Tip: Top Soil vs. Planting Mix

by HomeAdvisor

Related Articles

  • Find Top-Rated Pros
Landscaping
There's a difference between top soil and planting mix.

Top soil is straight, screened soil with no additives to improve the quality for planting. It is recommended to be used as a base under planting mix because it is less expensive and compacts better.

Planting mix is "amended" soil made by mixing humus, soil and sand. It is ideal for planting. Because it doesn't compact well, it is advised to put a base of top soil under the planting mix.