Let me start this post by saying I am new to gardening, so my beef with this brand could be completely unwarranted, idk, but it feels valid to me. It has been irritating me for months, so today I decided to be petty about it.

Okay, let’s get into the tea. I started gardening about 3 months ago, and this “Back to the Roots Premium Potting Mix” was on sale at my local At Home Store for $6.99 per bag PLUS buy-one-get-one free. So, I got six 12qt bags.

Now, obviously I don't know much about soil, but I have been EXTREMELY displeased with the quality of this. It popped up as the first, second, AND third result when I searched for “soil for vegetable seedlings.”

It is marketed as “premium” potting mix that's “all purpose” and “great for herbs, veggies, fruit, and flowers.” The bag even says “grows bigger plants!” but the only thing it has grown consistently is my blood pressure.

Yeah, I'm aware of the fungus gnat issue (and yeah, it's insane), but let's just set that aside for now. I'm focused on the composition of the mix. Originally, I just put my plants right into it, which were bell peppers, celery, brussel sprouts, lettuce, jalapenos, habaneros, mini sweet peppers, poblanos, sage, basil, mint, rosemary, and thyme….and they were all on their deathbed after a few weeks. I finally figured out why they tried to die was because of the immense amount of wood in the mix that was watterlogging and causing rot, mold, and stagnation.

So, everytime I needed more soil, I would have to sit and sift through it for an hour or so to get the wood out. After the wood was removed (or most of it, at least) and I repotted my plants into the sifted soil, they thrived. I did this for the past 3 months and dear lord it was frustrating, but I didn't have the money for more mix (and don't like to be wasteful) so I just had to deal with it.

Well. Today I finished my calculus final so I have a week off of school, I had no work scheduled, and I quite literally had nothing better to do….So, I took the last bag of potting mix and sifted it. Twice for good measure. For 10 hours. Below you can see the result from one whole 12qt bag, which is about 15% soil (and even though I sifted it as fine as possible it's STILL mostly tiny wood pieces) versus 85% wood chunks. Let's talk about it.

Do we think it's fair for them to call this “premium potting mix” when it's more like a glorified mulch?

Has anyone used this brand and NOT had the majority of the mix just be wood? Did I just get an unfortunate batch? I did buy one smaller bag (6qt, I think) from Walmart, and while I didn't get petty and measure it, it was extremely woody as well. I noticed that the small Walmart bag also had tons of food chunks, while the big bags from At Home barely had any.

Why do they say it's “all purpose” when I cannot think of many plants (especially vegetables) that thrive on a 15:85 dirt:wood ratio? I know my plants struggled more because they're young, but STILL, I feel like even mature adult plants would struggle in mostly mulch with very little dirt.

This is in our new house's garden and I'm a complete noob. Does one prune this near the roots every fall or...?

Pic 1: Now

Pic 2 + 3: From early September

Hi I’m moving homes and this is the front yard it has stones underneath the grass. I’m an ultra novice gardener and want to make it look well kept. Any advice where to start or what I’d need

I watered them 2-3 times a day every day very shallowly for the first week and a half straight right after they sprouted, which I think was a mistake. Then the day that I fixed my watering habits, it rained heavily for an entire week and a half straight.

Is that what went wrong? poor watering? How can I better grow my new ones (slide 3).

I was told radishes are some of the easiest crops to grow so I'm a bit embarrassed I failed so badly lol

EDIT: these were 31 days old.

First year gardener.

Only one or two of these pumpkins came out like this. I’d say for the most part is was a successful harvest. However they grew on the grass and because of how the vine was growing it was difficult to maintain the lawn area without damaging it so idk if that’s the reason.

Do I need to lay the area with landscaping fabric or something next year It’s kinda expensive just looking for ideas to keep things tidy inside the garden.

I was wondering if I need to cut back on these basil plants, they haven’t been growing much and some have started wilting. I water it once everyday which I think may be too much. It also has started to look woody at the base of the stems.

About two weeks ago or so I planted these roses my mom gifted me. It was doing great, a few yellow leaves but seemed to be adjusting well. Today when I went out to water it there are way more yellow leaves. Zone 10a, California. This is my first rose plant, please help me help this baby!

I need to move them away from my sister in law's foundation to get at some boston ivy that has worked its way into the siding

I'm just getting started with gardening and I wanted to show off my very first raised bed and (empty) compost pile. I'm in Athens where the climate is similar to the US 10b (I think).

Any advice for a newbie?

An update to my original post but I think I'm going to take them to the cemetery and put them in the empty Planters and then just put the rest in the thrift shop that does actually sell live plants. I would put some in the ground but there is a rule at this Cemetery about that so Planters are basically it. They will rip up anything planted in the ground. Empty vases will get cuttings from my plants too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/s/yrAwhsa1RN

These used to be outside so I’m not surprised there is something eating it but they’re eating my moss rose flowers in half and then eating all of the pollen and stuff inside. For reference, I live in western Montana

I cut this flat two years ago with a hedge trimmer LIKE AN IDIOT and totally cut off the new growth. I've been pulling off dead sprigs ever since and it keeps looking worse and worse. How do I save it?

I initially was very wary of fertilizing too much but I slowly started increasing it weekly that I finished a couple big bags and my plants are still fine. Is overfertilization really that much of a concern? are my fertilizers just weak or what? Am I limiting my plants's potential by not fertilizing enough?
The fertilizers I have are

10-10-10,

24-8-16,

0-52-34

Should I go crazy and dump as much as I like? Or maybe the signs take a long time to appear? Because at this point the threat of overfertilization seems overblown

I forgot about this baby since my pineapples NEVER root and now idk if it needs to stay in water or if it's okay to transplant? I don't want to kill it🥹

I have put a lot of work into planting a tulip bed, and now daffodils. I try to plant them at the same depth but they end up blooming at differing heights. I’ve even dig out the entire bed for planting. What could I be doing wrong?

Anyone know where I can get honeynut squash seeds (think tiny butternut squash) for a reasonable price? edit located in Michigan, USA. All I'm finding online is like ten seeds for two dollars which seems high

Spent around 1.5 hours clearing fallen leaves, mixing in some cow manure, preparing the soil, and planting these marigold seedlings in my garden. It was a bit of a workout, but honestly, getting my hands dirty and making the garden a little greener felt totally worth it. 🌿

Built this tiny Warehouse with climate controlled, heater, lamp, fog maker.

Not the cheapest one but certainly fun to watch.

i feel like i'm doing everything right, watering it, giving it light, but then suddenly it's all tall and sparse and i'm left with like three usable leaves. is there something i'm missing or is basil just determined to be difficult? (zone 6a if that matters)

Bought a house knowingly that the dude before us had the dumbest idea of planting an entire mint garden. It’s spreading all over and I want to get rid of it. What’re my options?

Are these baby Brussel sprouts? First time Brussel mom 🤞🤞