Best Vegetable Garden Soil You Can Buy at Walmart + What to Look For

[@growingyourgreens]

Jump to the following parts of this episode: 0:04:26 Deals I found at Walmart 0:07:05 Bagged Soil Products Comparison Starts 0:08:00 EcoScraps Compost Review 0:08:05 The Scam of Organic on Bagged Soil Products 0:16:19 Earthgro Potting Soil Review 0:21:00 Why your vegetable may turn yellow when planted in bagged soil 0:21:39 Magic Dirt Premium Potting Soil 0:29:18 Miracle-Gro Nature's Care Organic Potting Mix 0:31:50 How Heavy Should your bagged soil product be? 0:38:50 Just Natural Organic Container Potting Mix 0:46:21 OMNI Seed Cover and Planting Compost 0:49:41 Greensmix Sphagnum Peat Moss 0:54:13 Summary and My Favorite Bagged Soil Products 0:57:22 My suggestions to Bagged Soil Producers 1:00:49 How to find clearance deals on soil products at Walmart from home

[@FairyFrequency]

Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens ...love the timestamps super helpful info... Big like from the Fairy Frequency channel! 🦋 wishing you a beautiful evening x)

[@livefromplanetearth]

Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens +1

[@FjreHazard]

Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens I recently tried the Nature's Care, and I definitely wasn't impressed. However, the batch that I had gotten had plenty of Perlite. Either way, that soil holds moisture for so long (Florida) that algae grows on the surface. And after watering for the first time, the surface looks like all shredded wood. (Edit1) To be fair to that product, I wasn't aware of the difference between "potting mix" and "garden soil". (Edit2) I gave EcoScraps a try this go around, before finding the bad reviews. It had food labels, drinking straws, and some other misc. trash in it. It makes sense, being that the stuff is reclaimed from landfills. However, I can't see how they get away with being Certified Organic. Also, the material didn't seem to be fully composted, looked more brown when dried. It had a bit of an off odor, though were old bags on clearance outside.

[@annmartin3577]

Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens n

[@bettytaylor735]

Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens

[@covid1-184]

He made a 1 hour long video and did not put in one ad. 🤯 impressive

[@HandlingItAll]

Pay the $10 for KZbin Red. Is the 300 minutes of life you lose a month watching KZbin and not watching ads not worth the $10?? If not, you're living like a hobo. My time is valuable! I just wasted $25 talking to you..

[@JenMarco]

Jump to 2020, it’s $16 a month for KZbin premium. Expensive but worth it to never have to watch a commercial.

[@GD-kx7dh]

@@JenMarco $16 a month or a lifetime free "AdBlock for youtube" extension lol.

[@wilkes1ar]

I'm today years old. Using KZbin since early 2000 and just realized it was the creators putting in the adds 😆

[@jksatte]

Do they get something if we go with the subscription??

[@kennethlang7787]

John, you have gone to a lot of effort to educate us. Thank you for your service. I learn from each of your vids. Thanks

[@robbrigham3145]

Ditto! Thanks John!

[@Virtuosont]

Kudos for the Video clip! Forgive me for butting in, I am interested in your opinion. Have you tried - Parlandealey Impetigo Goodbye Process (do a google search)? It is an awesome one off product for finding some amazing landscaping designs for your home minus the headache. Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my BF after many years got amazing success with it.

[@goognamgoognw6637]

scary how price have more than doubled in 2022 even for soil. This is probably the best video on soil i have seen. I wasted a good 15 min following John's explanation about Walmart then found out their website is now making it impossible to do any of that inventory checking and price per store. Most likely intentionally they want to dispower the consumer. Usa corporate oligarchy.

[@RobertO-jp6ei]

ty John, I am 69 and starting a raised bed garden,,, u helped me out tremendously

[@bobbiwest6625]

I added the cactus mix 1 cubic foot bag to my other organic mixes bags yrs ago. I had a meter, for testing soil, it said perfect soil. I was real proud. My peppers grew like crazy in that.take care.

[@allnaturalhomesteaders]

John. I watch you ever day, that and the guy who does back to Eden garden, the guy with the wood chips, I can't remember his name, but you two are the only ones I watch, and you have educated me soooo much. Last summer I harvested 4 tomatoes from my garden, everything else died, this year I got all kinds of yummy stuff, because I'm educated now, thanks to you!! So thank you for taking the time to make these videos, I appreciate you and your time! Thank you very much!

[@magelin]

Hello How is it going? What soil did you get for your tomatoes? Because mines are dying and so my rosemary plant too 😢Can you please share the other KZbinr name?

[@petepower4217]

Being a lover of the full explanation, John, and this video, gets an A+. Thanks for taking the time, sir!

[@cherylanon5791]

Apologies for multiple comments, I do save all my plastic soil/manure bags and use them to kill certain weed patches, or fill with perennial weeds to throw in trash, or for dog poo. Just thought you might encourage others to re-use those large plastic bags!

[@werdana112]

Plastic releases lots of chemicals in the air when exposed to heat. If you want an easier option there is carpenters paper. Plus if you know John he would never use plastic in his garden.

[@ortizle1]

I’m so grateful you made this video. I buy a lot of my soil from Walmart since they are the closest to my home. I do like to buy the better products for my plants. You did my homework. Thank you for sharing the brick seed site. I love it.

[@lucybyrd1810]

John, it doesn't matter how long the videos are. We need the information. I just learned how to purchase good soil. Thank you

[@rigrentals5297]

As a new cannabis grower, i found this video to be very informative. i love all the chemistry and science behind your videos.

[@christinaoliveryoung6019]

I want to learn how to grow cannabis plants!!!

[@iChaz]

Yes John, this video was long but a necessary one. Thank you for taking the time to make this one. ChazinNJ

[@missanthropy5808]

I use most of those. Usually mix my own. Organic soil, peat and worm casings with my own homemade compost. My tomatoes are loving it. For berries,do half and half soil with peat.👍

[@believeingodalways]

You’re a guy i trust when comes to Blenders/juicing machines and now I recently started gardening and i am soo happy to find your channel on gardening I am trying to keep my garden as organic as possible And super confused when comes to soil mixes and compost 😅 Again thanks a lot for your time and help

[@magelin]

How is it going? What soil brand did you get? I’m currently growing tomatoes l, peppers, cooking herbs and rosemary (my rosemary is dying) and I’m so confused about the soils to get for potting

[@jantaylor4282]

I just started watching your videos. I really have learned so much new information. I have been growing vegetables on and off my whole life (and flowers). I am impressed about all the new info. I also find your presentations anything but boring!! I happily subscribed. Excellent detailed information.

[@ryanm1586]

Really enjoyed this video being a new gardener I found this super helpful. You should do a video with good potting mixes and show the real difference between good and bad organic mixes. Thanks for the reviews.

[@roseannamarotta5864]

Thank you for all the info you give on your video's... You make buying garden stuff much easier...

[@jodiriis]

Christmas is only one day. Gardening is everyday. 😉🖤🖤🖤

[@daniellemarie1299]

excellent video! very thorough. i know i've bought bags of dirt, and when i got them home and opened them up they looked very woody and dry.

[@dgeorge4761]

I think ur very pretty 😍

[@jennat5330]

I almost didn't watch initially but once the bags started to open I was hooked. Very informative and helpful. Long but chock full of useful important info. Thanx much!

[@lrobinson1792]

Thanks for all you do. You demonstrate care for the environment within reason and you care that your fellow humans are able to enhance their gardens with honest data. We love you☺

[@trishdavi7049]

& on a budget & unbiased without trying to sell us anything...much respect

[@alphaomega8373]

Can you make a video on how to keep from getting bit by bugs?

[@asiaroper8332]

When looking for a organic soil: 1. Dont instantly think organic means good/healthy 2. Look for something like *OMRI listed for organic use* on the bag. This means its an organic certified material for use to produce organic food ONLY then can you really call ur food organic. 3. The OMRI listed - Organic Material Review Institute - has products that are allowed and not allowed by the NOP which is the national organic program. Things like sewage sludge or biosolids are not allowed by under OMRI or the organic program 4. If ur bag just says organic it can contain it may contain sewage sludge and biosolids. 5. In the ingredients it could have compost listed, this could be good or bad. Compost could mean composted sewage sludge or anything like it. If they dont specify what the compost is made of, that could be a bad sign. A good example of a specification of compost is yard trimmings and food scrapes. 6. Have a screen to break down big chunks of soil and to catch debre like plastic, glass or wood. 7. Smell the soil.It should just smell like dirt. 8. Do a pot test. 9. Recommeded-make a soil mixture Soil would buy again: EcoScrapes, Magic dirt. Would mix 1 bag of the EcoScrapes and 1 bag of the Magic Dirt. Or the Pea moss and Virmiculite.

[@speerbob]

Thank you so much for doing all this for all of us.

[@carlic7923]

John, I love your amazing channel!!! The world is going crazy with this virus right now and who knows what's going to happen??? I'm going to be growing my own organic food and not relying on the grocery store. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of growing organic. Stay safe everyone. Psalm 91 ~ Blessings ~

[@GloriaSivels53]

The reason why I like your chanel you sound so energetic always excided to tell us what you know and why you think its important for us to know so we can have a good nutrition garden thanks again for enjoying your garden so that you want to share with the world

[@albrown1388]

I have noticed myself that some Walmarts carry something and other stores don't(WM) I found 5 pound bags of worm castings at the Crockett Tex. store for $4.97 a bag. Bought one and this is the real thing. Smell, texture, color and using a real strong lens there were egg casings throughout. Web prices plus shipping is 4 or 5 times that. Can't beat that John!

[@richardheffernan5839]

Once again you hit it out of the park with a sterling bit of content that satisfies my love of gardening knowledge. I profoundly thank you!

[@joey7422003]

Has he done a video on making your own potting mix? I would like to see one that has actually been tested.

[@fiveleafchocolate9025]

He makes his own soil in the garden tower/tower garden video. He adds around 50 different things, it’s a blast. He also explains each one.

[@shingj4007]

It's 2am and I watched every minute of this amazing video, good info, I need this. Thank you.

[@KK-nv7es]

Until I started following you I never read the ingredients on the soil bag....thanks John!

[@2075vj]

What potting soil would you recommend for growing fruits and veggies in containers? Thanks 🙏🏽 for sharing!

[@paulineottaviano3462]

I have used Miracle Grow potting soil in the past and found glass and pieces of material in the mix. I no longer use it.

[@jeremyallen8912]

Bro you are awessome. I watch you so much i feel like i know you.. Thanks for taking the time to spread your knowledge. Much appreciated...

[@MsUnik44]

Hi John, thanks, this is great information. I especially, appreciate the find clearance sale tutorial...simply great!

[@bbyjcky1]

I’m growing all my plants in coco coir, perlite and vermicompost ❤️

[@richardromano8128]

Thank you John very interesting I will be more choosy when I buy compost or soil

[@2075vj]

Thanks for sharing. This year I will be planting my fruit and vegetables and containers here in Fort Myers. What would be the best potting soil that I can use that organic? Thanks for sharing.

[@kaycee3788]

Thank you so much....This video is so helpful to me as a beginner who don't have any idea yet what soil are exactly to be use to start my gardening

[@curious_gage]

I love your content, seriously top-notch!! With that said I have a couple recommendations that can Improve your videos. These are general tips not specifically for this video. I usually skip your videos if they are longer than 20-30 minutes just because I don't always have that much time. 10-20 minutes is probably perfect especially to get more people watching your videos. You could probably reduce the video length if you cut out any unnecessary rambling or other parts that have a 2-3 pause. Cutting all that out can take a little work but will usually shorten the video quite a bit. Only other recommendation is to try and keep each subtopic to a specific duration of time. The best thing you can do for long video (30 min+) is included timestamps in the description and mention those timestamps at the beginning of the video. Again, thanks for all the great/free content. Keep it up!!

[@celiaschirado9384]

Thank you so much. I just started gardening organic everything. I’m pretty new at this and I found your video very helpful. I wish I saw it before I started planting my seeds. LOL I still don’t know the difference between potting soil and potting mix?

[@kennethwilliams561]

Unfortunately here on Guam we only have Home Depot and one local hardware store but I did learn something from the video

[@farrah305]

I admire the passion for gardening. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the world. Great video!

[@N-B-MMA]

Ecoscraps makes potting soil that was available early in the season but I cant find it anymore I got one bag of it and it looks really nice. I mixed in a little plant food and perlite and it seems like its gonna be very viable for good plant growth

[@aylamirizadeh277]

I've purchased the Just Organic potting soil before in the past and there were big chunks of wood, some flying insects and snails inside the bags. The sails were small but not something I want in my soil for my potted plants.

[@billybethel]

walmart in NH and Maine don't have soil for sale around christmas time. the ground here is frozen solid with snow on it during december.

[@omwatieramoutar2325]

thank you for all this information my question is: what is the best one for fruit trees thank you

[@sparky6086]

One thing, that I've found when using various store bought soils, is that they vary radically from bag to bag within the same brand's specific product, so I can't go by previous experience with a specific product. I end up buying various brands, screening them and mixing them together in order to get at least some consistently.

[@pandarush.]

Hello. It's June 2022. What is your favorite bagged garden soil now? Thank you!!! Desperately needing your guidance. Did Ecoscraps stop making garden soil?

[@jessm9504]

I'm an amateur gardener and made the mistake of not doing much research into the soil I put into my raised bed. If I used a soil that wasn't exactly the best with a good bit of wood chips and what not in it, can it be fixed with added mixtures? Or do I have to remove the dirt and do it all over again? I'm entering year two now and looking to build a 4x8 bed, in addition to my existing 4x4. (I planted strawberries, lettuce, and jade bush beans; they all did pretty decent)

[@def3797]

Forest products includes the inner wood of a tree mulched up. It breaks down quickly and is considered a cheap ingredient. One of the mixes says pine bark -I would consider that a plus in a potting mix or even as an additive to soil. You do need a source of nitrogen as well.

[@grasshop4752]

Thank you. I learned something new from you video. IF I'm not mistaken I thought you said when you screen out the soil u take out the stuff is bigger than 1/2 inch. Those chunks of wood Steele's nitrogen from your plants? Because the microbes break down chunks of wood or something I'm going to re-watch video

[@angelahite75]

Have you seen the new compressed bricks of organic soil? You soak it in water and it expands. 1 package fills an entire wheel barrow. My daughter was excited about and bought some. Im using it, but am concerned its not going to do the trick.

[@misbehavens]

Great video. I learned a lot more than I expected to. Very thorough.

[@michelleblackburn255]

John, Although I don't give My money to Walmart, I do however value the information I have learned from You today and very much appreciate it! I could easily apply this knowledge to the choices I make when shopping at GreenThumb Nursery and Garden Supply or any local garden store. I have learned so much on Your channel and thank You so much!

[@ragheadand420roll]

Michelle Blackburn ill never shop at walmart again

[@daveyboy8907]

Have not spent a $1 there in over 8 years...

[@lisaawild]

I don't support Walmart ever. But I too appreciate the lessons from John.

[@carpentryfirst3048]

Walmart is a mom and pop shop.. isn't it

[@carpentryfirst3048]

Technically speaking.

[@junebug6649]

Your instructional videos are wonderful; I learn so much!

[@jeffrydorsch9687]

This fall I also bought 20 bales of both kinds of Pro Mix ranging from $3 to $5. I think these products have always had a good rep. and are also Omri listed.

[@tyronefinks5878]

I did what you did for my winter garden. I buy a lot of soil from Wal-Mart .

[@northernmichigan7725]

I really appreciate your videos. The information you share is logical and just plain common sense. If it’s good to use you tell us. If not,’you tell us. Thank you

[@lynnmchale2346]

Excellent & well explained very very helpful for a beginner . Thanks

[@magnumopus9631]

john thx for all your hard work,do you have patron ,you do alot work with these vids,and we should give you something,if you dont,please set one up for yourself

[@chiahowliu]

Regarding the OMNI, the company said this: "Thank you for your email. Our OMNI is Source Selected Green Waste based compost. It is native to Arizona and is organic with no chemicals added." Not sure what "Source Selected Green Waste" even means.

[@c.p.h.9264]

Did u ever get an answer to your question?

[@kathleenclary8932]

John I have a garden soil crush on you! So thorough!!

[@CC-lv1ox]

@learnorganic So very helpful. I love this level of detail. I learned a great deal. I am an organic grocer and I bought the green bag of potting soil because it was OMRI certificated . I agree that I found so many large wood pieces and plastic in it. I JUST up potted today and pissed off to find this is crappy soil. I am a new gardener as of 4 weeks ago. Taking it back to Home Depot. Thanks for helping us.

[@annettedigiamberardino4502]

This was so informative and helpful... thank you for doing this!

[@clowns76]

I all was just add my compost to any soils I get what to u think about adding green and food scrap to bed garden at bottom before putting soil and compost in bed what do you think

[@paulamyers103]

I love your content. Super helpful info for my garden. Thanks for sharing.

[@yashgupta8633]

Whre did you get that black tray/trough from? What is it called/what brand is it?

[@manjushreetsl2531]

Yash Gupta you can buy this at Home Depot, I heard some say it’s concrete mixer bin.

[@robertadawngallardo5055]

What a great topic. Thank you for taking the time to put this video together. Good to know your perspective on how to read bags and your thoughts about the quality of the ingredients!

[@tomaitoe]

Thank you for all of the time, effort and energy you put into your videos!

[@jamesbix839]

Great video. I try to make most mine but do use two of the kinds you don't care for. I mix them one for nutrition and other for holding the roots.thanks for vjdeo

[@hopeking3588]

Ha! I love Walmart Christmas stuff! We can't plant outside in dec in mich so the Walmart Christmas stuff cheers me up a bit!

[@julsatmidnight]

I bought the just natural for raised garden bed. What would you add to it to make it healthy for a vegetables?

[@kristenhealey460]

Worm castings, premium compost, peat moss, rock dust, coco, vermiculite, well aged shredded leaves, mushroom compost, high quality soil, mineralized soil blend, and aged ground bark onto to keep moist...lots of choices an additives to mix with your soil an compost

[@huesoo9827]

Thanks for taking the time to do this. Excellent information on what to look for. Bought a bunch of Kellogg Organic Potting soil on clearance but now not sure it was such a deal.

[@lilcricket4379]

That brand had handfuls of glass chips and cigarette wrapper cellophane 😣

[@Eternitynoteskevinwwalton]

Very informative video. Thank you very much for the informative review and ideas. Great video. Very inspiring.

[@TheGardenOfFeodora]

Thank you. We getting ready to start our container garden this season. So I'm looking for the best soil. Thanks again.

[@sparky6086]

Had good luck w/ Just Natural. It seems to have more worm castings than others I have used, although none of the store bought soils are consistent from bag to bag from my experience.

[@horrido666]

A lot of good points here, especially the one about not knowing the exact contents of the bags. I think it's MUCH better to just buy black dirt by the truck load. Here it's $16 a yard. I can assume the soil is fairly depleted, and amend as needed. To get it home, I use a pickup. You can rent them for $20 a day at Menards, I think. Line the tarp with a large tarp, especially the tailgate area - dirt gets in the crack.

[@evahughes5391]

Here, where?

[@coffee4050]

John, Thank you for all your videos, you're providing us all with great info and saving us all the hard work. We appreciate it 👍.

[@ortenciamcilhaney2604]

I’m buying miracle grow potting mix but I’ve found a lot of wood chips in each bag . What is the effect of that in mgrowing vegetables . Is it recommended to be used in raised beds?

[@plantgurugangsta7299]

How does one sterilize the compost soil?? Is there a video by u on that?

[@RNcelia]

Basically don’t BUY anything, make your OWN 🤔❤️love your videos John, many thanks 🙏

[@loycemarch8409]

I got 5 of the 2.5 l of Dr.Earth. great Dr. End of pallet. 6 each $6. This week they are $6.75. Normal over $17.

[@evangelinemunyan7934]

Does Tractor Supply sell good soil and compost? I bought some there a few years back. I do not think I had really good results, but I am not a trained gardener by any means.

[@frankaredia]

I bought some "Earthgro" at Walmart last week. It had enough wood in it to build a log cabin!

[@pharaoh6977]

They also carry eggs. I used it for indoor plants and about a week I had an army of flies in my house

[@frankaredia]

Thanks for that info Marley. Since I used the Earthgrow I've had an infestation of fungus gnats and whiteflies in my growroom. My seedlings have been decimated!

[@pharaoh6977]

@@frankaredia toss the bag and try to change out the soil you have potted, and use some insecticidal soap on the leaves to kill the whitefiles. I heard baking soil in the oven is a good way to "sterilize" it from fungus, and is supposed to help get rid the eggs, but I'm not sure if it will compromise the nutrients in it or not as I haven't tried it. But I guess its worth a shot especially if you have no choice but to buy cheap low quality soil.

[@Laura-lr3sz]

@@frankaredia LOVE your name, Chauncey!!!!

[@chiledoug]

I have bought that befor I added some fertilizer and coco choir perlite vermiculite some or all.

[@TheWritingGirl]

another soil consideration for review. I buy mine at Lowe’s or home depot but amazon has a great selection also. Mushroom Compost

[@dgeorge4761]

Hi I think you are very pretty 😍

[@vmcshannon]

I’ve used several bags of the Just Natural potting mix. It was great. And mine had the Omri label on it. Wonder why this one didn’t.

[@marymaloney-henderson8378]

Thank you, you talked about all the issues I needed to know as I begin my raised veggie beds

[@MollyMcBooter]

This year I have tried different container soils for my patio garden : Magic Dirt, Just Natural Organic Potting Mix, Miracle Grow, and Miracle Grow Performance (comes in a black bag with yellow lettering). So far my plants seem happiest in the Magic Dirt, Just Natural, and Miracle Grow Performance. The Magic Dirt was super clumpy though, I’m surprised its doing so good. It really felt so cruddy coming out of the bag but today theres 2 big corn stalks, zucchini & sunflowers growing great in it.

[@dgeorge4761]

Hi Molly I think ur very pretty 😍

[@yes350yes]

This vid was launched in Dec. Maybe in Ca they still garden soils, composts. but in my area they have nothing,, and at no time do they sell any of the shown products for $3 a bag. more like in the $7-12 range.

[@invaderzim1265]

Yeah I believe products in California is expensive!

[@DryMrs]

Amazing and informative as always! Thank you!

[@fourmprod]

John have you tried Kellogg and what did you think of it? It's at Home Depot.

[@toddworkman7373]

So I have a lot of mixed bags of soil that I buy from Lowes when they are ripped bags and half off. Some of them are not organic and some are "enriched with synthetic plant food" Will all of this eventually get out of the soil? Also, some of them have the mulch like fillers in them. I assume those will eventually compost. Do you think it would be okay to use what all I have as a medium and just start amending it myself with my own compost, worm castings, and other OMRI listed organic fertilizers?

[@larryharvey7709]

They keep marking down until it sells. I was looking at plants in the spring and some contraption was blocking my access to a corner. I finally looked to see what it was. A snow blower marked down to half price. Didn’t even need it and I bought it.

[@litestreamer]

If you make it to Pittsburgh this year, it'd be great if you do a story on PittMoss! Peat Moss ought to stay in the land as it sequesters carbon. And PittMoss is supposed to retain 47% more moisture than Peat and provide 13% more aeration. We can use more sound eco-products!

[@cherylanon5791]

I spy some metallic reflective material on left side of screen....is that the metallized insulation wrap? What is the purpose? Up here in the North we need all the help we can get for increasing heat. Feel free to stop by if you ever get this far North probably too cold for you!)

[@scrappydogfinance8434]

John you made no mention regarding biosludge from waste water planted being used in organic potting soil sold in the stores... How do you know if it had those toxic waste products inside?

[@qwertyqaz2227]

Thanks for your help. I went to the omri website and searched for the different soils I've used to plant for the first time a garden. It looks like I lucked out and everything is truly organic, omri certified for organic use. I thought I was going to have to yank all the plants out of what I had and find something truly organic but I can leave them where they are thankfully. Two of my plantings have a lot of sticks and other large items but what I'm going to do is after I grow my cabbage in it I'm going to sift it through hardware cloth and keep it and use it in a raised garden bed and toss out the large pieces.

[@nikkitobin8356]

I was going to do the same thing

[@aaronjohnson8211]

I John I think your videos are great and watching them for years would you be interested in doing a video on the soil conditioners like Happy Frog soil conditioner and bumper crop soil Builder they have two different types also the mushroom compost