Growing in Pots and Containers

Why choose a potting mix?

A potting mix has been designed to make the process of growing plants in pots easier. Straight compost is too rich for most plants. And whether used by itself or when added to topsoil, it will dry out, becoming hard, compact and very difficult to water.

All our potting mixes are weed free.

Choosing a potting mix

Creating a Raised Garden Bed

For an effective low-cost way of making a raised garden bed, aerate the soil with a fork and then mix in Kings Organic Compost and sheep pellets, or Chicken Compost. Looking for something a little extra to add to your garden? You can't go past Grow All, which is a combination of tiger worm castings and compost.

If you can’t get enough height this way, or if you want a less labour intensive way of creating a raised garden bed, use either Living Earth Organic Veggie Mix or Living Earth Garden Mix.

Where possible avoid bringing in topsoil from elsewhere as this won’t be weed-free (and there is a chance that some frustrating weeds may pop up).

What does Mulch do?

Mulching helps to suppress weeds, reduce watering needs and can help improve soil structure by adding organic matter to it. Use a wood-based mulch around trees, shrubs, roses and other woodier plants such as our bark range or More than Mulch. Around veggies and strawberries, a finer, lighter mulch tends to work better such as Peastraw and Lucerne.

Lawns

This is where you can use topsoil. If you are looking at patching or creating a lawn on a verge or having a scruffier lawn to just cover a patch of bare soil you can use topsoil when germinating grass seed. Topsoil is not weed-free, but is still high in organic material and nutrients. If you are looking for something that is weed-free, we recommend using the premium Lawn Mix instead.

Trees and Shrubs

Specialised mixes have been created for planting trees and shrubs if you are unable to, or don't have enough time to mix in compost with your original soil. Rose & Shrub Mix is perfect for flowering shrubs, or anything smaller than two metres. Citrus and Fruit Tree Mix contains nutrients perfect for fruiting shrubs and trees, however you can also use Garden Mix as a substitute.