veggies Swiss Rainbow Chard, 3 brands of Kale, Broccoli and more ... from Start - to finish!

My original review was glowing, but since then my experience with the product has been very hit or miss, with the last 4 bags purchased this year having issues. The quality has not only gone downhill but so has the quality control: 2 bags I purchased in the last few months have had bad mold, all 4 had pest infestations and I don’t mean the occasional fungus gnat, this last bag is infested with tiny spiders that are most likely soil mites but could be anything, including root eating insects. All four bags had terrible gnat infestations( and I’m talking, to the point that boiling the soil did not eliminate the infestation— it was just that bad!) Not only that, but this potting mix used to be a nice rich, dark, luscious soil mix that was very nutrient dense— no more! It’s lighter in color and nearly resembles mulch or wood chips— it’s cheap scrap material! I can not recommend this anymore, the quality is simply not there like it used to be, and my plants are taking notice too, as it no longer yields the same results. The price on this is also ridiculous anymore, especially on Amazon ( should be no more than $7.99 a bag) and it’s just not worth it. Save your money for a more premium potting mix, cause this just isn’t it anymore. Miracle grow would be better… and I don’t say that lightly. Shame, I used to love this so much it was the only mix I’d buy.. time to find a new brand.Ok, I’m gonna tell you a secret,.. every bag of commercial potting mix comes with fungus gnats (regardless of brand or price) unless it also contains pesticides; that’s just the truth. And even if it does contain pesticides, it’s never fool proof. If you have had plants for any length of time then you already know this. My solution? Disinfect the potting soil with boiling water. It works! Spread the soil in a disposable baking tray in a thin layer and then pour boiling water on top, then, place aluminum foil on top to seal in the heat and leave it sit for an hour until it cools down. That’s it, it will kill any eggs, larva or live gnats, mites, thrips, ect. This is a very common practice and will help significantly. Obviously don’t use the bag if it’s a really bad infestation inside but if you just see one or two gnats, it’s fine, and even if you don’t see ANY, please sterilize the soil to be safe because 9/10 there will be eggs. Okay, so with that out of the way, my plants love this. I have a large indoor garden with over 100 plants and I can tell you, this stuffs good! My plants thrive in here. I have done experiments using clear pots and put this soil up against my previously favorite brand, the Espoma won by a long shot. The plants that were planted in this rooted so fast! And much stronger, healthier root systems then the other brands. My monsteras, pothos, philodendron, tradescantia, and even my money tree did very well in this. I saw more vibrant colors, faster growth, more and larger leaves, and fuller plants over all in this mix. Now, with that being said, I do add orchid bark, perlite, a few lecca balls and occasionally other soil amendments to improve drainage and adjust soil quality to help meet each plant’s individual needs, but that is always the case anyway. In conclusion, this is a great base soil for potting mix, above many others in quality. But like all the other bagged mix out there, fungus gnats will naturally be attracted to it because of its high, decaying organic matter content, so you’ll need to take steps to sterilize your soil. If you already have gnats you can treat with sticky traps, diatomaceous earth, peroxide solution, commercial pesticides or beneficial nematodes. Although, if you have a few gnats and they don’t bother you, it’s really not the end of the world, they won’t typically damage a plant, they are only there to eat the fungus/ decaying matter in the soil.. If you want plants, pests are unfortunately a part of it, and it’s something you’re never done battling, so it’s best to educate yourself on how to prevent them and how to best deal with an infestation should they arise (and they always will) but if you look at reviews for other potting soil/potting mix brands *THEY ALL HAVE GNATS* it sucks, but it’s just something we gardeners have to accept and it’s not necessarily the companies fault. I do think the price on Amazon for this product tends to run high.