Unless you are using hydroponics, buying soil is a vital component for healthy plants.
While soil might be taken for granted by people who have land, for those of us who live in apartments and plant in pots, it is something we have to specifically find.
Thankfully it's pretty easy to get good quality potting soil. I personally make an effort to choose organic potting soil. It's part of my goal to grow organic fruits and vegetables, as far as reasonably possible.
As someone who has been educating about and providing natural and organic skincare for several years, it is also a habit to read the ingredients list of products I buy - including soil. And I'm glad I did!
Recently I was looking at soil in the gardening section of a local supermarket. In Singapore, Horti is the most common brand carried in supermarkets like Giant, Cold Storage, Sheng Siong and Redmart. But when I looked at the ingredients, Horti soil includes fungicide. While that might be fine for ornamental or flowering plants, I prefer to NOT have any fungicides, pesticides or insecticides that can end up in my edible plants!
Buying Soil for Potted Plants
Living in the USA? You can easily order online and have bags of quality organic soil delivered to your doorstep:
Top-rated Organic Potting Soil on Amazon.com
44 pound bag
16 quart bag
Buying Organic Potting Soil in Singapore
In Singapore, you can either order soil online or visit the many nurseries all around the island.
I have tried and like the organic soil and fertiliser from Biomax, which is certified organic by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA). I had bought one 5L bag from Biomax at Green Living where they gave a seminar on "Organic Gardening at Home". However it was really hard to find it anywhere when I wanted to buy more!
I searched everywhere online, went to 5 nurseries, walked round the whole of Bedok Central to every supermarket and florist/gardening shop in the wetmarket. All to no avail. I finally found it stocked at Katong Flower Shop next to Tanah Merah MRT.
They also sell Baba Organic Vegemix soil which comes in large 28L bags for $18, that I am keen to try once I get more pots and planters!
