Hot take: store bought potting soil vs mixing your own on a balcony

I've been growing herbs and peppers on my tiny balcony in Chicago for about 2 years now and I'm convinced that bagged potting soil from the big box stores is a total scam for small space gardens. Last spring I used Miracle-Gro for my tomatoes and they got all leggy and the drainage was awful after a month of rain. So I tried mixing my own with 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite, and 1 part compost from a local nursery and the difference was night and day. The roots exploded and I had cherry tomatoes by June instead of August. But here's the thing: mixing your own is messy and costs more upfront like $15 for the bagged stuff versus $25 for ingredients. Is it really worth the extra hassle for just a few pots? Has anyone else noticed their plants do way better with a custom mix or am I overthinking this whole thing?

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robert2486d ago

Hard disagree. Your problem was store brand dirt, not potting soil. You paid $15 for a bag of wood chips and fungus gnats. That's on you. My basil grows like weeds in that cheap stuff. Just add more perlite and stop watering so much.