Is it your first garden, and you want to know if you can use topsoil for gardening? You are not alone.
Choosing the right type of soil will help you grow healthy and long-lasting plants, vegetables, flowers, and trees in your new garden. However, it can be tricky, especially for newbies, to choose the right soil that will make their garden the best it can be.
Here is a guide to explain what topsoil is, distinguish it from garden soil, answer the question of whether you can use topsoil for gardening, and help you choose the best soil for your gardening. Read on.  Â
What is Topsoil?
Topsoil, often misspelled as top soil, is the nutrient-rich top layer of soil just below the humus surface of the earth.Â
Topsoil is about five to six inches deep into the earth, depending on your location. It is richer, darker, and less compact than the soil layer below it because it is full of minerals and organic matter from decomposing and decomposed roots, leaves, insects, and bugs.
Since organic matter supplies most of the nutrients needed by new plants, topsoil remains the most valuable layer of the earth for plant growth.Â
Topsoil acts as a natural bed for planted seedlings and supplies essential nutrients and elements for growing plants. It helps to retain moisture during dry weather, and its loose structure allows for the filtration of excess water during rainy periods.
Generally, topsoil is made up of a combination of sand, silt, and clay soil, but it has varying textures as it may have a higher clay or sand content.
Best Soil for Your Gardening – Topsoil vs Garden Soil vs Potting Soil
The first step to creating a lawn is preparing the planting bed. Both topsoil and garden soil are suitable for gardening or landscaping projects, but choosing the right soil is very important not only because it is key to the growth of the plant you want to grow but also because it saves your time, labor, and cost.
So, how does garden soil differ from topsoil?
Simply put, garden soil is topsoil mixed with other materials and nutrients, such as extra organic matter, organic or inorganic fertilizer, bark shredding, compost, and peat. Unlike topsoil, it is made for specific types of plants to give added nutrients and fertility.Â
Since garden soil is a combination of topsoil and extra organic minerals, the mixture can be varied to target a specific type of gardening project. That means there are different mixtures of garden soil for flower gardens, vegetable gardens, herb gardens, plants, and so on.
Before purchasing garden soil, make sure that you do proper research, carry out a soil test, or consult your local landscaping professional.
As for potting soil, it is specifically designed for potted plants need. It is a combination of peat moss, decaying organic matter, and other organic materials like composted sawdust, which makes it lightweight and more expensive than topsoil.Â
Due to its composition, potting soil has high water-retention capacity but drains excess water rapidly. As a result, it loses nutrients quickly through leaching and relies on the continual addition of nutrients.
Generally, we recommend that you use potting soil for container gardening, mix garden soil with existing soil in your raised garden beds, and use topsoil, which is much heavier than potting soil and garden soil, for larger gardening projects.
Can You Use TopSoil For Gardening?
Now, back to our question of whether you can use topsoil for gardening or not.
Yes, topsoil can be used for gardening. It is a perfect option for a first in-ground garden to get your plants to grow well. You can use topsoil to start your garden or plant and flower beds.
An issue with topsoil is its varying texture and moisture regulation, especially when used in container gardening. For instance, topsoil can be loose and dry out too quickly or be soggy and tight.
However, this may not be an issue with in-ground gardening, where critters can get into the soil to break it down.Â
In a nutshell, if you intend to use topsoil for gardening, avoid thicker topsoil with high water-holding capacity because it will not allow much air to get to your plants’ roots. Choose topsoil with a loamy texture. They are easy to till, and they promote airflow – two qualities great for gardening.
Even if you have good-quality topsoil, fertilization is still necessary for successful plant growth. Therefore, when raising a container garden, building a raised garden bed, or using in-ground beds, you can use topsoil as the lower soil layer and add garden soil on top.Â
More so, if your layer of topsoil is not deep enough, add a layer of garden soil or a higher grade of topsoil.
Conclusion
It’s alright if you need help choosing the right soil for gardening. But as you have seen in the post above, you can use topsoil for gardening depending on the nutrient needs of your plants.Â
Note that most flowering and fruiting plants require a lot of soil nutrients to grow well, which may not be an issue if your topsoil is nutrient-rich.
Otherwise, you would need to add nutrients in the form of organic or inorganic fertilizer, compost, or garden soil to enrich the topsoil according to the plant you want to grow.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can use topsoil for gardening as long as it has the correct pH level and necessary nutrients needed by the plants you want to grow as well as the required depth to support the plant.
To achieve the best result, when building a raised bed, you can use good quality topsoil as the bottom layer before adding some inches of garden soil on top for good drainage and added nutrients, especially for veggies.
Irrespective of the type of gardening you want to raise – container garden, raised bed, in-ground bed, or hanging baskets, let topsoil go down first before adding garden soil.
Topsoil is important because it supplies the essential nutrients needed by plants and contains microorganisms responsible for breaking down organic matter and adding nitrogen to the soil. However, these essential nutrients vary in quantity based on the composition of the topsoil.